Raiders' Icon Jim Plunkett Had a Double Ring to Him

Hall of Famer Kenny “Snake” is widely considered the greatest quarterback in Las Vegas-Oakland-Los Angeles Raiders history and led them to their first Super Bowl victory, a 32-14 rout of the Minnesota Vikings in Super Bowl XI at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif.

That’s one thing where often-overlooked Jim Plunkett one-upped Snake, quarterbacking the Silver and Black to victories in Super Bowl XV and XVIII. 

That makes Plunk one of 12 quarterbacks who have won two Super Bowls, and he has the rings to prove it.

Amazingly, Plunkett wasn’t the Raiders’ starting quarterback earlier in those two seasons, but his teammates thought the most of him.

“Jim Plunkett had the biggest heart, the most courage of anybody I ever played with,” said Raymond Chester, the great tight end who had two stints with the Raiders in his career. “He had a great throwing arm but looked bad, even ugly, out there sometimes.

“But he was so tough and he could make plays, big plays. He had the will to win.”

Before the 1980 season, the Raiders obtained quarterback Dan Pastorini in a trade with the Houston Oilers as their starting quarterback. Still, in the fifth game of the season, he sustained a broken leg against the Kansas City Chiefs.

The 32-year-old Plunkett got the call and came off the bench but threw five interceptions in a 31-17 defeat to the Chiefs before he led the Silver and Black to nine victories in the next 11 games to earn a wild-card berth in the NFL playoffs with an 11-5 record.

Then the Raiders, with Plunkett at quarterback, defeated the Houston Oilers, 27-7, and the Cleveland Browns, 14-12, in the first two rounds of the playoffs before upsetting the San Diego Chargers, 34-27, in the AFC Championship Game.

In Super Bowl XV, Plunkett passed for 261 yards and three touchdowns in another upset, 27-10, over the Philadelphia Eagles at the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, and he was selected the game’s Most Valuable Player.

“Going on to play Philadelphia in the Super Bowl, a team that beat us, 10-7, on a cold, windy morning in Philly earlier that year during the regular season, we got our revenge,” Plunkett said. “Defensively, we stuffed them pretty good. Offensively, we were able to come up with big plays during the game to help beat the Eagles and win the Super Bowl.

“It was a tremendous thrill and satisfaction after taking over the team in ’80 and leading them to a Super Bowl victory. I was very proud of that fact.”

Three seasons later, Plunkett did it again.

Plunkett once more was the backup quarterback for the Raiders early in the 1983 season, having been benched in favor of younger Marc Wilson, but he was back in the starting lineup when Wilson sustained a broken left shoulder three weeks later.

“It was amazing what three weeks off did for him,” Coach Tom Flores said of Plunkett. “He was like a new guy. He was fresh, crisp, he moved better in the pocket. It was like he had a shot of adrenaline or something.”

Plunkett started the last 13 games of the regular season, with the Raiders winning 10 to finish with a 12-4 record to win the AFC West title.

In the playoffs, Plunkett led the Raiders to a 38-10 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers and a 30-14 win over the Seattle Seahawks before they trounced the favored Washington Redskins, 38-9, in the Super Bowl XVIII at Tampa Stadium in Tampa, Fla., as Plunkett completed 16-of-25 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown.