5 things about Dan Pastorini’s short tenure as Raiders QB

Editor’s note: This is part of an occasional series acquainting fans with the Raiders’ illustrious 60-year history as the team moves to Las Vegas for the 2020 season.

Of all the Raiders who lived life in the fast lane, none did it so as literally as Dan Pastorini.

The Raiders traded an aging Ken Stabler to the Houston Oilers for Pastorini before the 1980 season. Pastorini would last only five games as the Raiders’ starting quarterback.

The former first-round draft choice from Santa Clara posted a 2-2 record before breaking his leg against the Kansas City Chiefs. Raiders fans cheered when we went down.

Jim Plunkett replaced Pastorini and would lead the Raiders to a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles in Super Bowl XV.

Pastorini would kick around for two more seasons before turning his attention to professional drag racing. He won the 1986 NHRA Southern Nationals in the Top Fuel dragster class and finished seventh in season points.

Here are five other things related to one of the most colorful quarterbacks in Raiders history, if not one of the most successful:

1. He was the first player in NFL history to wear a flak jacket. In 1978 Pastorini was suffering from three broken ribs when he was outfitted with the experimental protective device. Three three weeks later, he passed for 290 yards in a playoff victory over the Miami Dolphins.

2. He and Al Davis did not get along. In his 2011 autobiography, the quarterback recalled drinking heavily on a team flight to Philadelphia and challenging the team owner to a fistfight as they got off the plane. “That didn’t set too well,” Pastorini wrote in the book.

3. Before he raced cars, he raced boats. In 1977, a jet-powered craft driven by Pastorini crashed into a crowd in Texas, killing two spectators. Pastorini was not injured and was cleared of any negligence by a grand jury.

4. He posed nude for “Playgirl” when he was with the Raiders. “Shoot, you can see more nudity in a televised postgame show,” Pastorini said in downplaying the decision. “I was watching the Super Bowl dressing room interviews and there was ol’ John Matuszak walking around in the background without a stitch on.”

5. He dated Farrah Fawcett and married a former “Playboy” centerfold. Her name was June Wilkinson, and she was 10 years older than Pastorini. They wed in 1973.

The marriage lasted a lot longer (nine years) than Pastorini did as the Raiders’ quarterback.

Contact Ron Kantowski at rkantowski@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0352. Follow @ronkantowski on Twitter.