Raiders Trivia
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6correct to beat the crowd
This Raiders trivia quiz has 80 free questions with answers and covers the whole franchise story: the 1960 AFL start in Oakland (and the nine days as the Señors), Al Davis taking over at 33 and painting the team silver and black, the Madden and Stabler years, the Immaculate Reception, Sea of Hands and Holy Roller, three Super Bowl wins under John Madden and Tom Flores, the Los Angeles era with Marcus Allen, Bo Jackson and Howie Long, the return to Oakland, the Tuck Rule Game and Gruden Bowl, and the move to Las Vegas, Allegiant Stadium and everything since. Roughly a third of the questions are for casual fans who know the big moments, a third for people who lived through the Raider Nation years, and the rest for the record-book crowd: Super Bowl MVPs, the referee in the snow at Foxboro, who wore 00, and which Western actor sat for the logo. Every answer was checked against Wikipedia and primary sources rather than other trivia lists, so the scores, years and names should survive a bar argument.
30 of 80 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01What name did the Oakland franchise use for nine days in 1960, after a Tribune contest, before switching to Raiders?
Señors
Señors won the Oakland Tribune's name-the-team contest but drew so much ridicule that the club dropped it after nine days in favor of Raiders.
Q 02Oakland got its AFL team after owners in which city defected to the NFL?
Minneapolis
Minneapolis owners took an NFL offer instead and founded the team that became the Vikings, so the AFL handed its eighth and last charter franchise to Oakland in January 1960.
Q 03Which Raiders defensive end went on to play Sloth in the 1985 film The Goonies?
John Matuszak
John Matuszak, the first overall pick of the 1973 draft, won two Super Bowls as a Raiders pass rusher and was already acting in films such as North Dallas Forty before he played Sloth.
Q 04Which record-setting receiver joined the Raiders in 2001 after 16 seasons with the San Francisco 49ers?
Jerry Rice
Jerry Rice was released by the 49ers at 38 and simply crossed the Bay, where he helped Oakland reach Super Bowl XXXVII and became the NFL's all-time leader in yards from scrimmage.
Q 05Before Oakland hired him, Al Davis was an assistant under Sid Gillman with which AFL team?
San Diego Chargers
The San Diego Chargers, who began in Los Angeles in 1960, employed Al Davis for three seasons; he then took over a Raiders team that had gone 9–33, went 10–4 and was voted AFL Coach of the Year.
Q 06In 1966 Al Davis briefly left the Raiders to take which job?
AFL commissioner
AFL commissioner was Al Davis's title from April 1966, but two months later the two leagues agreed to merge; he resigned that July and returned to Oakland as a part-owner.
Q 07In the 1968 "Heidi Game", NBC cut away from the Raiders' final-minute comeback against which opponent?
New York Jets
The New York Jets led 32–29 when NBC switched to the film; Oakland scored twice in nine seconds to win 43–32, and the uproar led the NFL to write into its TV contracts that games be shown to the end.
Q 08Which watchmaker sponsored the 1968 TV film Heidi that cut off a famous Raiders comeback?
Timex
Timex bought the whole two-hour slot, and its contract required Heidi to start on time at 7 p.m. Eastern, so a watch company ended up cutting off a football game because of the clock.
Q 09The Raiders' first Super Bowl appearance ended in a 33–14 loss at the Orange Bowl to which team?
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers won 33–14 in Super Bowl II with Bart Starr again the MVP; it proved to be Vince Lombardi's last game in charge, as he stepped down as their coach soon afterwards.
Q 10Which position group did Al Davis hire John Madden to coach in 1967 before making him head coach?
Linebackers
Linebackers were John Madden's first Raiders job in 1967; two years later John Rauch left for Buffalo and Al Davis promoted Madden, who at 32 was the youngest head coach in the AFL.
Q 11Among NFL head coaches with at least 100 games, John Madden holds which distinction?
Highest winning percentage
Highest winning percentage: John Madden went 103–32–7 in ten regular seasons and never had a losing year, yet he quit coaching at 42 and never returned to the sideline.
Q 12On the 1972 Immaculate Reception, Bradshaw's pass may have deflected off which Raiders safety?
Jack Tatum
Jack Tatum collided with John Fuqua as the ball arrived; under the rules of the day, if it had touched only Fuqua the pass would have been incomplete and Oakland would have won 7–6.
Q 13Which Raiders running back caught the winning "Sea of Hands" touchdown against Miami in the 1974 playoffs?
Q 21Ray Guy, the Raiders' 1973 first-rounder, was the first player at what position taken that early?
Punter
Punter Ray Guy went 23rd overall in 1973 and repaid the gamble: in 14 seasons he had only three punts blocked and won three Super Bowls with the Raiders.
Q 22Which former Raiders quarterback replaced John Madden as the team's head coach in 1979?
Tom Flores
Tom Flores was promoted from Madden's own staff and won Super Bowl XV for Oakland and Super Bowl XVIII after the team moved to Los Angeles.
Q 23Which team took Jim Plunkett first overall in the 1971 draft?
New England Patriots
The New England Patriots, still the Boston Patriots on draft day, took Stanford's Jim Plunkett first; after injuries he was traded and then released, yet he came off the Raiders' bench to win two Super Bowls.
Clarence Davis
Clarence Davis out-wrestled the Dolphins around him for Ken Stabler's desperate pass, and the 28–26 win knocked out the two-time defending Super Bowl champions.
Q 14Ken Stabler earned his nickname "Snake" from his high school coach after what?
A long, winding touchdown run
A long, winding touchdown run for Foley High prompted his coach to call Ken Stabler "Snake"; he ran around defenses so well that the school lost only once in his three years there.
Q 15Ken Stabler played college football at which university before the Raiders drafted him?
Alabama
Alabama was Ken Stabler's school: in 1966 he led the Crimson Tide to an 11–0 season and a Sugar Bowl win over Nebraska, yet the unbeaten team finished only third in the final polls.
Q 16Which tight end fell on the ball in the end zone to complete the 1978 "Holy Roller" against San Diego?
Dave Casper
Dave Casper batted and kicked the loose ball into the end zone before falling on it for the 21–20 win; the NFL then ruled that only the fumbling player may advance a fumble in the final two minutes.
Q 17What do Chargers fans call the Raiders' 1978 "Holy Roller" play?
The Immaculate Deception
The Immaculate Deception echoes the Immaculate Reception, the 1972 play that went against the Raiders; this time the bounces went Oakland's way and San Diego lost 21–20.
Q 18Who was named MVP of Super Bowl XI despite gaining only 79 yards on four catches?
Fred Biletnikoff
Fred Biletnikoff was Super Bowl XI MVP with four catches for 79 yards, three of them setting up Oakland touchdowns in the 32–14 win over Minnesota.
Q 19Which Raiders cornerback returned an interception 75 yards for a touchdown in Super Bowl XI?
Willie Brown
Willie Brown went undrafted and was cut by Houston before starring for Denver and Oakland; at 36 he stepped in front of a Fran Tarkenton pass and ran 75 yards to clinch Super Bowl XI.
Q 20The Raiders' first NFL title, a 32-14 win over Minnesota in January 1977, was played where?
Rose Bowl
The Rose Bowl in Pasadena staged Super Bowl XI, where the Raiders finally won the big one after losing six AFL and AFC title games in the previous eight seasons.
Q 24By winning Super Bowl XV, the Raiders became the first champion to have entered the playoffs how?
As a wild card
As a wild card entrant in 1980, Oakland beat Houston at home, then won at Cleveland and San Diego before beating Philadelphia 27–10 in Super Bowl XV, the first wild-card team to win the title.
Q 25Which Raiders linebacker set a record with three Super Bowl XV interceptions of Ron Jaworski?
Rod Martin
Rod Martin intercepted Ron Jaworski three times in Super Bowl XV, a record; the pregame storyline was whether Pete Rozelle would hand the trophy to Al Davis, who was suing the league over the move to Los Angeles.
Q 26Which halfback turned a Jim Plunkett pass into an 80-yard touchdown in Super Bowl XV?
Kenny King
Kenny King broke upfield when Jim Plunkett scrambled, took the pass near his own 40 and ran in for an 80-yard score, at the time the longest touchdown catch in a Super Bowl.
Q 27From 1982 to 1994 the Los Angeles Raiders shared their home stadium with which college team?
USC
USC stayed on as co-tenant when the Raiders arrived in 1982, while UCLA moved out to a new home; Al Davis took his team back to Oakland in 1995.
Q 28Marcus Allen ran for 191 yards as the Raiders routed which defending champions in Super Bowl XVIII?
Washington
Washington had just scored a league-best 541 points, yet lost 38–9; Marcus Allen's 74-yard touchdown run, then the longest in a Super Bowl, sealed the Raiders' third title.
Q 29Which Ridley Scott-directed commercial aired during the Raiders' Super Bowl XVIII win?
Apple's "1984" Macintosh ad
Apple's "1984" Macintosh ad nearly never aired: the company's board disliked it and the agency was told to sell off the Super Bowl airtime, but it held on to the one-minute slot in the third quarter.
Q 30After his public feud with Al Davis, Marcus Allen finished his career with five seasons for which team?
Kansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs signed Marcus Allen in 1993 after he had been reduced to a backup in his last Raiders seasons; he promptly led his new team in rushing four years in a row.