Raiders Trivia
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This Raiders trivia quiz has 80 free questions with answers and covers the whole franchise story: the 1960 AFL start in Oakland (and the nine days as the Señors), Al Davis taking over at 33 and painting the team silver and black, the Madden and Stabler years, the Immaculate Reception, Sea of Hands and Holy Roller, three Super Bowl wins under John Madden and Tom Flores, the Los Angeles era with Marcus Allen, Bo Jackson and Howie Long, the return to Oakland, the Tuck Rule Game and Gruden Bowl, and the move to Las Vegas, Allegiant Stadium and everything since. Roughly a third of the questions are for casual fans who know the big moments, a third for people who lived through the Raider Nation years, and the rest for the record-book crowd: Super Bowl MVPs, the referee in the snow at Foxboro, who wore 00, and which Western actor sat for the logo. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia and primary sources rather than other trivia lists, so the scores, years and names should survive a bar argument.
30 of 80 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What name did the Oakland franchise use for nine days in 1960, after a Tribune contest, before switching to Raiders?
Señors
Señors won the Oakland Tribune's name-the-team contest but drew so much ridicule that the club dropped it after nine days in favor of Raiders.
Q 02The Raiders played their first regular-season AFL game in which year?
1960
The Raiders' first AFL regular season was 1960: Oakland was the league's eighth and final original franchise, awarded on January 30, 1960, after Minneapolis backed out to join the NFL.
Q 03Before going silver and black in 1963, the Raiders wore hand-me-down uniforms from which college?
Pacific
The team's original 1960 owners could not even secure a Bay Area stadium, so second-hand college kit fit the shoestring operation.
Q 04Who was the Raiders' first head coach when the franchise debuted?
Eddie Erdelatz
Eddie Erdelatz, who had coached Navy through the 1950s, was the Raiders' first head coach; he was fired two games into his second season and replaced by Marty Feldman.
Q 05How old was Al Davis when hired as Raiders head coach and general manager after the 1962 season?
33
Al Davis was 33 when Oakland hired him in January 1963; born July 4, 1929, he won AFL Coach of the Year that season after turning a 1–13 team into a 10–4 one.
Q 06In 1966 Al Davis briefly left the Raiders for which job, abolished within months by the AFL-NFL merger?
AFL commissioner
Al Davis became AFL commissioner in April 1966 and began signing NFL quarterbacks; the June 1966 merger agreement eliminated the post, and he returned to Oakland as a part-owner.
Q 07In the 1968 "Heidi Game", NBC cut away from the Raiders' final-minute comeback against which opponent?
New York Jets
The Heidi Game was Raiders versus New York Jets on November 17, 1968; Oakland scored two touchdowns in the final minute to win 43–32 after NBC had already switched to the film.
Q 08The 1968 Heidi broadcast that pre-empted the end of the Raiders-Jets game was sold entirely to which sponsor?
Timex
Timex sponsored the Heidi telecast, which NBC was contracted to start at 7 p.m. Eastern; a watch company cutting off a game for reasons of time became a lasting irony for sportswriters.
Q 09The Raiders' first Super Bowl appearance ended in a 33–14 loss at the Orange Bowl to which team?
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers beat Oakland 33–14 in Super Bowl II on January 14, 1968, at Miami's Orange Bowl, and Bart Starr became the first back-to-back Super Bowl MVP.
Q 10Which position group did Al Davis hire John Madden to coach in 1967 before making him head coach?
Linebackers
Linebackers were John Madden's first Raiders charge: Al Davis hired him as linebackers coach in 1967, and he became head coach in 1969 at 32, never posting a losing season in ten years.
Q 11Among NFL head coaches with at least 100 games, John Madden holds which distinction?
Highest winning percentage
Highest winning percentage: John Madden went 103–32–7 over ten regular seasons from 1969 to 1978, the best winning percentage of any NFL head coach with at least 100 games.
Q 12On the 1972 Immaculate Reception, Bradshaw's pass may have deflected off which Raiders safety?
Jack Tatum
Jack Tatum collided with John Fuqua as the ball arrived; under the rules of the day, if it had touched only Fuqua the pass would have been incomplete and Oakland would have won 7–6.
Q 13Which running back caught the game-winning "Sea of Hands" touchdown against Miami in the 1974 playoffs?
Q 21Ray Guy, the Raiders' 1973 first-rounder, was the first player at what position taken that early?
Punter
Punter Ray Guy, taken 23rd overall in 1973, was the first punter ever chosen in the first round; in 2014 he became the first pure punter elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Q 22Which former Raiders quarterback replaced John Madden in 1979 as the NFL's first Hispanic head coach?
Tom Flores
Tom Flores, the Raiders' original starting quarterback, succeeded John Madden in 1979, won Super Bowls XV and XVIII as head coach, and entered the Hall of Fame in 2021.
Q 23Which team took Jim Plunkett first overall in the 1971 draft?
New England Patriots
Clarence Davis
Clarence Davis wrestled Ken Stabler's desperation pass away from three Dolphins for the 28–26 win; the catch ended Miami's run of three straight Super Bowl appearances.
Q 14Ken Stabler earned his nickname "Snake" from his high school coach after what?
A long, winding touchdown run
A long, winding touchdown run in a Foley High School game earned Ken Stabler the nickname "Snake" from his coach, and the left-hander carried it through college and 15 pro seasons.
Q 15Ken Stabler played college football at which university before the Raiders drafted him?
Alabama
Alabama was Ken Stabler's school: he quarterbacked the Crimson Tide to an 11–0 season in 1966 and a Sugar Bowl rout of Nebraska before Oakland drafted him in 1968.
Q 16Which tight end fell on the ball in the end zone to complete the 1978 "Holy Roller" against San Diego?
Dave Casper
Dave Casper batted and kicked the loose ball into the end zone before falling on it for the 21–20 win; the NFL then ruled that only the fumbling player may advance a fumble in the final two minutes.
Q 17Chargers fans have their own name for the Holy Roller play. What do they call it?
The Immaculate Deception
Stabler later admitted he fumbled on purpose, and running back Pete Banaszak did not exactly try to recover it before pitching it toward the goal line.
Q 18Who was named MVP of Super Bowl XI despite gaining only 79 yards on four catches?
Fred Biletnikoff
Fred Biletnikoff was Super Bowl XI MVP with four catches for 79 yards, three of them setting up Oakland touchdowns in the 32–14 win over Minnesota.
Q 19Which Raiders cornerback returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown in Super Bowl XI?
Willie Brown
Willie Brown's 75-yard return of a Fran Tarkenton interception sealed Super Bowl XI; acquired from Denver in 1967, he shares the Raiders' career interception record of 39 with Lester Hayes.
Q 20The Raiders' first NFL title, a 32-14 win over Minnesota in January 1977, was played where?
Rose Bowl
The Rose Bowl in Pasadena hosted Super Bowl XI on January 9, 1977, eight days after the college Rose Bowl game on the same field; the Vikings became the first team to lose four Super Bowls.
The New England Patriots, then named the Boston Patriots on draft day, took Jim Plunkett, the 1970 Heisman winner from Stanford, first overall in 1971; he later won two Super Bowls as the Raiders' starter.
Q 24By winning Super Bowl XV, the Raiders became the first champion to have entered the playoffs how?
As a wild card
As a wild card entrant in 1980, Oakland beat Houston at home, then won at Cleveland and San Diego before beating Philadelphia 27–10 in Super Bowl XV, the first wild-card team to win the title.
Q 25Which Raiders linebacker set a record with three Super Bowl XV interceptions of Ron Jaworski?
Rod Martin
Rod Martin intercepted Ron Jaworski three times in Super Bowl XV, a record; the pregame storyline was whether Pete Rozelle would hand the trophy to Al Davis, who was suing the league over the move to Los Angeles.
Q 26Which halfback turned a Jim Plunkett pass into an 80-yard touchdown in Super Bowl XV?
Kenny King
Kenny King took a short Jim Plunkett pass 80 yards for a touchdown in Super Bowl XV, then a Super Bowl record, in a game played five days after the Iran hostages were freed.
Q 27The Raiders played their home games in Los Angeles from the 1982 season through which final season?
1994
The 1994 season was the Raiders' last in Los Angeles; Al Davis signed a letter of intent to return to Oakland on June 23, 1995, after failing to get a new Southern California stadium.
Q 28How many rushing yards did Marcus Allen gain in his record Super Bowl XVIII performance?
191
Marcus Allen's 191 rushing yards in Super Bowl XVIII set a record, including a 74-yard reverse-field run, and he became the third Heisman winner named Super Bowl MVP.
Q 29Which Ridley Scott-directed commercial aired during the Raiders' Super Bowl XVIII win?
Apple's "1984" Macintosh ad
Apple's "1984" Macintosh ad, directed by Ridley Scott, aired in the third quarter of Super Bowl XVIII on January 22, 1984, as the Raiders routed Washington 38–9.
Q 30After his public feud with Al Davis, Marcus Allen finished his career with five seasons for which team?
Kansas City Chiefs
Marcus Allen joined the Kansas City Chiefs in 1993 and played five seasons there, winning NFL Comeback Player of the Year that first season before retiring after 1997.