1965 Oakland Raiders season

The 1965 Oakland Raiders season was the team's sixth in both Oakland and the American Football League. The campaign saw the team attempt to improve upon the prior year's disappointing 5–7–2 record, and finished at 8–5–1.[1] While the effort was a definite improvement, it was not enough to win the division and secure a postseason berth. This was the third and last season for Al Davis as head coach, as he became the AFL commissioner in April 1966; he was succeeded by offensive backs coach John Rauch in 1966.[2]

1965 Oakland Raiders season
Head coach	Al Davis
General manager	Al Davis
Owner	F. Wayne Valley
Home field	Frank Youell Field
Results
Record	8–5–1
Division place	2nd AFL Western
Playoff finish	Did not qualify

This was the first of sixteen consecutive winning seasons for the Raiders. It is also notable for the debut of Hall of Fame wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff, the first of several legendary Raiders drafted in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was an integral part of the team's 1967 and 1976 Super Bowl runs.

It was also the Raiders' last year at Frank Youell Field;[3] they moved to the new Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum in 1966.

Offseason

1965 Raiders Draft Selections[4]

Round	Overall	Player	Position	College
2	0	Fred Biletnikoff	WR	Florida State

Season

Main article: 1965 American Football League season

Regular season

Week	Date	Opponent	Result	Record	Attendance
1	September 12	Kansas City Chiefs	W 37–10	1–0	18,569
2	September 19	San Diego Chargers	L 6–17	1–1	21,406
3	September 26	Houston Oilers	W 21–17	2–1	18,116
4	October 3	at Buffalo Bills	L 12–17	2–2	41,246
5	October 8	at Boston Patriots	W 24–10	3–2	24,824
6	October 16	at New York Jets	T 24–24	3–2–1	54,890
7	October 24	Boston Patriots	W 30–21	4–2–1	20,585
8	October 31	at Kansas City Chiefs	L 7–14	4–3–1	18,354
9	November 7	at Houston Oilers	W 33–21	5–3–1	35,729
10	November 14	Buffalo Bills	L 14–17	5–4–1	19,352
11	November 21	at Denver Broncos	W 28–20	6–4–1	30,369
12	November 28	Bye
13	December 5	Denver Broncos	W 24–13	7–4–1	19,023
14	December 12	New York Jets	W 24–14	8–4–1	19,013
15	December 19	at San Diego Chargers	L 14–24	8–5–1	26,056

• Friday night (October 8), Saturday night (October 16)

Game summaries

Week 1

1 2 3 4 Total Chiefs 7 0 3 0 10 • Raiders 0 10 10 17 37 Date: September 12 Location: Frank Youell Field, Oakland, California Game weather: 61 °F (16 °C), wind 8 mph (13 km/h)

Scoring summary 1 KC Curtis McClinton 20 yard pass from Len Dawson (Tommy Brooker kick) Chiefs 7–0 2 OAK Art Powell 14 yard pass from Dick Wood (Mike Mercer kick) Tie 7–7 2 OAK Gene Mingo 40 yard field goal Raiders 10–7 3 OAK Gene Mingo 28 yard field goal Raiders 13–7 3 KC Tommy Brooker 34 yard field goal Raiders 13–10 3 OAK Art Powell 5 yard pass from Dick Wood (Mike Mercer kick) Raiders 20–10 4 OAK Gene Mingo 28 yard field goal Raiders 23–10 4 OAK Dick Wood 3 yard run (Mike Mercer kick) Raiders 30–10 4 OAK Claude Gibson 58 yard punt return (Mike Mercer kick) Raiders 37–10

[5]

Standings

AFL Western Division
	W	L	T	PCT	DIV	PF	PA	STK
San Diego Chargers	9	2	3	.818	4–1–1	340	227	W3
Oakland Raiders	8	5	1	.615	3–3	298	239	L1
Kansas City Chiefs	7	5	2	.583	4–1–1	322	285	W1
Denver Broncos	4	10	0	.286	0–6	303	392	L4

Note: Tie games were not officially counted in the standings until 1972.

References

1. "Football standings". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). December 20, 1965. p. 3C.
2. "Appoint Davis as AFL czar". Milwaukee Sentinel. Associated Press. p. 1, part 2.
3. "Clinch second". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. December 13, 1965. p. 3B.
4. "1965 AFL Draft at databaseFootball.com". Archived from the original on February 6, 2007.
5. Pro-Football-Reference.com