It was December 8, 1985. The 9-4 Los Angeles Raiders were on the road against their forever rival, the 9-4 Denver Broncos. The winner would take the lead in the AFC West. A chess match between two of the best to ever coach – Tom Flores vs Dan Reeves.
This was a massive late-season game between a team who won two Super Bowls in the prior half-decade (Raiders) and a team chasing that kind of success who drafted their franchise quarterback (John Elway) a few years prior.
These were the 1980s Raiders that you read about. Marcus Allen led the offense with 135 rushing yards. Mike Haynes and Lester Hayes picked off John Elway three times total. Howie Long did what he did best and laid down a sack. Ray Guy boomed six punts through the mile high air.
Meanwhile, in a bride’s room somewhere in California, sat a former Raiders intern who refused to walk down the aisle and get married, until she found out the result of this game.
Marcus Allen tied the game 14-14 in the second half. The score would stand as time expired, and the game went into overtime. Raiders kicker Chris Bahr nailed a 26-yard field goal to win the game, giving the Raiders sole possession of first place, but more importantly allowing the wedding to commence. The win also perhaps a good omen foreshadowing the bride’s future.
That bride-to-be Raiders fan and former Raiders intern would turn out to be one of the greatest executives in NFL history. Amy Trask’s storied career is best measured by her passion which steered her ability lead an NFL franchise, and keep it afloat, despite several lawsuits, relocation negotiations and league politics – a challenge that only a Hall of Famer could be victorious at. Trask was employed by the Raiders from 1987 to 2013, culminating into becoming Chief Executive Officer for the final 16 years. Any decision made by the organization during that 26-year span, had her fingerprints all over it.
Trask oversaw the Raiders business operations and legal issues – and no NFL team had more of that than the Raiders in the ‘90s and early 2000s. She navigated that. And did so successfully. From team finances to media relations to league compliance, she was involved in everything. But she didn’t just impact the Raiders. While she was always a representative of the team’s best interest, her opinions and investment in league matters also contributed to the growth of the NFL.
But let’s be clear – she was a Raider. That’s not because it said so on her business card, but that’s where her heart was. She was a fan of the Silver and Black before she even interned there. She graduated from college just north of Oakland and went to law school in Los Angeles in 1982, which was the same year the Raiders made that exact move from Oakland to Los Angeles. Where she went, her favorite team went.