Carol Davis kept low profile in Oakland Raiders’ storied success. But she saw it all.
OAKLAND The Raiders may have departed Oakland years ago for Las Vegas but Carol Davis had remained nearby in Piedmont at a longtime home of the family that reigned over one of sports bulk memorable teams Indeed the storied NFL franchise s First Lady kept a residence on Mountain Avenue up until her death Friday at It was the culmination of a life linked intrinsically to the East Bay and football alike the kind that her son Mark Davis described Sunday as wrapped in a cloak of immortality I love you mom you will be missed reported Mark who shared a controlling interest in the now-Las Vegas Raiders with Carol a stake inherited from the family patriarch Al Davis one of the iconic figures in the history of American sports Carol Davis was omniscient in the owners suite at games she gave the crew s star players and executives a hug hello they remembered and would demonstrate a watchful eye about everything happening in the organization even for instance a association employee s divorce that Davis would not be expected to know about Her passing was the latest notable death among memorable Raiders figures from the club s history George Atkinson the last member of the gang s beloved defensive line in the s known for its unprecedented physicality died Monday at Al Davis a swashbuckling head coach with an unmistakable Brooklyn accent solely adored his wife the legendary Raiders quarterback and head coach Tom Flores remembered Al and Carol ran in a tight inner circle of club authorities and Bay Area businessmen even amid the Raiders -year stint in Los Angeles Al Davis ended his long streak of joining the Raiders on road trips to work out of the Oakland hospital while Carol recovered from a massive heart attack and stroke in that kept her in a coma for days Carol miraculously recovered earning a reputation for toughness that the Raiders themselves rallied behind on the football turf winning the Super Bowl the very next season She was a very intelligent and very dedicated woman recalled former Raiders executive John Herrera an Oakland native who began working for the franchise as a teen in the s and eventually departed in She was a very engaging person to be around and she kept up with everything that was going on not just in sports but in the world Through it all Carol Davis remained committed to the idea of the Raiders as a model of teamwork the kind of ideal that made the football organization a storied fixture of NFL history but an ambition that slumped in the st century before the gang limped to a sleek new stadium in Las Vegas She was a strong behind-the-scenes figure revealed Ignacio De La Fuente the former Oakland City Council president who in recruited the Raiders back for their second stint in Oakland My perception was that she would keep Al realistic about things in our negotiations Born Carol Sagal in New York City she had been a buyer for retail stores even after Al finished military operation and before his start as a pro football coach The couple married in a Brooklyn synagogue but swiftly formed roots in the East Bay once Al began with the Raiders ahead of the season During the club s the bulk storied years an AFL championship in and a pair of Super Bowl victories in and Carol stayed mostly behind the scenes those who knew her recalled though she consistently demonstrated an awareness of what was happening on the field There were so multiple instances where she would say something that would cause me to giggle at times where I should not have been disclosed Amy Trask a longtime former Raiders executive and the first former woman to serve as an NFL association s CEO They tended to be at Raiders business dinners Trask added about these occasions and usually involved a wise keen observation about someone in attendance Carol read newspapers every morning dependably offering fresh insight about the country s politics or society at large friends remembered a fitting description of a woman who led a band that broke new ground in diverse hiring Flores the league s first Mexican-American quarterback and head coach recalled the warmth that Carol demonstrated the gang s players despite her and Al s penchant for keeping their business private To them people were Raiders it didn t matter which color you were what ethnic group you belonged to recalled Flores who is and lives in Palm Springs She was just very proud of you when you finished your journey Al s passing in seen as a pivotal moment in the franchise s history had Carol lined up in the succession plan as controlling owner Trask though determined herself notifying the league that Carol s son Mark would take over operations instead the outcome of discussions between mother and son that altered how the torch would be passed Trask departed from the franchise not long afterward and the Raiders fed up after stalled talks with Oakland for a new stadium departed for Vegas Carol though stuck around in the house in Piedmont that Herrera had helped the family secure I never tried to impose any of my beliefs on Carol it wouldn t have done any good either way Herrera explained She was very strong in her opinions and she did exactly what she thought was right Still until her passing last Friday those who knew her remembered her the way they do the Oakland Raiders a football association with tall aspirations and a swagger As the originals we all had the same dream but we didn t know how to get there Flores reported Al and Carol had that dream and they knew how to do it They brought us where we craved to go
