The Las Vegas Raiders was born in 1960 along with seven other franchises to play in the newly formed AFL. They played a decade in the American Football League before both AFL and NFL got merged. The Raiders are one of the most storied franchises in the NFL has 4 total championships in their trophy cabinet with three coming in the Super Bowl era. The 70s and 80s were the golden period for this historic franchise as they were able to clinch three Lombardi trophies during that time span.
The Raiders fight song “The Autumn Wind” is one of the most iconic fight songs in the league. Since the merger in 1970, the Raiders have only competed in the AFC West and have won 15 divisional titles. However, as of 2024, their divisional title drought is tied with the New York Jets as the second worst in the entire NFL (the last one was in 2002 for both teams).
The Evolution of the Las Vegas Raiders Logo
The Raiders did not start their journey with the now-famous Silver and black color palette. They used to have a black and gold combination during the first three years. In 1963, the silver, black and white color palette was introduced and went on to become engraved with the Raiders history. The famous Raiders insignia has seen some minor iterations throughout the team’s history. However, the pirate face has never been tinkered with since the franchise’s inception.
1960 - 1962 - Original logo
The original logo had a pirate face placed on a gold football. The pirate had an eyepatch on one eye and wore old football headgear. There were two cutlass swords behind the football. The handle of the sword was painted in gold and black.
1963
With the entrance of Al Davis came a change in the emblem. The logo now featured a shield with silver-gray background and black at the top. The Oakland Raiders wordmark was written at the top of the shield in silver-gray color. The pirate face with two cutlass swords behind was placed at the bottom of the shield. The gold was completely removed from the emblem. This was also the first logo to appear on helmets.
1964 - Present - Current Logo
The team shortened its imprint to only Raiders and changed the shield background to black. The helmet of the pirate also changed to silver-gray with a black line running in the middle. The emblem has remained the same even though the team has relocated 3 times since then. As the years went by, gray and white outlines appeared to surround the logo.
Las Vegas Raiders Alternative Symbols
The team has never come out with any alternate logos in their entire storied history.
Las Vegas Raiders Anniversary Emblems
The team has come out with two-anniversary logos to celebrate their rich history. Let’s look at those anniversary logos the team has unveiled.
2009
The first-ever alternate logo released by the team was to celebrate their golden jubilee. The emblem was of shield shape trimmed in gray and black. The shield had black as the primary color with ‘50’ written in the top half in gray. The silver-gray ribbon was passed through the middle of the shield which had Commitment to Excellence imprinted on it in uppercase. The top of the emblem had the Raiders logo on it.
2019
The team came out with a 2nd alternate logo in 2019 to celebrate their 60th anniversary. There was a black circle inside which ‘60’ was pasted in white with gray outline. There is also a lit memorial torch near the top. The Raiders have been lighting a memorial torch to honor Al Davis at every home game since he passed away in 2011. The gray ribbon is passed near the bottom of the emblem with the Raiders’ primary logo on it.
Las Vegas Raiders Helmet Design
The team did not incorporate any logo on its helmet for the first three years in the league. The team has kept the same helmet since 1963 except making some modifications through time.
1960 - 1962
The first three years saw the Raiders play in primary black helmets with a gold line appearing at the center for one season in 1962. There was no logo present on the helmet during this period.
1963
The silver helmet made its debut in 1963 with the primary logo imprinted on both sides of it. The thick line passing through the center was black.
1964 - Present
In 1964, a new logo was inscribed on the helmet. Everything else remained the same as that of the 1963 version. In later years the silver-gray color on the helmet became darker in shade which made it look more like gray than silver.
Las Vegas Raiders Uniform History
The Raiders possess one of the most iconic looks in all of the North American sports landscape. The Silver and Black has become synonymous with Raiders in the sports world. However, they made their debut in American football with gold and black uniforms.
1960 - 1962
The first three years saw Raiders wear black jerseys with white numerals outlined in gold. The sleeves had three thick gold stripes. The white pants had black/gold/black lining on the side of both legs. The away jerseys had a white base with black numbering on it. The sleeves had black stripes trimmed in gold.
1963 - Present
The timeless Silver and Black look made its debut in 1963 with the arrival of Al Davis. The black jersey had silver numerals on the chest while the white version had black number fonts. The team wears silver pants with thick black lines running on both sides of the legs. The famous look has remained the same for the past six decades. In the early 70s, the team had silver numerals with black outlines on white jerseys for a couple of years.
Alternate Uniforms
2009
In 2009, the Raiders wore a white jersey with gray numbers trimmed in black. The pants were the same as their primary set.
2016 - Present
Raiders debuted a more modernized version of 2009 throwback jerseys with silver numerals outlined by black. They also debuted white pants to complete the look, but after a few years ditched those pants.
FAQ's On Las Vegas Raiders Logo History
A. The Las Vegas Raiders are owned by Mark Davis.
A. The Las Vegas Raiders fans are known as Raider Nation.
A. Yes, the Raiders changed their logo on the helmets slightly in 1964.
