Another familiar face from the Al Davis Raiders is gone. This time it’s Al LoCasale, the former team executive who passed away at 82 following a recent stroke.



LoCasale has been retired since 2003, although he still made his way occasionally to games from his home in El Segundo. In his own way, LoCasale was as much a part of Raiders history as others who have passed away recently _ quarterback Kenny Stabler, wide receiver Art Powell, defensive coordinator Charlie Sumner, fullback Marv Hubbard.

“The Raiders are saddened by the passing of longtime executive assistant Al LoCasale, whose relationship with the organization spanned more than three decades,” Raiders owner Mark Davis said in a statement. “He is an integral part of our history and he helped articulate the mystique of the silver and black. Our thoughts are with his family at this time.”

I met LoCasale for the first time in 1977, having been granted an interview on behalf of my junior college newspaper, the Chabot Spectator, with linebacker and special teams player Jeff Barnes. I was greeted gruffly by LoCasale, a sawed-off Napoleonic figure who demanded that I not move away from a designated area.

Alas, I wandered away from that area to catch a little practice, only to have LoCasale threaten to throw me out. I apologized and stayed put. (Years later he got a chuckle out of the story when I told him about it).

LoCasale was pretty much equal opportunity with the media in those days, whether it was a national columnist or small-time J.C. teenager. If you were thought of as against Raiders, and especially Al Davis, you incurred the wrath of LoCasale.

Former Raiders exec Amy Trask, a full-time employee for the first time with the Raiders in 1985, received complaints from a league official in the press box after disagreeing with an on-field call against the Raiders.

When the official went to LoCasale, he responded by removing the credential of the official, in effect supporting Trask.

“At that moment, I thought, `I am a Raider now . . .he took care of me because I’m a Raider,” Trask said.

Many a reporter was called to the carpet for criticizing the Raiders and/or Davis.

“If he felt like you crossed the team, he would definitely let you know from an Al Davis and a Raider point of view,” former Raiders exec John Herrera said. “He was a bulldog, a watch dog, and he took it very personally if people got on the wrong side of the team.”

LoCasale and Davis were of a like mind in terms of commitment.

“Working with Al could be challenging because he as very demanding and committed to doing things a certain way,” Herrera said. “You needed to be aware of that, and that you needed to be available at all times _ just like you were for Al Davis. He didn’t understand anyone who didn’t love being there, and being there at all times. He expected people around him and anyone who worked with Davis to be as committed and dedicated as he was.”

LoCasale’s fingerprints were all over the Raiders yearly highlight films by NFL Films, as he worked closely with editors to insure that virtually every name of the roster _ even of the most obscure players _ be mentioned and that Raiders philosophies and slogans were used.

The first interaction between LoCasale and Davis was in the 1950s at the University of Southern California, Davis as a football assistant and LoCasale as an administrative aide to the head coach.

Both worked with the Los Angeles Chargers and Sid Gillman with the Los Angeles Chargers, and LoCasale served in the front office of the Cincinnati Bengals expansion franchise under the direction of Paul Brown.

“Few people in this field have been as fortunate as I have,” LoCasale said when he retired from fulltime duty with the Raiders in 2003. “All three of the legendary principals I have worked with – Al Davis with the Raiders, Paul Brown with the Bengals and Sid Gillman with the Chargers – earned their way into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. If a man is truly measured by the company he keeps, then I have been surrounded by giants.”

Although football dominated much of LoCasale’s life, he was well-versed on the military (he coached at the U.S. Naval Training Center while on active duty), theater, movies and the arts.

“I realized early on that he was a guy with a wealth of knowledge that extended beyond the football field,” said Raiders community relations director Mike Taylor. “Those are the things that stuck with me when I was thinking about him last night.”

Trask said that in terms of football, “Al really contributed to my knowledge of the game. One thing that annoyed him was being extremely critical of a player when at times it was simply that a player on the other side had made a great play. Those observations have stuck with me to this day.”

LoCasale owned a home in the East Bay and lived part time in an El Segundo hotel when the Raiders moved to Los Angeles in 1982. He eventually purchased a home there, and ended up living in an Oakland hotel when the club moved back to Oakland in 1995.

LoCasale is surived by his wife Jananne and his sons Nicholas and Alexander.