Favorite all-time Raider: No wrong answers - San Francisco Sports Today

Super Bowl XI - Oakland Raiders vs Minnesota Vikings - January 9, 1977 — Snake and Freddie B.

So many great choices over the years

It’s no secret that I love Raiders’ history.

I’ve stated any times in the past that it’s my favorite aspect of covering this team and I take great pride and responsibility in help preserve, promote and keep alive the great, rich history of this franchise. I will never stop doing that.

So, it’s always a blast to dedicate our weekly Tuesday Community Questions to Raiders history. That was the case this week as we asked who is your favorite all-time Raider.

We had a lot of great responses and, indeed, there are no wrong answers to this question. For me, it’s Ken “Snake’ Stabler. He was my first sports hero and he will always have a special place in my heart.

Here are some of your responses:

Desair711

Will always be Cliff Branch.

Vila41

Lots of great players, but the answer never changes for me. I’ve been wearing the #41 jersey for decades now. It’s Phil Villapiano without question. I loved the way he played. He embodied everything it means to be a Raider. If it wasn’t for that knee injury in 77′, then he would have likely gone down as one of the all-time greats. He still was one of the best LBs of that era, in my opinion.

I finally got the chance to shake the man’s hand last September in Buffalo as he was walking up the stairs from the field before the game to go to a suite. Of course, I was wearing my #41 Villapiano jersey. When I spun around and showed Phil the name on the back of the jersey you should have seen the smile on his face.

Blackhaart

For me – being a fan since 1970 I state with 100% certainty Ken Stabler. He was the face of the Raiders during the glory days, he was great under pressure, won a ton of games including a Super Bowl, and his intangibles are perhaps the greatest in NFL history.

There are many other Raiders that could be mentioned but for me – Stabler is the man!

With this being a somewhat dead time of the year – these are the types of articles/polls that are excellent. I would like to see other similar polls – favorite Raider team, favorite regular season game, favorite playoff game, Favorite Raider by position, etc. Well done Bill.

AAAA54

Can’t decide between Derek Carr or DC4.

Actually, I’m just going to go with C. Wood.

FreddieBNo1

With all of the Raider players, it’s so hard to narrow my favorites down to one. But if I had to, it would probably be Fred Biletnikoff.

Of the more current players I think it’s Maxx Crosby, he’s just a menace and I love watching him play defense for the Raiders.

U_of_Mars

Dave Casper. I loved no play better in back yard football than Ghost to the Post!

MichaelMatto

Is Madden eligible? If so, it’s him no doubt. Otherwise Stabler.

Head to the comments section to share your thoughts and join the conversation. You can sign up for a commenting account below and we have full-time moderators to enforce the Community Guidelines.

Cheers and have a great weekend.