Kenny “The Snake” Stabler turns 67 today. Stabler is best remembered as the quarterback in the 1970’s with the Oakland Raiders. Stabler played with the Raiders from 1970-79, Houston Oilers from 1980-81 and finished his career with the New Orleans Saints from 1982-84. Most of his success came with the Raiders. He wouldn’t take over as the starter until the 1973 season when he replaced long-time Raiders QB Daryle Lamonica.

As a quarterback Stabler wasn’t a stat guy what he was, was a winner. He was one of those quarterbacks who you wanted in there late in the game when your team was behind and you needed a drive to win the game. Stabler was a winner. One of the great highlights of the 1970’s was Stabler leading the Raiders over the two time defending Super Bowl Champion Dolphins in the 1974 playoffs -in the famous “Sea of Hands” game where Stabler hit running back Clarence Davis with a touchdown pass with .24 seconds to go. Veteran announcers Curt Gowdy and Al DeRogotis both said it was the greatest game they had ever seen.

Stabler was a 4 time Pro Bowl selection. In his career he threw more interceptions than touchdowns but he was a quarterback who threw the ball down field.  He should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame in my opinion. One of the best players who is not in the Hall.

Stabler fit in perfectly with the Oakland Raiders of the 1970’s. He would not have fit in well with say the Dallas Cowboys. Those Raider teams were a collection of free spirits who marched to the beat of their own drummer. The bottom line is these guys were winners. Stabler was a colorful character. He was known for studying his playbook by the light of a nightclub jukebox. There aren’t characters like this anymore in the NFL. Today if a guy is a character its a made up kind of thing for publicity. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall in Oakland in the 1970’s. I hated the Raiders- I am a Steeler fan but I admired the Raiders. They played football just like the Steelers did {whereas I hated the Cowboys but didn’t think much of them they weren’t a tough team like the Steelers or Oakland or later the Oilers}

What Hall of Famer and Raider teammate guard Gene Upshaw said about Stabler sums him up as a player “When we were behind in the fourth quarter, with our backs to our end zone, no matter how he had played upto that point, we could look in his eyes and you knew, you knew, he was going to win it for us. That was an amazing feeling”