Quarterback Derek Carr
This week's Thursday Night Football game features two original American Football League rivals, with the Raiders hosting the Kansas City Chiefs in the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. As Thursday Night Football features the National Football League's "Color Rush" initiative, the Raiders will participate by wearing throwback uniforms that celebrate the club's 1970 team.
The throwbacks are one of only two notable variations of the iconic Raiders uniform since Al Davis revitalized the brand as the team's new Head Coach and General Manager in 1963. After changing the team colors from black and gold to the now legendary Silver and Black, Davis refined the pirate and shield logo that has appeared on the team's helmet, unchanged, since 1964.
While the black home uniform has remained consistent, in 1970, the team wore a one-year style consisting of a white jersey with silver numbers edged in black to accompany the classic silver helmet and silver pants that are still worn today. In addition to the silver numerals, the jerseys' nameplates were sewn in a serif font that the team only briefly used. The unique 1970 look mirrored the first light colored numeral away jerseys donned by Davis' Raiders in 1963, when the team achieved the then-greatest turn around in league history, improving from 1-13 to 10-4 in one season.
Although only worn briefly, and eventually changed to accommodate visibility for television broadcasts, the jerseys commemorate a significant time in the team's history. 2016 Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Ken Stabler was a rookie on the 1970 team. George Blanda sparked comebacks in five consecutive weeks, as part of a campaign that won him the Bert Bell Award and recognition as the Associated Press Athlete of the Year on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The Raiders won the AFC West and beat the Dolphins 21-14 in an AFC Divisional Playoff game, where Pro Bowl quarterback Daryle Lamonica threw touchdown passes to Hall of Famer Fred Biletnikoff and Rod Sherman. Hall of Fame cornerback Willie Brown also returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown. The team wore the silver numeraled jerseys in the very first AFC Championship Game, a 27-17 loss to the eventual Super Bowl V champion Baltimore Colts, at Memorial Stadium in Baltimore.
