Raiders Defensive tackle Carleton Oats number 85 HEIDI AND THE IMMACULATE RECEPTION Some National Football League NFL games are so famous that they have nicknames The Ice Bowl The Monday Night Miracle The Greatest Game Ever Played The Sneakers Game Memorable plays have also received nicknames The Catch The Music City Miracle Elway’s Helicopter Ride According to some the Oakland Raiders rank number one in both categories On November 17 1968 Oakland hosted the New York Jets There were eight lead changes or ties The Jets finally seemed to have the game under control With just over a minute left they took a 32 29 lead But the Raiders came back with a quick touchdown Then the Jets fumbled 9
Raiders the kickoff Oakland running back Preston Ridlehuber scooped up the loose ball He barreled into the end zone Oakland won 43 32 Fans buzzed about the outcome But not because of the game itself The NBC television network was scheduled to start the movie Heidi at 7 p m When the Jets scored their last field goal NBC executives assumed the game was over They switched to Heidi everywhere except on the West Coast Fans were outraged that they had missed the exciting finish The network was bombarded by complaints Later NBC issued a public apology Probably the most significant factor to come out of Heidi was whatever you do you better not leave an NFL football game said Val Pinchbeck the NFL’s former chief of broadcasting In 1997 a media group voted the Heidi Game as the league’s most memorable regular-season matchup Many fans think the greatest play in NFL history happened during a playoff game between Oakland and the Pittsburgh Steelers It was December 23 1972 The Raiders led 7 6 Just 22 seconds remained Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw hurled the ball downfield Pittsburgh running back John Fuqua leaped for the catch So did Raiders safety Jack Tatum The ball was deflected It popped into the air Steelers running back Franco Harris was trailing the play He snagged the ball inches off the turf and lumbered into the end zone left Heidi and her grandfather 10
Raiders GRIDIRON GREATS 100 PERCENT DEDICATION Al Davis never played professional football Yet he took over as head coach of the Raiders in 1963 He became the living symbol of the team His wardrobe consisted mostly of black white and silver warm-up suits Later Davis often wore a Super Bowl ring on each hand He sported dark sunglasses and a slicked-back hairstyle His life is the Raiders explained former special teams coach Steve Ortmayer He has never taken a day off from the Raiders Never Through the years Davis served in six different positions These included player personnel assistant assistant coach head coach general manager league commissioner and principal owner Al Davis Head Coach Team Owner Raiders seasons 1963 65 as head coach 1966 2011 as owner 11
