The Chargers and Raiders were both charter members of the American Football League when the league began playing in 1960. The Chargers moved to San Diego after their first year in Los Angeles, appearing in four of the first five AFL Championship games and winning one. Al Davis, who would later become the famous Raiders owner, started off as an assistant coach for the Chargers until becoming Oakland's head coach in 1963. Under Davis, the Raiders held a competitive edge over the Chargers from the late 1960s to the 1990s, appearing in four Super Bowls and winning three of them. In 1978, the Raiders won over the Chargers in San Diego with a controversial fumblerooski play now known as the Holy Roller. The play ultimately led to the Chargers missing the playoffs that year and sparked an NFL rule change. Two years later, both teams returned to the playoffs and faced off in the. An offensive shootout between Raiders quarterback Jim Plunkett and Chargers quarterback Dan Fouts saw the Raiders prevail 34–27 en route to winning Super Bowl XV over the Philadelphia Eagles. This is the only playoff meeting between the teams. The Raiders temporarily left Oakland for Los Angeles in 1982, playing there until the conclusion of the 1994 season. Despite only being there for 13 years, the Raiders developed a strong following in Los Angeles during their tenure in the city, which to this day has impeded the Chargers' ability to develop their own following in Los Angeles since returning to that city. One of the ugliest games in the rivalry's history occurred in 1998. Chargers rookie quarterback Ryan Leaf completed just 7 of 18 pass attempts for 78 yards and 3 interceptions. The Raiders did not fare much better on offense, but Raiders backup quarterback Wade Wilson passed for a 68 yard touchdown, his only completion of the day. In the end, both teams had benched their starting quarterbacks as the Raiders narrowly won 7–6. The game set an NFL record for the most punts in a game. Though the Raiders had largely dominated the series for much of the later 20th Century, the Chargers amassed a 13-game winning streak from 2003 to 2009, shortly after the Raiders' appearance in Super Bowl XXXVII and subsequent collapse. One of these losses saw Oakland squander a 15-point halftime lead to lose 28–18, leading up to the firing of head coach Lane Kiffin following that game. The Raiders would finally end the losing streak in 2010, defeating the Chargers 35–27 with two blocked punts, two second-half scoring drives led by quarterback Jason Campbell and a Philip Rivers fumble returned by Tyvon Branch for the Raiders' game-clinching touchdown. In 2013, the first Raiders-Chargers game was delayed due to heavy rain, kicking off at 8:35 PM Pacific Time, the latest kickoff time in NFL history. The Raiders won 27–17 with a strong performance by quarterback Terrelle Pryor, a fumble return touchdown by Charles Woodson, and five San Diego turnovers. San Diego won the second game that year, however, keeping its playoff hopes alive with a 26–13 win. Following the 2015 season, the Raiders and Chargers both proposed to move back to Los Angeles despite their storied rivalry, announcing a shared stadium proposal in Carson, California. However, the proposal was rejected by NFL owners in favor of the St. Louis Rams' proposal to move back to Los Angeles, with the Chargers first being offered a one-year window to accept the chance to share the Rams' stadium and the Raiders to receive the offer should the Chargers decline. On January 12, 2017, Chargers owner Dean Spanos announced his intention to join the Rams in Los Angeles and leave San Diego to play at SoFi Stadium, ultimately leading to Raiders owner Mark Davis accepting a deal to move his team to Las Vegas to play at Allegiant Stadium with the NCAA's UNLV Rebels football program.
