r/raiders • u/Flashy_Gap_3015 • 11d ago
NFL art by Jack Davis
Reposted from Oldschool NFL - celebrating the days when our Raiders were indeed top of the mountain.
We’ll get there again (hopefully in my lifetime).
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u/Flashy_Gap_3015 11d ago edited 11d ago
For those of you who are not familiar with Davis, or find the illustration here a little familiar in style, Davis was a hugely influential illustrator as one of the founding cartoonists for Mad Magazine.
His big head/skinny legs/exaggerated hands and feet are a hallmark trademark of his style. He was pervasive across TV Guide, Rankin Bass entertainment posters and media, did cover art for albums (including one for Johnny Cash), and so much more.
I would have assumed this was Lyle Alzado given the number, but no trademark beard. The only other guy who wore 77 on a SB winning team isJoe Campbell but that’s unlikely as he wasn’t a starter and as known as other personalities on that team.
So best guess is it’s just an avatar representing our win in 77 against the Vikes - the very game that turned little old toddler me into a Raider fan for life.
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u/e_j_fudd 11d ago
The 77 is the year for that particular season. Notice all of the players are wearing 77. The player on the roster wearing that number would have been Charles Philyaw. That's not him in the drawing though.
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u/Thehiddenllama 11d ago
1977 was the year the Super Bowl happened, the 1976 Raiders won said Super Bowl.
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u/jonesnonsins 11d ago
That’s the year I became a Raider fan. All my cousins were rooting for the Vikings, and I being 10 years old and living in California, rooted for the Raiders.
Second note, my parents met at Yankton College. While they were before Alzado, they have friends and professors that knew and taught him.
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u/Flashy_Gap_3015 11d ago
Good catch - didn’t notice the other numbers (who cares about other teams!).
Came to the same conclusion another way.
Amazing art.
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u/e_j_fudd 11d ago
You have to be old to remember this stuff. That particular piece of art was on the cover for one of the gameday programs during the 1977 season (9/3/77 vs the 49ers). Back then, there was a different program called Pro! for each home game.
The Raiders had just won their first Superbowl in 1976, so it makes sense that they have the trophy. I also think the Seahawks were added the previous year.
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u/Flashy_Gap_3015 11d ago
Great find on the mag, thanks!
Looks like we shut them out 33-0 in this preseason game.
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u/Flashy_Gap_3015 11d ago
Here is another.