Art Shell in Pro Football Hall of Fame
African American Offensive Player Enshrined in Canton
Oct 3, 2009
Art Shell was born in Charleston, South Carolina in 1946. He played left tackle for the Oakland Raiders and is a two-time head coach of the franchise. He also holds the honor of being the second African American head coach in the National Football League. He was elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989, the same year that he became head coach of the Raiders. His other honors include an induction into the South Carolina Sports Hall of Fame.
Art Shell Left Tackle
After he attended college at Maryland Eastern Shore, Shell donned #78 for the Oakland Raiders, the team with whom he would spend his entire playing career. He appeared in 207 games and started in 155 of them. Having appeared in 24 playoff games, he also appeared in Super Bowl XI and Super Bowl IX. The Raiders won each of those Super Bowl appearances.
In addition to his Super Bowl rings, he was an eight-time Pro Bowl selection, and was part of the 1970s All-Decade team. In 1999, The Sporting News ranked him #55 on their list of the greatest 100 football players. He also holds the record for the longest time playing as a diabetic in Pro Football.
Head Coach of Oakland Raiders
Art Shell was the offensive line coach under Mike Shanahan during the 80s. Though Shanahan wanted to fire Shell, he himself was fired mid-season and replaced by Shell. Under his guidance, they made the playoffs the very next year. They reached the AFC Championship in 1990, but were blown out 51-3 by the Buffalo Bills.
Though he led the Raiders to another playoff appearance (a loss in the divisional round to the Bills), he was fired by Raiders owner Al Davis in 1994. Davis later said that he regretted the move and rehired Shell in 2006. In between stints, he was an assistant coach with the Kansas City Chiefs and the Atlanta Falcons.
Raiders 2006 Season
When Davis rehired Shell, he was the Vice President of the National Football League, in charge of football operations. Unfortunately, Shell’s second stint with the Raiders was not as successful as the first. The team went 2-14. Though Davis said that he regretted having dismissed Shell the first time, he fired him for the second time, along with a string of head coaches in the late 90s and 2000s. Shell’s head coaching record is 56-52.
