Badasses: The Legend of Snake, Foo, Dr. Death, and John Madden's Oakland Raiders

by Peter Richmond

Overview

A New York Times–bestselling author presents the definitive biography of arguably the last team to play old-fashioned tough-guy football.

The 1970s Oakland Raiders were the NFL's badasses, black-clad iconoclasts whose machismo, brotherhood, and blue-collar values mocked pro football corporatism. In this entertaining biography, Peter Richmond tells the rollicking story of this motley crew of castoffs, psychos, and geniuses who won six division titles and a Super Bowl under the leadership of neurotic, brilliant coach John Madden and eccentric, imperious owner Al Davis.

Richmond goes inside the locker room and onto the field with Ken Stabler, Willie Brown, Gene Upshaw, Jim Otto, Art Shell, and the rest of this band of brothers who made the Raiders legend. He vividly captures days of grueling practices and nights of hellraising—from hanging women's panties on the walls of fleabag motels and smoking pot during spring training to sharing game-day beers with hardcore fans, including the Bay Area's other badasses—the Black Panthers and the Hell's Angels. He reveals a group of crazy, devoted men who loved to push the envelope and each other but never lost sight of the prize: the Super Bowl, which they finally won in 1976.

Funny, raunchy, and inspiring, Badasses celebrates the '70s Raiders, the last team to play the game as it used to be played: for the fun of it.

"One of the best football books ever written." —San Jose Mercury News

"I always thought the Raiders were bad, but I never realized how bad—and how good—until I read Peter Richmond's smart, funny, rowdy tale." —Award-winning author Robert Lipsyte

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062010360
Publisher:	HarperCollins e-books
Publication date:	03/19/2024
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	396
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

Peter Richmond is the author of four other books, including The Glory Game (with Frank Gifford). His writing has appeared in The New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Rolling Stone, the New York Times Magazine, and GQ. He lives with his wife in Dutchess County, New York.

What People are Saying About This

Jeff Pearlman

“Once upon a time, there lived a band of larger-than-life misfits who lorded over the NFL. Dirtbags! Castoffs! Has-beens! Deviants! You name ‘em, John Madden’s Raiders had ‘em. And, thanks to Richmond’s tireless reporting and vibrant prose, so does Badasses.”

Leigh Montville

“No NFL team ever strutted any better on the dark side than the Oakland Raiders of the 1970s. In Badasses, Peter Richmond chronicles the treacheries, debauchery, and yes, the winning, with appropriate literary gusto. Lock the doors, close the windows, send the kids tobed before reading.”

Robert Lipsyte

“I always thought the Raiders were bad, but I never realized how bad — and how good - until I read Peter Richmond’s smart, funny, rowdy tale.”

Editorial Reviews

No NFL team ever strutted any better on the dark side than the Oakland Raiders of the 1970s. In Badasses, Peter Richmond chronicles the treacheries, debauchery, and yes, the winning, with appropriate literary gusto. Lock the doors, close the windows, send the kids to bed before reading.” — Leigh Montville, author of Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero

“I always thought the Raiders were bad, but I never realized how bad—and how good—until I read Peter Richmond’s smart, funny, rowdy tale.” — Robert Lipsyte, former New York Times columnist and author of Center Field

“Once upon a time, there lived a band of larger-than-life misfits who lorded over the NFL. Dirtbags! Castoffs! Has-beens! Deviants! You name ‘em, John Madden’s Raiders had ‘em. And, thanks to Richmond’s tireless reporting and vibrant prose, so does Badasses.” — Jeff Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author of Boys Will Be Boys

“Richmond’s book is a treasure trove of uproarious anecdotes skillfully woven into a seasonal chronicle spiced with sharp player profiles. . . . This rollicking read reminds us that football is a game that’s meant to be played hard—and to be fun.” — Library Journal

From the Publisher

Once upon a time, there lived a band of larger-than-life misfits who lorded over the NFL. Dirtbags! Castoffs! Has-beens! Deviants! You name ‘em, John Madden’s Raiders had ‘em. And, thanks to Richmond’s tireless reporting and vibrant prose, so does Badasses.

Jeff Pearlman

No NFL team ever strutted any better on the dark side than the Oakland Raiders of the 1970s. In Badasses, Peter Richmond chronicles the treacheries, debauchery, and yes, the winning, with appropriate literary gusto. Lock the doors, close the windows, send the kids to bed before reading.

Leigh Montville

I always thought the Raiders were bad, but I never realized how bad — and how good - until I read Peter Richmond’s smart, funny, rowdy tale.

Robert Lipsyte