1960 Oakland Raiders season The 1960 Oakland Raiders season was the inaugural one for the franchise and for the American Football League . Head coach Eddie Erdelatz led the team to a 6 – 8 finish , third out of four teams in the Western Division . Offseason . The Raiders were the last of the AFL ' s original eight teams to be accepted into the new league . As a result of the Minnesota franchise ' s defection to the NFL , Oakland was awarded the eighth AFL franchise on January 30 , 1960 . It was not until February 9 that the team named its first head coach , Eddie Erdelatz . Erdelatz , who had most recently coached the football team at Texas A & M University , had success as head coach of the United States Naval Academy during the 1950s . When the University of California refused to let the Raiders play home games at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley , they chose Kezar Stadium ( also home to the NFL ' s 49ers ) in San Francisco as their home field . 1960 AFL draft . The Raiders inherited the draft picks of the Minneapolis franchise . Among the most notable picks was center Jim Otto , who would be a fixture at the position for 15 years and was selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1980 . Tom Flores – 1 , 738 yds . , 12 TD , 12 INT , 71 . 8 rating Tony Teresa – 139 att . , 608 yds . , 6 TD Billy Lott – 49 rec . , 524 yds . , 1 TD Regular season . Over the course of a fourteen - game regular season schedule , the Raiders faced each of the other seven AFL teams twice . The AFL had no playoff rounds , only a championship game between the league ' s two division winners , so Oakland ' s third - place finish was not enough to qualify . Season schedule . Week 1 : vs . Houston Oilers . The Raiders ' first - ever regular season game was played on September 11 , 1960 , at home against the Houston Oilers . The Oilers took an early lead after a 43 - yard pass from George Blanda to Charlie Hennigan . The Raiders evened the score in the second quarter when Tom Flores connected with Tony Teresa for a 13 - yard pass . Oakland took the lead after Ed Macon intercepted a Blanda pass and ran 42 yards for a touchdown , but the Oilers scored 23 points to take a 30 – 15 lead . Flores found Jack Larschied for a 46 - yard scoring pass in the fourth quarter , but it was not nearly enough . Week 2 : vs . Dallas Texans . The Raiders lost their second consecutive game in a Friday night matchup against Hank Stram ' s Dallas Texans . The Texans jumped out to an early 10 – 0 lead after a field goal and a touchdown pass from Cotton Davidson to Max Boydston . Oakland responded with 26 - yard touchdown pass from Babe Parilli to Tony Teresa . The Texans ' Jack Spikes ran for a 15 - yard score in the second quarter , and Oakland responded with a field goal . After scoring a third - quarter field goal , Dallas pulled away with two touchdowns ( rushing and receiving ) from Johnny Robinson . Week 3 : at Houston Oilers . Oakland recorded its first - ever victory in a Week 3 rematch against the eventual league champion Oilers . J . D . Smith ran for a 3 - yard score to post the Raiders to an early 7 – 0 lead . The Oilers tied and then overtook the Raiders on the strength of a touchdown pass and two field goals by George Blanda . In the final period , Tom Flores found tight end Gene Prebola for a 14 - yard touchdown , which was enough for the win . Week 4 : at Denver Broncos . In the inaugural game of what would become one of football ' s most intense rivalries , Frank Filchock ' s Denver Broncos easily defeated the Raiders on the strength of a 21 - point outburst in the second quarter . Denver opened the scoring with a short first - quarter field goal , but Oakland took the lead after a 1 - yard touchdown run by J . D . Smith . In the second period , a pair of touchdown strikes from Frank Tripucka to Lionel Taylor gave Denver a 17 – 7 lead . Bill Yelverton intercepted an Oakland pass and returned it 20 yards for a touchdown , giving Denver a 24 – 7 lead at halftime . A 2 - yard touchdown run by Billy Lott capped the scoring for the Raiders . Week 5 : at Dallas Texans . The Raiders improved to 2 – 3 in front of 21 , 000 at the Cotton Bowl . After a scoreless first quarter , the Texans ' David Webster scored on an 80 - yard interception return . The Raiders responded with three consecutive touchdowns , including a 98 - yard kickoff return by J . D . Smith . Al Goldstein recorded receiving and rushing touchdowns in the third quarter . The Texans mounted a fourth - quarter comeback , but fell short when a two - point conversion attempt failed . Week 6 : vs . Boston Patriots . In their first game against the Boston Patriots , Oakland went into halftime with a 21 – 6 lead . The scoring was highlighted by an 87 - yard run by Jack Larschied . Tom Flores threw a pair of touchdown passes — a 36 - yard strike to Gene Prebola and a 9 - yard pass to Al Hoisington . Boston got a pair of touchdown runs in the first and third quarters . Week 7 : at Buffalo Bills . In Week 7 , the Raiders suffered their most lopsided loss of the season and fell to 3 – 4 . The Bills dominated thanks to four touchdown passes and a touchdown run by Johnny Green . Oakland managed just one offensive score , a 1 - yard touchdown run by J . D . Smith in the second quarter . Oakland recorded the first safety in team history in the fourth quarter when a Buffalo snap went out of the end zone . Week 8 : at New York Titans . Oakland evened their record at 4 – 4 in a Friday night contest against the New York Titans . The two teams combined for 35 points in the first half , including a pair of touchdown passes each from Tom Flores and the Titans ' Al Dorow . New York entered the fourth quarter with a 24 – 14 lead , but a pair of J . D . Smith rushing touchdowns gave Oakland the narrow win . Week 9 : at Boston Patriots . Boston avenged a Week 6 loss in a high - scoring Friday night game at Nickerson Field . Oakland ' s Tony Teresa ran for three touchdowns , including a pair in the fourth quarter . Quarterback Tom Flores ran for an 8 - yard touchdown in the third quarter . Week 10 : vs . Buffalo Bills . The Raiders rebounded from the previous week ' s defeat by holding the Bills to just one touchdown . The offensive highlight for Oakland was an 83 - yard touchdown run by Tony Teresa in the third quarter . Week 12 : at Los Angeles Chargers . After a Week 11 bye , the Raiders met Sid Gillman ' s Los Angeles Chargers for the first time on November 27 , 1960 . The eventual Western Division champion Chargers piled up 31 points by halftime , led by quarterback Jack Kemp . Kemp passed for two touchdowns in the first half , and ran for another . Oakland got short touchdown runs by J . D . Smith and Billy Lott . Tom Flores and Babe Parilli passed for touchdowns . Week 13 : vs . Los Angeles Chargers . The Chargers continued their offensive deluge against the Raiders in Week 13 , erupting for 27 points in the fourth quarter . Billy Lott ran for a touchdown in the second quarter ; Charlie Hardy caught an 11 - yard pass from Tom Flores in the same period . Week 14 : vs . New York Titans . The Raiders dropped their third consecutive contest , as the Titans evened the season series . Oakland took a 28 – 24 lead in the fourth quarter After Tom Flores found Tony Teresa for 3 - yard touchdown pass , but the Titans got the margin of victory when Al Dorow connected with Dewey Bohling for a 17 - yard touchdown pass . Week 15 : vs . Denver Broncos . On Saturday , December 17 , 1960 , the Raiders ended their inaugural campaign on a high note by easily defeating the Broncos . The two squads traded field goals in the first quarter , but Oakland entered halftime with a 17 – 10 lead on the strength of touchdown runs by Tom Flores and Tony Teresa . Denver ' s lone touchdown was a 6 - yard pass from Frank Tripucka to Lionel Taylor in the second quarter . After that , Oakland scored 38 unanswered points , including 31 in the final period . Babe Parilli passed for two scores in his final game as a Raider .