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
OwnerF. Wayne Valley
Head coachAl Davis
General managerAl Davis
Home fieldFrank Youell Field
Results
Record8–5–1
Division place2nd AFL Western
Playoff finishDid 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]
RoundOverallPlayerPositionCollege
20Fred BiletnikoffWRFlorida State

Season
Main article: 1965 American Football League season

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

Note: Intra-division opponents are in bold text.

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

Week 1
1 234Total
Chiefs 7 030 10
• Raiders 0 101017 37

[5]

Standings
AFL Western Division
W L T PCT DIV PF PA STK
San Diego Chargers 923.8184–1–1340227W3
Oakland Raiders 851.6153–3298239L1
Kansas City Chiefs 752.5834–1–1322285W1
Denver Broncos 4100.2860–6303392L4

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
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