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A book that explores the enduring legends of Snake, Foo, Dr. Death, and John Madden’s Oakland Raiders, Badasses is the definitive biography of arguably the last team to play old-fashioned tough-guy football. Peter Richmond, co-author of the New York Times bestseller The Glory Game, offers a fascinating look at the 1970s Oakland Raiders, led by colorful greats from another era: Ken Stabler, Willie Brown, Gene Upshaw, Jim Otto, Art Shell, head coach John Madden, and owner Al Davis. In the bestselling vein of Boys Will Be Boys, Badasses chronicles the bar-room exploits, practice-field pranks, and Super Bowl glories of the team’s many misfits, cast-offs, psychos, and geniuses of the game.
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*Starred Review* The black-and-silver uniforms hinted at lawlessness or, at minimum, football noir. The roster was populated by renegades overlooked or passed on by other teams. They had more attitude on one team than today’s sanitized NFL has in total. They were the Oakland Raiders of the 1970s. Under head coach John Madden, they won seven division titles, one conference title, and one Super Bowl. It was an amazing, successful, and stylish run. The Raiders’ legacy is excellence enhanced by personality. When Stickum was allowed on receivers’ hands, Hall of Famer Fred Biletnikoff used so much he had to have his mates pry his fingers apart in the huddle and hold his cigarettes to his lips at halftime. Quarterback Ken Stabler felt there was nothing wrong with studying the playbook by the light of the jukebox. Through interviews with primary and secondary sources, sports journalist Richmond captures the attitude and, more importantly, the love of the physical nature of football that drove the Raiders. The book is a celebration of the freewheeling NFL that created the multibillion dollar industry it is today. It will also expose the blandness of the pro football we currently watch. These Raiders are legends. Today’s players are forgettable pixels on the NFL logo. Read it and weep. --Wes Lukowsky
Review
“No NFL team ever strutted any better on the dark side than the Oakland Raiders of the 1970s. In Badasses, Peter Richmond chronicles the treacheries, debauchery, and yes, the winning, with appropriate literary gusto. Lock the doors, close the windows, send the kids tobed before reading.” (Leigh Montville, author of Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero )
“I always thought the Raiders were bad, but I never realized how bad -- and how good - until I read Peter Richmond’s smart, funny, rowdy tale.” (Robert Lipsyte, former NEW YORK TIMES columnist and author of CENTER FIELD )
“Once upon a time, there lived a band of larger-than-life misfits who lorded over the NFL. Dirtbags! Castoffs! Has-beens! Deviants! You name ‘em, John Madden’s Raiders had ‘em. And, thanks to Richmond’s tireless reporting and vibrant prose, so does Badasses.” (Jeff Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author of Boys Will Be Boys: The Glory Days and Party Nights of the Dallas Cowboys Dynasty )
“Richmond’s book is a treasure trove of uproarious anecdotes skillfully woven into a seasonal chronicle spiced with sharp player profiles...This rollicking read reminds us that football is a game that’s meant to be played hard—and to be fun.” (Library Journal )
Peter Richmond attended The Choate School and Yale University, where he studied under the late, great John Hersey and the very alive, great David Milch. Somewhere in there he also attended auto mechanics school, from which he never graduated. He was awarded a Nieman Fellowship in Journalism at Harvard, where he studied art, architecture and paleontology. Recently, he taught English, history and drama at Indian Mountain School, in Lakeville Connecticut. As a result of all of these academic experiences, he is curious about everything, and knows a little bit about a lot of things, but not a whole lot about anything. He has also hitchhiked across the country a couple of times, driven across it countless times, and ridden all of Amtrak's trains. These travels instilled in a him a fascination with, and a love of, the people, towns, villages, cities, bridges, train stations, rivers, forests, fields and meadows of America. He hopes that this fascination has found its way into his writing. Four significant career facts: 1) One of his stories was judged to be the second-best bowling story of the year 1991. 2) He has tried to work trains into everything he has ever written, usually without success. 3) In writing a book with Muhammad Ali which has never been published, he took Ali to a McDonald's where they both ate French fries and drank strawberry milk shakes. 4) He interviewed George Clooney one afternoon, and then spent the evening at a party at Bob Hope's house with George's aunt, the late, great singer Rosemary Clooney. 5) He spent a morning with Paul Newman in his New York City apartment, whose kitchen featured two rinsed Budweiser cans in the dish-drying rack. His work has appeared in several periodicals, including The New Yorker, The New York Times Magazine, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, Parade, GQ, Details, Architecture, Parade, Golf Digest, Travel + Leisure Golf and TV Guide, as well as two amazing magazines which, sadly, no longer exist: Play and New England Monthly. His journalism has been included in a dozen different anthologies, including Best American Sportswriting of the Twentieth Century. He has interviewed hundreds of celebrities, athletes and notable people, but has discovered that the guy you end up sitting next to at the bar in a Ruby Tuesday's just off the interstate, next to the Marriott Courtyard, is usually every bit as fascinating as the famous people, although Paul Newman would prove the exception there. But come to think of it, Newman was exactly the kind of guy who'd want to watch a football game at a franchise restaurant bar off the interstate. So. He has published four books, and is currently working on two others. He lives in the really wonderful village of Millerton, New York, in Dutchess County, with his wife, writer and wine purveyor Melissa Davis.
The Oakland Raiders regular season record during Hall Of Fame coach John Madden's tenure (1969-1978) was 103 wins 32 losses and 7 ties. That was a better record than even the illustrious Vince Lombardi. When Madden took over they won seven division titles in the first eight seasons. "Between 1970 and 1977 they played in six AFC Championship games and won the Super Bowl to end the 1976 season." This wonderfully idiosyncratic look at the Raiders of those years include everything from the history of Hall Of Fame owner Al Davis to John Madden to all the lovable "BLACK AND SILVER" players... including many Hall Of Famers... and some who should definitely be in the Hall Of Fame also. The author, a Raider fan at least since his east coast college days, lovingly refers to the team known worldwide as *THE-SILVER-AND-BLACK" as the "BLACK AND SILVER"... over and over... and over again. And any fan can understand the author's individual nickname for them. For any fan who loves... and I mean loves... his favorite sports team... undoubtedly has some picayunish... unique... clever... at least in their own mind... nickname for their team. Some are born from superstition... some are born by a mispronouncement... or misunderstanding... or even a bolt of lightning. But any diehard fan... always has a unique personal nickname or phrase for their beloved team. One of the highlights... in a book overflowing with highlights... is the author spewing such an unrelenting, heartfelt love and adoration for his *BLACK AND SILVER* that any true football fan regardless of their favorite team can't help but share the joy of a football love that has no boundaries.
This is a book for any football aficionado. I have read... reviewed... and loved books on the Steelers... the Packers... da Bears... the Colts...... the Saints... et al. you can check my prior reviews for proof. So for me to highly recommend a sports book, it absolutely does not have to be about my favorite team or player. Now, it so happens I'm a Raider fan, and in fact I am an original and continuous PSL season ticket holder since they returned to Oakland sixteen years ago... but that's not why I strongly recommend this book. All sports including football have changed (in my opinion) for the worse in the last forty years... so this book lets you travel back in time to share beers... brawls... wins... and losses... with probably the greatest collection of whacko's... brawlers... and believe it or not... highly educated band of outsiders in a team sport in modern times. The author has meticulously combined quotes from forty years ago... and included up to the minute interviews with many of the players and Coach Madden. The love and respect they have for each other after all these years is amazing. In fact the author states that not one single player interviewed all these years later had even one single negative thing to say about Madden. And everyone including Al Davis states that there was no other coach but Madden that could have possibly lead these castoffs and free thinkers to the heights of victory they accomplished.
There are so many great stories from their yearly pre-season training camps... that players looked so forward to... that most of them showed up days earlier than required. They loved football... and they loved the Raider family, which in training camp included bar hopping... drinking beer by the *PITCHER*... bowling tournaments, air hockey tournaments (with cheating allowed)... women... women... sneaking out after bed checks... Hall Of Famers showing up on the practice field riding a horse... streakers... and players like Hall Of Famers, Fred Biletnikoff, and Willie Brown (Just some of the eventual Raider Hall Of Famers.)... and should be Hall Of Famers, Ken "Snake" Stabler... Ray Guy... Cliff Branch... Jack Tatum... stayed hours after practice... to practice more... because one thing you'll learn in this book, is that sure... the Raiders of those days liked to party... but they loved to win... and simply loved the game of football even more than partying.
The backgrounds of all the important and not so important *SILVER-AND-BLACK" / "BLACK-AND-SILVER" players are covered so the reader gets a personal insight into how players known as *THE ASSASSIN*... *THE HIT MAN*... *DOCTOR DEATH*... *FOO*... *THE STORK*... *THE ROOSTER*... *THE GOVERNOR*... *THE TOOZ*... *BOOMER*... *THE GHOST*... and sooo many more... made the Raiders one of the greatest teams in history... and you'll fully understand when a player... even after being traded... says... "ONCE YOU'RE A RAIDER... YOU'RE A RAIDER FOR LIFE!"
**NOTE** Amazon's product description on this page is wrong. Madden's Raiders won SEVEN DIVISION TITLES NOT SIX AS AMAZON STATES!Read more ›
I've been a Raiders fan since 1964, the good majority of my life, and bought this book primarily because of that. I was surprised by how good a book it was in its own right. About a quarter of the way through I realized this would make an enjoyable read for any true football aficionado. I say that because whether the author intended it or not this book really explains what made John Madden's Raiders unique in football history and why there will probably never be another team like it. Here was a collection of people that really loved to play football; loved to tackle and be tackeled. Have you ever had a job that you loved to come to every day? If so, then you realize that's the most incredible experience to have. To get paid for doing something you'd enjoy doing anyway. Madden's Raiders were that. But only Madden could bring those people together without dampening their enthusiasm and this, more than anything else, explains what made that team so unusual and unique. John Rauch couldn't do it (Madden's predecessor) nor could Tom Flores (his successor). I always knew they were special but never understood exactly why until reading this book. It wasn't the winning (for that you could/should back the Steelers, Cowboys, or Dolphins). It had to be something else and it was -- these guys just loved to hit and loved to do things their way. At times I think the book goes overboard on documenting the team's partying because, I guess, that's what sells books. But I think what makes the book special is the other aspects to the team's history. The John Madden era Raiders were truly a family; even Al Davis laments the inability to ever again create that kind of atmosphere for his team (Al's own discription of the Raiders in L.A. vs. 1968-1978 Oakland is very telling in that respect).... The discriptions of the selflessness of the players is really something that stands out and I can't see happening in today's me-first incentive-laden contract environment. If you love the Raiders, this one's a no-brainer but even if you only remember the team as different than the rest of the NFL and are curious as to why then I recommend this book as something you will enjoy reading.Read more ›
The Oakland Raiders and the 1970s were tailor-made for each other. It was a time when professional sports (aside from golf) were considered blue collar forms of entertainment ... especially the NFL. The Raiders (like the Steelers and Eagles) personified a blue collar town with their aggressive style of play, production and lack of flamboyancy. The 1970s is an era when many of the fans that filled their stadiums may have been as tough as the players on the field. It was the last gasp of "old school "football where injured players kept playing and the ailment known as "turf toe" had yet to be defined. The only Nike logo in sight might have been on a few pairs of cleats; there was no internet and no fantasy football. Looking back, the Raiders were an icon of that blue collar era of football. One of the lasting images of Monday Night Football was the intro and its close up of Willie Brown's face, with his helmet bouncing around, as he returns an interception for a touchdown. His face is pure Raider - a determined, almost angered look. Peter Richmond hits a grand slam with his book that details the inception, construction and coronation of the most successful Raider team ever: that hodge-podge collection of thugs, animals and boozers that comprised the winners of Super Bowl XI. Not only does Richmond deliver the history and juicy details of the team, his book serves as a time machine that takes the reader back to a long lost period where the business side of the sport took a backseat to the game itself.
One does not necessarily have to be a fan of the Oakland Raiders to appreciate this book as Richmond's work should prove to be an interest to a wide range of readers. Fans of sports, history, business and human interest stories should be able to appreciate this book.... As someone with a nostalgic interest of growing up in the 1970s, I particularly enjoyed the time warp aspect of this book because it brings back memories of trading football cards, as my collection of cards included many of the players highlighted in this book (and the Raider players always seemed to look more menacing on those cards). Another personal benefit is that it reminded me of the only NFL game I've ever seen live ... the December 24, 1977 playoff game at Baltimore where the Raiders won in double over-time with Dave Casper's Hall-of-Fame worthy performance. Although the 1977 team isn't the focus of the book, the residual talent of the previous season's Super Bowl winning squad was quite evident the following season.
Richmond starts with a chapter that served as the ashes from which the eventual Super Bowl champion team was born ... the 1972 controversial "Immaculate Reception" playoff game vs. the Steelers that spawned a heated rivalry between the 1970s two most dominant AFC teams. Richmond presents this as the catalyst that spurred owner Al Davis to buy, deal, inherit and assemble the parts of a championship team of players and coaches. With the seeds of the dream firmly planted by the controversial results of that playoff game, Richmond takes us back the inception of the Raider franchise and how a shrewd and business-savvy Davis finagled ultimate control of the Raiders. Paralleling Davis' ascent is the progression of John Madden's coaching progression that eventually leads to the helm of a talent loaded Raider team with a history of regular season success and playoff failures.
With the general framework of coaches and core talent in place, Richmond dissects the guts of team, by taking us into the locker room, on the practice field and out into the decadent Oakland nightlife that occupied so much of the Raider player's time once practice ended. Individual chapters introduce us to groups of men that comprise elements of the team from linemen to defensive backs. Richmond spends a great deal of the book detailing the men, their personalities and the exploits both on and off the field that often generated colorful nicknames like: Foo, Rooster, Dr. Death and Snake. The most amazing aspect is that such an odd band of divergent personalities with virtually no rules could bond so well, work so hard and function totally as a team on a mission. The author successfully corals a majority of the 1976 Raider ensemble to contribute to his book with personal reflections, hilarious stories and affirmation of the bond the men had with each other and their beloved Coach Madden. Even the elusive punter Ray Guy contributes! The details provided in these particular chapters present an addictive reading element as we feel we are actually witnessing these events, both on and off the field.
The book culminates in recapping a successful 13-1 regular season record and a post-season run to the Super Bowl that includes yet another rumble with rival and current Super Bowl champion Steelers. Super Bowl XI is deemed "the Promised Land" and although it was a snoozer of a game (and I remember it as being the first Super Bowl I watched in entirety as a kid), the book captures the energy, excitement, drive and ultimate confidence that Raider team displayed in overpowering the Minnesota Vikings. The game itself may have been unexciting, but the build-up leading to the victory and the euphoria experienced by the players is ever-present.
Peter Richmond took me back to my first real memories of enjoying pro football as a kid. The manner in which he presents this particular group of men is both entertaining and endearing. Additionally, Richmond's book may be considered a throwing-of-the-gauntlet by arguably presenting the 1976 Oakland Raider team as one of the best teams in NFL history. Although I'm not a Raider fan, after reading "Badasses", I might actually agree with him.Read more ›
