Thursday, Raiders new running back Brandon Bolden took to the podium sporting a number 85 Raiders jersey. Being that he is a running back, it was certainly not going to his number with the team. It isn’t his number. That number for the Raiders belonged to his grandfather, Frank Pitts, who wore it for the Raiders in 1974.
“This is big for me,” said Bolden of signing with the Raiders. “For those who don’t know, last year I changed my number from 38 to 25 to honor my grandfather.”
Pitts played wide receiver for ten NFL seasons, the first nine of which with the Chiefs and Browns. He wore the number 25 in those seasons. But when he came to the Raiders, they already had a guy wearing that number. Dude by the name of Fred Biletnikoff. So, Pitts switched to number 85. Thus the jersey that Bolden was sporting at his intro press conference.
