Badasses

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

By: Peter Richmond

Narrated by: Barry Abrams

A book that explores the enduring legends of Snake, Foo, Dr. Death, and John Madden's Oakland Raiders, Badasses is the definitive biography of arguably the last team to play old-fashioned tough-guy football. Peter Richmond, co-author of the New York Times best seller The Glory Game, offers a fascinating look at the 1970s Oakland Raiders, led by colorful greats from another era: Ken Stabler, Willie Brown, Gene Upshaw, Jim Otto, Art Shell, head coach John Madden, and owner Al Davis. In the best-selling vein of Boys Will Be Boys, Badasses chronicles the bar-room exploits, practice-field pranks, and Super Bowl glories of the team's many misfits, cast-offs, psychos, and geniuses of the game.

©2010 Peter Richmond (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A celebration of the freewheeling NFL that created the multibillion dollar industry it is today." ( Booklist starred review)

My crew

I love my Raiders and always will I bleed black and silver they are a special group it has an honor and privilege to see them play wish them all the best thank you all for being the Oakland Raiders!!!!!

Silver and Black

Good story but I did get tired of him, saying black and silver when it is silver and black. I lived in the Oakland area from 1960 to 1985. It was sad to see the Raiders go to Los Angeles and it was sad to see them go to Las Vegas. They’ll always be the Oakland Raiders for me when they went to Los Angeles and now in Las Vegas. Acabei de lhes chamar os Raiders, o orgulho dos Raiders de Oakland e o Poise A Commitment to Excellence

Mostly good but the conclusions by author are a mixed bag

What made John Madden’s Raider teams so special were their authenticity and the courage they had to be themselves and win on their own terms regardless of what others thought of them or how much/little those terms aligned with traditional values. The result was the creation of the most unique brand in all of professional sports: a franchise with a rebellious, unconventional and intense attitude unlike any other. The author does a good job of explaining this at times and at other times contradicts himself by criticizing the modern game as “selfish” when in fact it was the Raiders who celebrated the uniqueness and individuality of their players rather than trying to change and confirm them to a sterile homogeneous standard. Still it’s a good book and narrated well and I definitely recommend it.

amazing stories

This book is an absolute must read for any Raider fan and any football fan will love this book as well

The Autumn Wind is a Raider

The Autumn Wind is a pirate
Blustering in from sea,
With a rollicking song, he sweeps along,
Swaggering boisterously.

His face is weather beaten.
He wears a hooded sash,
With a silver hat about his head,
And a bristling black mustache.

He growls as he storms the country,
A villain big and bold.
And the trees all shake and quiver and quake,
As he robs them of their gold.

The Autumn Wind is a Raider,
Pillaging just for fun.
He'll knock you 'round and upside down,
And laugh when he's conquered and won.

John Facenda's perfect voice echoed in my ears throughout my time listening to this excellent book about the 1970s "Badass" Oakland Raiders coached by John Madden. The narrative is compelling, as it takes the listener from the rise to contention of the Raiders, to their near misses in 3 consecutive AFC championship games, to their ultimate Super Bowl victory in the 1976 season.

The book is chocked full of player profiles...Stabler, Banaszak, Villapiano, Tatum, Hendricks, Willie Brown, Atkinson, Casper, Biletnikoff...and of course the two men most responsible for the commitment to excellence: managing partner Al Davis, and head coach John Madden.

Highlights include details of the rivalry with the Steelers, the players' coach mentality of practice, the fun loving camaraderie of the team, and of course the mind games the Raiders would play with opponents.

The narrative flows easily, with outstanding narration complete with differing voices for the characters. All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable portrayal of one of the most unique teams in professional sports history.

Two minor quibbles: the author keeps saying "Black and Silver" in talking about the Raiders. They are known as the "Silver and Black". Whether this was just a stylistic choice, or an error, it doesn't really matter. This flub sticks out like a sore thumb every time the reader says it. And the second part I could have done without was the voluminous descriptions of the party habits of certain team members. I get it...this humanizes them. I can appreciate that, but too much time was spent on this. I was listening to hear about football. How the team came together, why it was so great, how it overcame disappointments, what made them unique, and why it didn't last. For the most part the book delivered.

The end of the book was sad....Madden resigning unexpectedly. Former heroes scapegoated and traded away. Injuries derailing seasons. Such is life, and nothing good lasts forever. Enjoy this trip down memory lane. As the author notes, we'll never see another team quite like the "Badass" Oakland Raiders!

Just badass

Badass book about a badass team. Always heard a few stories from the Raiders of the 70's, but this is an awesome collection.

Freaking Awesome!

Absolutely love the hear the journey of THE RAIDERS! From Davis to Madden and everything in between, this book is what football lovers look for.

Great Book

The stories were great, these are stories from the Raiders of the 1970s. There are some wild stories to make you laugh.👍

True Raider history

Awesome. A great read for a Raider fan. Love it. You wont regret getting it

Madden's Raiders were like NO other!!!

Any additional comments?

Loved this book, grew up with Madden's Raiders as a kid. They were truly the pirates of the NFL..As kids we loved pirates!!!

This book did a great job of developing the character stories,"honestly" and for better or worse. It was a great ride, and you'll wonder how they ever survived...LOL

Enjoy!