During the month of June, the Last Word On Sports NFL department will construct a Mount Rushmore for each team. For this series, we will only consider players. Today, the Oakland Raiders are the focus.
Oakland Raiders Mount Rushmore
Art Shell
This list would be incomplete without including one of the Raiders’ formidable offensive linemen from the dominant years of the 1970s, and while Gene Upshaw and Jim Otto are legends and Hall of Famers in their own right, Art Shell gets the nod.
Shell was as dominant an offensive tackle as there was in the league during his tenure with the Raiders, solidifying the left side of the line from 1968 to 1982. He won two Super Bowls (XI and XV) and earned eight Pro Bowl selections before being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
When his playing days were over, Shell wasn’t finished trailblazing. In 1989 (the same year he entered the Hall of Fame), Shell was named head coach of the team he once played for and in so doing became the first African-American head coach in NFL history. It was a move that broke new ground in the sport and paved the way for many excellent coaches to follow. For all he accomplished both on and off the gridiron, Shell is considered one of the most influential men in the league’s rich history, and he is an easy selection for a prominent place on the franchise’s Mount Rushmore.
Howie Long
Howie Long has entered the living rooms of football fans as a Fox NFL Sunday broadcaster since the program’s inception in 1994, but before he honed his craft as an analyst, the former Raiders defensive end was one of the most dominant defensive players in the NFL.
As the 48th overall pick of the 1981 NFL Draft, Long was the Raiders’ anchor on defense for most of his career, leading the team to a Super Bowl XVIII championship. In 13 seasons with the Silver and Black, Long was named to eight Pro Bowls, notched 84 sacks (not including 7.5 more in 1981 before sacks were official statistics), and was named a member of the 1980s All-Decade team before retiring at the completion of the 1993 season.
Long may be best known amongst younger fans for his work on television, but he is undoubtedly one of the most important players in Raiders history, particularly on the defensive side of the football. He’s done everything there is to do in the sport, and his 2000 induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame was icing on the cake.
Marcus Allen
Marcus Allen may have spent five years with the Kansas City Chiefs at the end of his career, but he will always be known as a Raider. In eleven seasons with the franchise, the 10th overall pick of the 1982 NFL Draft rushed for 8,545 yards and 79 touchdowns. This is a mere snapshot, though, of what Allen really brought to the table.
Over the course of his 16-year career, Allen solidified himself as one of the premier dual-threat backs in NFL history. His 12,243 rushing yards (12th all-time), 5,411 receiving yards, and 123 rushing touchdowns (third all-time) illustrate just what he was capable of out of the backfield.
More importantly, Allen was a key contributor during the team’s Super Bowl season, and he was named Super Bowl XVIII MVP after rushing for 191 yards and two touchdowns, including a 74-yard touchdown run that has become legendary even to this day.
The six-time Pro Bowler was named to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 2003 to cap off his legendary career. Yes, he may have finished his career elsewhere, but he remains one of the greatest Raiders of all-time.
Tim Brown
When discussing the greatest Oakland Raiders of all-time, it’s simply impossible to exclude wide receiver Tim Brown. From 1988 to 2003, Brown carved out one of the greatest careers in not just Raiders history, but in the history of the NFL.
Brown’s 1,094 receptions (fifth all-time), 14,934 yards (sixth all-time), 3,320 punt return yards (sixth all-time), and 100 touchdown catches (tied for seventh all-time) paint a picture about one of the greatest wideouts to ever play the game. Yes, he earned a fraction of these statistics during a one-year stay in Tampa Bay at the end of his career, but even so, there is simply no Raider who has been more statistically prolific in the franchise’s storied history.
With that said, perhaps the most important stat of all is the fact that Brown is the Raiders all-time leader in games played, having suited up for 224 contests with the franchise. He is also the team’s all-time leader in Pro Bowl selections with nine, he was a significant part of the team’s third championship, and he is one of the most popular players among long-time fans.
Tim Brown is a legend, and well-deserving of joining the three previously mentioned Raiders on Mount Rushmore. In August, however, Brown will join them in an even more important distinction. Brown is set to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame with the class of 2015. This is a well-earned honor, and one that will surely make Raider fans around the world stand and applaud.
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