Football trailblazer Art Shell is born
On November 26 1946 Art Shell is born in Charleston South Carolina.Shell was a gifted athlete He made the All-State teams in both football and basketball at Bonds-Wilson High School in North Charleston and went on to become a star football player and All-American at Maryland State-Eastern Shore.He was an offensive lineman for the Oakland and Los Angeles Raiders from 1968 until 1982.
He coached the Raiders from 1989 to 1994 and again briefly in 2006.Shell was a third-round draft pick in 1968.He played on Oaklands special teams for two seasons and then became the teams starting offensive left tackle.During the 1970s Shell was a key part of the Raiders notoriously intimidating offense.
While Shell was a player the Raiders played in 23 post-season games including eight AFLAFC championships and won the Super Bowl twice.Shell himself played in eight Pro Bowl games and was a first- or second-team All-Pro every year from 1973 to 1978.In 1982 the Raiders owner Al Davis made the enormously controversial decision to move the team to Los Angeles (Sure I expected the Oakland fans to get angry with me he said.
In their mind its their team.In my mind its not) where they stayed until 1995.Then they returned to Oakland.Shell retired from football after one season in L.A.
In 1989 he returned to the Raiders as a coach.He was the first black man in modern football history to become the head coach of an NFL team.In five seasons Shells Raiders went 56-41.
They went to the playoffs four times and to the AFC championship game once.But in the 1994 season the team could only manage a 9-7 record and Shell lost his job.After that he worked as an offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons helping to lead them to the Super Bowl in 1999.Then he worked in the NFLs front office.
Head-coaching positions opened up but despite Shells success in Oakland no one seemed especially interested in hiring hima fact that most people attributed to racism deliberate or not on the part of the league.Finally in 2006 Shell got another shot.Disappointed with his still-struggling team Davis offered his old coach a two-year contract to turn the Raiders around.In a press conference before the season began Shell said Everybody has a way of doing things.
The Raiders have a way of doing things.Were about winning.And we will win.
Sadly he was wrong The team went 2-14 the worst season in the NFL and Davis fired Shell again almost immediately after the season ended.
