Art Shell
Encyclopedia
Arthur "Art" Shell is an American former collegiate and professional football
player in the American Football League
and later in the NFL
, a Hall of Fame offensive tackle, and a two-time former head coach
of the Oakland Raiders
. He holds the distinction of becoming the second-ever African American
head coach (after Fritz Pollard
) in the history of professional football, and the first in the sport's modern era.
from Maryland State College
. Playing offensive tackle, Shell participated in 24 playoff contests, including Super Bowl
s XI
and XV
, and was named to eight Pro Bowl
s.
Shell was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
in 1989. In 1999, he was ranked number 55 on The Sporting News
list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.
, Shell is a member of the Sid Gillman
coaching tree
. As coach of the Raiders (at the time located in Los Angeles), Shell compiled a record of 54 wins, 38 losses, and was named AFC
Coach of the Year in 1990, when the Raiders won the AFC West
division with a 12-4 record, and advanced to the AFC championship game in the playoffs. Al Davis
, owner of the Raiders, fired Shell after a 9-7 season in 1994, a move Davis later said he regretted.
and Atlanta Falcons
, before serving as a senior vice president for the NFL, in charge of football operations.
led to the team's downfall.
fraternity.
Shell attended Bonds-Wilson High School in North Charleston, SC. The school is no longer in existence.
Shell is an alumnus of Maryland State College, now known as The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, located in Princess Anne, MD. He hosts an annual celebrity golf tournament
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
player in the American Football League
American Football League
The American Football League was a major American Professional Football league that operated from 1960 until 1969, when the established National Football League merged with it. The upstart AFL operated in direct competition with the more established NFL throughout its existence...
and later in the NFL
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
, a Hall of Fame offensive tackle, and a two-time former head coach
Coach (sport)
In sports, a coach is an individual involved in the direction, instruction and training of the operations of a sports team or of individual sportspeople.-Staff:...
of the Oakland Raiders
Oakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
. He holds the distinction of becoming the second-ever African American
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
head coach (after Fritz Pollard
Fritz Pollard
Frederick Douglass "Fritz" Pollard was the first African American head coach in the National Football League . Pollard along with Bobby Marshall were the first two African American players in the NFL in 1920...
) in the history of professional football, and the first in the sport's modern era.
Playing career
Shell was drafted by the American Football League's Oakland RaidersOakland Raiders
The Oakland Raiders are a professional American football team based in Oakland, California. They currently play in the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League...
from Maryland State College
University of Maryland Eastern Shore
University of Maryland Eastern Shore located on 776 acres in Princess Anne, Maryland, United States, is part of the University System of Maryland...
. Playing offensive tackle, Shell participated in 24 playoff contests, including Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s XI
Super Bowl XI
Super Bowl XI was a football game played on January 9, 1977 at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California to decide the National Football League champion following the 1976 regular season...
and XV
Super Bowl XV
Super Bowl XV was an American football game played on January 25, 1981 at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana to decide the National Football League champion following the 1980 regular season...
, and was named to eight Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
s.
Shell was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame
The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame of professional football in the United States with an emphasis on the National Football League . It opened in Canton, Ohio, on September 7, 1963, with 17 charter inductees...
in 1989. In 1999, he was ranked number 55 on The Sporting News
The Sporting News
Sporting News is an American-based sports magazine. It was established in 1886, and it became the dominant American publication covering baseball — so much so that it acquired the nickname "The Bible of Baseball"...
list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.
Los Angeles Raiders
Through Al DavisAl Davis
Allen "Al" Davis was an American football executive. He was the principal owner of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League from 1970 to 2011...
, Shell is a member of the Sid Gillman
Sid Gillman
Sidney "Sid" Gillman was an American football player, coach, executive, and innovator. Gillman's insistence on stretching the football field by throwing deep downfield passes, instead of short passes to running backs or wide receivers at the sides of the line of scrimmage, was instrumental in...
coaching tree
Coaching tree
A coaching tree is similar to a family tree except it shows the relationships of coaches instead of family members. There are several different ways to define a relationship between two coaches...
. As coach of the Raiders (at the time located in Los Angeles), Shell compiled a record of 54 wins, 38 losses, and was named AFC
American Football Conference
The American Football Conference is one of the two conferences of the National Football League . This conference and its counterpart, the National Football Conference , currently contain 16 teams each, making up the 32 teams of the NFL....
Coach of the Year in 1990, when the Raiders won the AFC West
AFC West
The AFC West is a division of the National Football League's American Football Conference, currently comprising the Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers, Kansas City Chiefs, and the Oakland Raiders.-History:...
division with a 12-4 record, and advanced to the AFC championship game in the playoffs. Al Davis
Al Davis
Allen "Al" Davis was an American football executive. He was the principal owner of the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League from 1970 to 2011...
, owner of the Raiders, fired Shell after a 9-7 season in 1994, a move Davis later said he regretted.
After the Raiders
After leaving the Raiders, Shell went on to coaching positions with the Kansas City ChiefsKansas City Chiefs
The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a...
and Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, before serving as a senior vice president for the NFL, in charge of football operations.
2006 return to Raiders
Shell was officially re-hired by the Raiders as head coach on February 11, 2006. After leading the team to its worst record (2 wins, 14 losses) since 1963, Shell resigned from his post as Head Coach of the Raiders on January 4, 2007. Although the Raiders' defense was one of the best in the league, its anemic offense, along with a season long feud with wide receiver Jerry PorterJerry Porter (football player)
Jerry Porter is an American football wide receiver who is currently a free agent. He was originally drafted by the Oakland Raiders in the second round of the 2000 NFL Draft, after playing college football at West Virginia...
led to the team's downfall.
Head coaching record
| Team | |Regular Season | LA 1989 Los Angeles Raiders season The 1989 Los Angeles Raiders season was the club’s 30th season in the NFL. Art Shell replaced Mike Shanahan, and in the process became the first black head coach in the NFL since Fritz Pollard coached the Akron Pros in 1921. The club finished with an 8–8 record.-Regular season:The Raiders stated... |
1989 1989 NFL season The 1989 NFL season was the 70th regular season of the National Football League. Before the season, NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle announced his retirement... |
7 | 5 | 0 | .583 | 3rd in AFC west | - | - | - | - |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LA 1990 Los Angeles Raiders season The 1990 Los Angeles Raiders season was the club's 31st season in the National Football League . Led by Coach of the Year Art Shell, the club appeared in its first AFC Championship Game since the 1983 season, but lost a lopsided affair to the Buffalo Bills, 51–3.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-Game details:*... |
1990 1990 NFL season The 1990 NFL season was the 71st regular season of the National Football League. To increase revenue, the league changed the regular season so that all NFL teams would play their 16-game schedule over a 17-week period... |
12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 1st in AFC west | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... in AFC Championship Game. |
||
| LA 1991 Los Angeles Raiders season The 1991 Los Angeles Raiders season was their 32nd in the league. They were unable to improve upon their previous season's output of 12–4, winning only nine games. The team qualified for the playoffs for the second straight season.-Roster:-Schedule:... |
1991 1991 NFL season The 1991 NFL season was the 72nd regular season of the National Football League. The season ended with Super Bowl XXVI when the Washington Redskins defeated the Buffalo Bills.... |
9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3rd in AFC west | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost to Kansas City Chiefs Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. They are a member of the Western Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Originally named the Dallas Texans, the club was founded by Lamar Hunt in 1960 as a... in AFC Wild-Card Game. |
||
| LA 1992 Los Angeles Raiders season The 1992 Los Angeles Raiders season was their 33rd in the National Football League. They were unable to improve upon their previous season's output of 9–7, winning only seven games. This was the first time in three seasons the team failed to qualify for the playoffs.-Schedule:-References:... |
1992 1992 NFL season The 1992 NFL season was the 73rd regular season of the National Football League.Due to the damage caused by Hurricane Andrew, the New England Patriots–Miami Dolphins game that was scheduled for September 6 at Joe Robbie Stadium was rescheduled to October 18. Both teams originally had that... |
7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4th in AFC west | - | - | - | - | ||
| LA 1993 Los Angeles Raiders season The 1993 Los Angeles Raiders season was the club’s 34th season in the NFL.-Offseason:During the offseason the Raiders signed quarterback Jeff Hostetler from the New York Giants to lead the offense. Joe Kelly a former first round pick of the Bengals was signed to fill the middle lineback slot... |
1993 1993 NFL season The 1993 NFL season was the 74th regular season of the National Football League. For the first time in league history, all NFL teams played their 16-game schedule over a span of 18 weeks. After the success of expanding the regular season to a period of 17 weeks in 1990, the league hoped this new... |
10 | 6 | 0 | .625 | 2nd in AFC west | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost to Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional football team based in Buffalo, New York. They are currently members of the East Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League... in AFC Divisional Game. |
||
| LA 1994 Los Angeles Raiders season The 1994 Los Angeles Raiders season was the team's 13th and final season in Los Angeles.-NFL Draft:-Schedule:-References:... |
1994 1994 NFL season The 1994 NFL season was the 75th regular season of the National Football League. To honor the NFL's 75th season, a special anniversary logo was designed and each player wore a patch on their jerseys with this logo throughout the season... |
9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 3rd in AFC west | - | - | - | - | ||
| OAK 2006 Oakland Raiders season The 2006 Oakland Raiders season, which was supposed to improve on a lackluster 4–12 record from 2005, ended with the Raiders suffering through a 2–14 campaign, the worst record in the 2006 NFL season, the worst season since the club went 1–13 in 1962 and their worst since the National Football... |
2006 2006 NFL season The 2006 NFL season was the 87th regular season of the National Football League.Regular season play was held from September 7 to December 31, 2006... |
2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 4th in AFC west | - | - | - | - | ||
| Raiders' Total | 56 | 52 | 0 | .518 | 2 | 3 | .400 | |||||
| Total | 56 | 52 | 0 | .518 | 2 | 3 | .400 | |||||
Personal
Shell is a member of Alpha Phi AlphaAlpha Phi Alpha
Alpha Phi Alpha is the first Inter-Collegiate Black Greek Letter fraternity. It was founded on December 4, 1906 at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. Its founders are known as the "Seven Jewels". Alpha Phi Alpha developed a model that was used by the many Black Greek Letter Organizations ...
fraternity.
Shell attended Bonds-Wilson High School in North Charleston, SC. The school is no longer in existence.
Shell is an alumnus of Maryland State College, now known as The University of Maryland Eastern Shore, located in Princess Anne, MD. He hosts an annual celebrity golf tournament
See also
- Other American Football League players
- Bay Area Sports Hall of FameBay Area Sports Hall of FameThe Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame honors sports figures who have made a significant impact in the San Francisco Bay Area. The organization is a section 501 non-profit, that was created by the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce in 1979.-Inductees:...