Davis' ties here knotted Raider: Oakland owner claims Baltimore past with Colts that is disputed by others.

With so many old Colts being honored when the NFL returns to Baltimore tomorrow, it's appropriate that Al Davis will be on the scene.

You probably didn't realize the Oakland Raiders owner is an old Colt.

He is, at least in his own mind.

According to the Raiders media guide, "Davis served on the staff of the Baltimore Colts in 1954, at age 24, concentrating on player personnel work."

Davis, who rarely returns phone calls, didn't return a call this week asking him about his Baltimore days.

But Raiders senior assistant Bruce Allen forwarded questions to Davis about the owner's Baltimore connection.

"He's got great memories from there," said Allen, son of the late George Allen. Davis lived on Charles Street and liked to go to Danny's restaurant, he told Allen.

Allen said Davis has vivid memories of Colts owner Carroll Rosenbloom, general manager Don Kellett and executive vice president Keith Molesworth. He also recalled the team's 1955 draft when the Colts took George Shaw, the top college player, with the bonus pick and then took Alan Ameche.

"He said, 'I can see it right now. We won the coin flip to get the first pick in the draft,' " Allen said.

So Davis was very involved in the organization, right?

Well, maybe, maybe not.

Looking into Davis' background is like walking into a hall of mirrors. Everything is subject to interpretation.

For example, Davis' name isn't listed in either the 1954 or 1955 NFL record and rules manual, as Rosenbloom, Kellett and Molesworth were.

Weeb Ewbank, who was the coach then and is now 89, living in Ohio, has a different version of Davis' role.

"He was never on the staff or anything like that," Ewbank said this week.

Ewbank said Davis was coaching a military team and wrote some reports on players on the team for him.

"We had several guys around different leagues and we'd have them write reports. They'd only get $50 or $100," Ewbank said.

He said Davis also hung around the Colts' training camp for a couple of weeks.

Ewbank said Davis wasn't involved in the 1955 draft. He said he took Ameche because he knew the Wisconsin coach.

There are other Baltimore connections. Davis was back in the city during the spring of 1995 to meet with Orioles owner Peter Angelos and his attorney, George Stamas, to talk about relocating the Raiders here.