5 things about Raiders’ first game in Las Vegas
EDITOR’S NOTE: This is part of an occasional series on the history of the Raiders.
The Raiders are coming to Las Vegas this year.
Actually, they are coming for a second time.
The first time was temporary. On Aug. 24, 1964, the Oakland Raiders played the Houston Oilers in an American Football League preseason game at old Cashman Field downtown.
“I remember that the showgirls wore sweaters that night, and we won the game,” Al Davis said during a meet-and-greet in his box at Oakland Coliseum a few seasons before his death.
Oakland won 34-20. Let it be said the former Raiders’ owner and coach never forgot a “W.”
Five other things about the Raiders’ first game in Las Vegas:
1. Tickets were a bit cheaper than they are now. They were priced from $3.50 to $10. Old Cashman Field, situated roughly at the same location as the slightly newer one where the Lights FC soccer team plays, was reconfigured to hold 15,000 spectators but only about 8,500 turned out.
On August 29, 1964 the Oakland Raiders played their first game in Las Vegas, a preseason matchup with the Houston Oilers at old Cashman Field. https://t.co/HRSkyySDO1 pic.twitter.com/zT6gZLYJ0q
— SportsPaper (@SportsPaperInfo) November 16, 2017
2. The Raiders were led by running back Clem Daniels, who scored on a 68-yard run. Quarterback Cotton Davidson scored on a 21-yard run, and defensive back Tommy Morrow returned an intercepted pass 32 yards for another score. The Oilers were quarterbacked by George Blanda, who later in his 26-year pro football career would become a star for the Raiders.
#36 Clem Daniels
AFL All-Time Leading Rusher
#3 on #Raiders All-Time Rushing List#36DaysTilFootball pic.twitter.com/35piUFYfB1— Maliik 🏁🇳🇬 (@Obee1ne) August 2, 2017
3. Davis was the Raiders’ coach in 1964. Slingin’ Sammy Baugh coached the Oilers. They were two of five Pro Football Hall of Famers on the field that night. The others were Blanda, Raiders center Jim Otto and Raiders executive Ron Wolf.
During 35+ yr career, #PFHOF15 inductee Ron Wolf worked in @RAIDERS, @TBBuccaneers, @nyjets & @packers front offices pic.twitter.com/fjd6hwxBoz
— NFL Football Operations (@NFLFootballOps) August 8, 2015
4. Then-Las Vegas mayor Oran Gragson proclaimed Aug. 24, 1964, Professional Football Day in Las Vegas. The game’s principal beneficiary was Wilbur Clark’s Cavalcade of Charities. The Oilers stayed at the Stardust and the Raiders at the Desert Inn — hotel-casinos partly owned by Clark, although reputed mob figure Moe Dalitz and his partners ran them.
Elvis with Las Vegas land developer and owner of the Desert Inn Hotel & Casino Wilbur Clark. #AlwaysElvis #WilburClark #Elvis #ElvisPresley #LasVegas #DesertInn pic.twitter.com/XxHgiFp7yn
— Always Elvis (@AlwaysElvisFC) March 29, 2018
5. The game was called by Bob Blum, who would become a Las Vegas sports fixture after leaving the Raiders and the Bay Area. Blum, the Raiders’ original play-by-play voice, recommended he be replaced in the booth by Oakland broadcast legend Bill King.
Bob Blum was a neighbor to Knute Rockne, played basketball as a kid for John Wooden and was the first voice of the Oakland Raiders.
— Jeff Motley (@jeffmotleylvms) July 22, 2012
Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.
