This would have been the 50th season of the American Football League, and those eight original franchises are commemorating the birth of the AFL by occasionally wearing their retro-1960-style uniforms during the current NFL season. So, from time to time this season I’ll blog about those original AFL teams, concentrating on two stars from each team. A few days ago, I blogged about Frank Tripucka and Lionel Taylor of the original Denver Broncos. Next Up: the Oakland Raiders.

Believe it or not, Al Davis had nothing to do with The 1960 Oakland Raiders. In 1960, he was an assistant with the L.A. Chargers. But two men on that 1960 team would have major impacts on the Raiders: Jim Otto and Tom Flores.

Otto, a rookie out of Miami, started the opening game at center. He would start every game for 15 years, earning 10 first-team All-AFL honors.

Flores, also a rookie, out of UOP, was the Raiders’ opening-game starting quarterback, and more-or-less held that job through the 1966 season (he missed 1963 due to illness). Flores later coached the Raiders to two Super Bowl victories.