The beginning. Eight men, and maybe some anonymous silent partners, kick off one of the most storied franchises in professional football. Of the eight, five of them would be gone within a year, two of them before the first season got underway, and one in less than a month, never to be heard from in a football context again. Of the three that survived the January 1961 blood-letting, Robert Osborne would last just two seasons, dropping out mostly because of poor health. Wayne Valley, the only one of the eight who had played football at a high level, with Oregon State in the 1930s, would last until 1976, when he quit in frustration at being shoved aside by the monster he helped create, Al Davis. Only Ed McGah would go the distance, staying with the team and happy to watch as Davis led the team to two Super Bowl championships before his death in 1983, just months before the team would win their third, and as of this writing in 2026, their last.

The American Football League awarded a franchise to eight men representing the city of Oakland. It was the culmination of a nearly month-long process necessitated by the decision of the holders of the Minneapolis/St Paul franchise to abandon the league. Leading the effort from within was Los Angeles franchise owner Barron Hilton, who lobbied hard to get another team in California and beat back an effort from Atlanta that came within one vote of succeeding. Representing Oakland at the league meeting in Dallas were contractors Chet Soda and Wayne Valley, and manufacturer and Oakland city councilman Robert Osborne. The other five shareholders of the new franchise were contractors Art Beckett, Charles Harney, and Ed McGah, restaurateur Harvey Binns, and stockbroker and Olympic gold medal winner in rowing, Don Blessing.

As part of the deal, the team was awarded signing rights to the players selected by the Minneapolis/St Paul franchise, though things weren't that simple. Some of the players had been signed in the interim, by other AFL teams, and Dallas claimed they had traded for Abner Haynes back in December. And, of course, the league was brand new and no one knew how seriously to take any of all this. It's anyone's guess how the Minneapolis team made their draft decisions, though there were a handful of decent players among them. Maxie Baughan, Carroll Dale, and Dale Hackbart would all go on to have respectable NFL careers, especially Baughan and Dale. Haynes and Don Norton would have pretty good careers in the AFL, while a few more would at least find their way to the field for a few regular season games. But there was one player who rose higher anyone could have guessed, center Jim Otto, Mr Raider himself, an inner circle Hall of Famer who spent his entire 15-year playing career in a Raider uniform and afterward was the personification of the franchise until his death in 2024. He was there from day one.

Signing rights assigned by AFL

CJ Alexander HB Southeastern Louisiana (signed by Edmonton, Jan 6)
Jim Andreotti C Northwestern
Pervis Atkins HB New Mexico State
Al Bansavage OL USC
Maxie Baughan C Georgia Tech (signed by the Eagles, Jan 15)
Walter Beach HB Central Michigan
George Blanch HB Texas (signed by the Oilers sometime in January)
Clord Boyette OL Texas Southern (signed by the Oilers sometime in January)
Willie Boykin T Michigan State (signed by the Oilers sometime in January)
George Boynton HB East Texas State
Johnny Brewer E Mississippi
Carmen Cavalli DE Richmond (signed by the Bills sometime in January)
Jim Chastain OL Michigan State (signed by Dallas (AFL), Jan 7, maybe)
Fran Curci QB Miami FL (signed by Dallas (AFL), Jan 21)
Carroll Dale E Virginia Tech
Purcell Daniels FB Pepperdine (signed by the Oilers sometime in January)
Don Deskins T Michigan
Leon Dombrowski OL Delaware
Dan Edgington E Florida (signed by Boston sometime in January)
Howard Evans C Houston
Ken Fitch T Kansas
Dale Hackbart QB Wisconsin
Fred Hageman C Kansas
Abner Haynes HB North Texas State (signed by Dallas, Dec 31, 1959, after his rights were traded to them by Minneapolis/St Paul)
Bill Herron E Georgia (signed by the Redskins, Jan 6)
Vin Hogan HB Boston College
Bob Hogue OL Shepherd
Bob Jarus HB Purdue
Earl Kohlhaas G Penn State
Bobby Lackey QB Texas (signed by the Steelers, Jan 11)
Gerald Lambert OL Texas A&I
Neil MacLean FB Wake Forest
Sam McCord QB East Texas State (signed by Minneapolis/St Paul before team's demise, then signed by Oilers sometime in January)
Rich Mostardi HB Kent State
Larry Muff E St Benedict's
Don Norton E Iowa (signed by the Chargers, Jan 12)
Jim O'Brien T Boston College (signed by the Lions, Jan 12)
Jim Otto C Miami FL (signed by the Oilers sometime in January)
Bob Parker OL East Texas State (signed by the Oilers sometime in January)
Charles Pollard E Rice
Tony Polychronis OL Utah
Billy Roland G Georgia (signed by the Redskins, Jan 6)
Dan Sheehan OL Tennessee-Chattanooga
Ray Smith FB UCLA (signed by Saskatchewan, Jan 28)
Wade Smith HB North Carolina
Jerry Stalcup G Wisconsin (signed by the Rams, Jan 2)
Howard Turley E Louisville
John Wilcox T Oregon (signed by the Eagles, Jan 21)
Jim Williams OL North Carolina College
Al Witcher E Baylor
Jim Woodard OL Lamar (signed by the Oilers sometime in January)
Silas Woods HB Marquette
Mike Wright T Minnesota

As college football was still using the single-platoon system, determining how players would fit positionally into the pro model was challenging. Take the following as a rough reckoning.

One of the biggest questions facing the team. The consensus was that the team would have to play in San Francisco for a while, at either Kezar Stadium or Candlestick Park. The longshot option was Memorial Stadium on the University of California campus in Berkeley, but that school had long voiced opposition to pros using their facility. Oakland officials were working to get a multi-purpose stadium built in their city as soon as possible.