Chet Soda

Y. Charles "Chet" Soda (1908–1989) was an Oakland, California businessman who was the first general partner of the Oakland Raiders, an original franchise in the American Football League. Soda had become wealthy as a cement contractor, and for a while was President of the Board of Commissioners for the Port of Oakland, at a time when the port was become one of the largest on the west coast. One of Soda's traits was to refer to people he spoke to as "Señor!", and at one point he announced that the name of the fledgling franchise would be the Oakland Señors. Thename was changed a few weeks later, before the first training camp. The team was founded with eight men as partners, but Soda and four of his partners were bought out of the partnership by Wayne Valley, Ed McGah and Robert Osbourne, on January 17, 1961.