The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in the city of Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). The Raiders began play in 1960 as the eighth charter member of the American Football League (AFL), where they won one championship and three division titles. The team joined the NFL in 1970 as part of the AFL-NFL Merger. Since joining the NFL, the Raiders have won twelve division titles and three Super Bowls (XI, XV, XVIII), and have appeared in two other Super Bowls. Thirteen former players have been enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

During their first three seasons, the Raiders struggled both on and off the field. In 1963, Al Davis was brought to the team as head coach and general manager. Davis immediately turned the Raiders into winners, and from 1963 until 2002 the team had only seven losing seasons. He also initiated the use of team slogans such as "Pride and Poise," "Commitment to Excellence," and "Just Win, Baby"—all of which are registered. Except for a brief term as AFL Commissioner in 1966, Davis has been with the team continuously. Upon his return to Oakland in 1966, he became a managing partner of the franchise.

After a few years of legal battles, Davis moved the team from Oakland to Los Angeles, California in 1982. While in Los Angeles, the Raiders won their third Super Bowl, but made just two playoff appearances through the rest of the 1980s. In 1995, Davis moved the team back to Oakland. In 2000, head coach Jon Gruden led Oakland to a 12–4 season and their first division title since 1990 which was the first of a 3 year winning steak for the Raiders in the AFC West Division the following two seasons, the first two would belong to Gruden. In 2000, head coach Jon Gruden led the Raiders to the AFC Championship Game where they fell in Oakland to the Baltimore Ravens 16–3. In 2001, they won their second AFC West Division Title and went 10-6 but fell in the Divisional Round to the New England Patriots in the famous but controversial "Tuck Rule" game in the snow. In 2002, Under head coach Bill Callahan, Oakland faced Gruden's Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Super Bowl XXXVII, where the team lost a lopsided affair, 48–21. Following the loss, the Raiders won a league-worst 19 games during the five full seasons from 2003-2007 (seven fewer wins than the 26 posted by the next worst team, the Detroit Lions). In January 2007, the team named 31-year-old Lane Kiffin as its fourth head coach since Gruden's departure in 2002. Kiffin was fired September 30, 2008, after the team started the 2008 season with a 1-4 record.

SOURCE: WIKIPEDIA OAKLAND RAIDERS