PRAIRIE VIEW – Time for a history lesson: When people bring up the NFL's Las Vegas – formerly Oakland and Los Angeles – Raiders, what's the first thing that comes to your mind?
Perhaps it's the enduring motto of "Just Win, Baby."
Maybe it's the Silver and Black. Maybe it's the Raider Nation and the Black Hole, a crowd section as rambunctious as the team they supported.
How many of you think of Clemon "Clem" Daniels?
For those uninitiated, former Panther standout Clem Daniels was one of the first giants of the Raiders franchise. Though it was a challenge just to see the field on The Hill – Daniels noted in one of his last interviews prior to his passing that at one time 180 players came out for the team during his freshman season – Daniels made the most of it, contributing to the Panthers' 1958 NAIA National Championship Team.
Daniels arrived to the Raiders in 1961 following a tumultuous season with the Dallas Texans (now known as the Kansas City Chiefs). The rest, as they say, is history.
Using his 6'1, 220-pound frame to punish opponents during the 1960s on his way to stardom in the American Football League, the McKinney, Texas native rushed for 5,138 yards – a figure that ranks third in franchise history to this day – and 30 touchdowns.
Daniels was also a threat out of the backfield with 203 receptions for 3,314 and 24 more scores. Daniels ultimately became the AFL's all-time leading rusher by a considerable margin and was named to the AFL's All-Time Team. Additionally, he was a four-time All-AFL honoree, a four-time AFL All-Star, and The Sporting News' 1963 AFL Most Valuable Player.
In his prime, Daniels was considered by most pundits as the standard at the running back position in the AFL. As Hall of Fame scout and executive Ron Wolf put it to Raiders.com: "Until he got hurt, [he] was without question the best complete back in the American Football League … there wasn't anybody like Clemon Daniels."
As good as Daniels was on the field, however … he was that much better off of it. Characterized by a quiet strength and enduring self-assurance off the field, Daniels left behind a legacy as one of the most respected men of his circles.
A service-minded individual – prior to his AFL career he served as a lieutenant in the United States Army – Daniels left an indelible mark as an activist, businessman and teacher, educating high school students during his playing days. Always fighting against social inequality, he made waves as one of the leading faces of the 1965 AFL All-Star Game Boycott, initially set to play in New Orleans, a city starved for a professional team of its own.
Amid unacceptable treatment during the heights of racial tension in the South, Daniels and 20 other black players agreed that so long as the game were to take place in the Big Easy – in a climate that was anything but, despite prior reassurances to the contrary – they would not play.
"There were things that we were confronted with in New Orleans I had never been confronted with before, like having to take a black cab versus a white cab," Daniels told Time Magazine regarding the incident. "The main reason I agreed to leave New Orleans that night is there are certain standards you must adhere before getting a franchise. One of the things you must adhere to [is that] when a team comes in to play, they should be allowed to go where they want to go, eat at restaurants they want to eat at. There should be some progress that [the city is] making. That kind of degradation is too embarrassing."
Statement made. Their fellow AFL All-Stars stood with them. But when you represent a team who lives by the credos "Commitment to Excellence" and "Pride and Poise" … perhaps it's not that surprising that Daniels exemplified these slogans in one of the most impactful sports moments of its day and helped provide a precedent for future activists and protests against inequality.
That's just one instance of the kind of man Clem Daniels was.
You can choose to remember Daniels – star running back, as a teacher, social advocate, gentleman, entrepreneur – perhaps you should remember him for all of those things.
Remember him as the first great running back for one of the NFL's most storied franchises.
Remember him as one of the most accomplished individuals to ever don the Purple and Gold.
Remember him for being a champion for equality, and a true champion at life … partly forged Where Champions Are Built.
HBCUsports.com, Raiders.com, profootballhof.com and NBCsports.com helped contribute to this piece.
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