PREFACE

STRAIGHT FROM THE MOUTHS of the legends of the silver and black, a book appropriately entitled Cheating Is Encouraged captures the many famous—as well as infamous—stories from the last team to play “outlaw” football. Regardless if you loved them or hated them, the Oakland Raiders of the ’70s were an amusing cast of outlaws, misfits, and other anomalies that made up one of the greatest pro football teams of their era.

For the Raiders, it was a time when professional team sports such as football, baseball, and basketball were considered blue-collar forms of entertainment—the NFL leading the pack. It was the Raiders—and Oakland alone—who personified a blue-collar town with their aggressive style of play.

Gridiron characters such as Kenny (Snake) Stabler, Willie Brown, Phil “Foo” Villapiano, Jim “Pops” Otto, Jack “The Assassin” Tatum, Jim Otto, Art Shell, George “The Hit Man” Atkinson, Skip “Dr. Death” Thomas, Fred Biletnikoff, Ted “The Stork” Hendricks, Bob “Boomer” Brown, Daryle “The Mad Bomber” Lamonica, head coaches John Madden and Tom Flores, and many others chronicle the infamous barroom explosions, on- and off-the-field exploits, away game adventures, and party-hard attitudes that are reflected within the team’s intimidating and glorified mix of rebels, renegades, and masterminds of the game.

The Raiders roster consisted of a collection of misfits and rebels—some with behavioral issues such as Ben Davidson and John “Tooz” Matuszak, and castoffs like the aging George Blanda and semi-pro player Otis Sistrunk, who were passed over or disregarded by other NFL teams.

To say that this group of degenerates had attitude would be considered a gross understatement. They were the Oakland Raiders, the silver and black, and Al Davis’s dream of “Just Win, Baby.”

The legacy of the Oakland Raiders has always been “Commitment to Excellence,” but the legacy of the team’s behavior has always been on the cutting edge. For example:

•   When receivers were allowed to use Stickum, Fred Biletnikoff used so much of it that he had to have the other players in the huddle pry his fingers apart.

•   Bob Brown got his point across to Willie Brown when he pulled out his gun and riddled his mattress with bullets . . . while Willie was still on it!

Cheating Is Encouraged defines an era that can only be considered as the last glory days of “real football played by real men”; a game where hurt players kept playing and the injury known as turf toe had yet to be defined.

So belly up to the bar, gents, and read about the good ol’ days of Raiders football. It is as close as most of us will ever get to sitting in the locker room, opening a few cool ones, and listening to these gridiron greats talk about the famous and infamous legendary wars and warriors of Oakland’s glory years.