Tom Flores' trailblazing Hall of Fame career had rocky start

Tom Flores was rey to pursue a career in teaching inste of football after getting cut by a team in Cana, having a stint with a minor league team in California and failing to hook on with Washington in NFL.

AFL gave Flores one last chance when fledging league launched in 1960 and Flores seized opportunity.

He became original quarterback of Oakland Raiders before going on to a trailblazing career as a coach and executive that landed him in Pro Football Hall of Fame following a lengthy wait.

“I was fortunate,” Flores said. “I h three shots at it. On third shot, I said this new league is starting up and maybe I’ll give it one more chance. I don’t owe anybody any money. I can work rest of my life. That was 61 years ago and I’m still at it.”

It worked out well enough for Flores to achieve long-awaited goal of making it to Hall in Canton, Ohio, after enduring several missed chances along way.

After so many close calls, Flores said he became guarded about wher it would ever happen. But that all changed when Hall of Fame President David Baker gave him news earlier this year.

“re’s no better feeling,” Flores said. “I h tears in my eyes, I have tears in my eyes right now just thinking about it. That’s a lifetime achievement and that’s forever. My feeling is that when you make Hall of Fame, you don’t make Hall of Fame, you and your family make Hall of Fame and your friends and your coaches and your players. We all go in toger. I’m just a representative of a wonderful group and a wonderful game.”

Flores joined Hall of Famer Mike Ditka as only men in NFL history to win Super Bowls as a player, assistant coach and he coach.

But Flores’ biggest impact came when Al Davis hired him to replace John Mden as coach in Oakland in 1979. son of Mexican immigrants became one of earliest minorities to become a he coach in NFL. Fritz Pollard was first Black coach in NFL in 1920s and only or minority he coach before Flores was Mexican-born Tom Fears, who spent four years in charge of Saints.

Flores said he felt embraced by large Mexican population in Sourn California when Raiders moved to Los Angeles in 1982 and relishes role he plays in his community.

“It wasn’t as big a thing when I first started,” Flores said. “I never thought about it. I never thought I was hired because of my ethnic background. I was hired because of what I could do on field as a player and as a coach. I still feel that way. It doesn’t matter what color you are, you've got to be rey to perform and you’ve got to be able to win orwise you’re going to be unemployed whatever color you are. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to be worthy enough and good enough to win enough and establish myself. Now here I am.”

Flores thrived after Davis hired him to take over a successful franchise that h won a Super Bowl in 1976 season when he was an assistant under John Mden. Flores helped le a transition from Hall of Famer Ken Stabler to Jim Plunkett at quarterback and steied Raiders during ir move in 1982 from Oakland to Los Angeles.

Flores won Super Bowls in both cities, taking wild-card Raiders to championship in 1980 season over Philelphia Eagles and n winning it all again three years later for Los Angeles against Washington.

Flores was replaced by Mike Shanahan following 1987 season with an 83-53 regular season record and 8-3 mark in playoffs for Raiders.

He n took over Seattle Seahawks as president and general manager in 1989 and spent six mostly disappointing seasons re, serving as he coach in final three. His 14-34 record in those seasons left him with a 97-87 career mark in regular season and contributed to delay in him making Pro Football Hall of Fame.

But that didn’t lessen impact he h on or minority coaches, including only or coach of Hispanic descent to le a team to Super Bowl in Ron Rivera.

“When you talk about me and my Hispanic heritage, it was Tom Flores and (Raiders quarterback) Jim Plunkett, guys like that, and (NFL quarterback) Roman Gabriel,” Washington coach Ron Rivera said in 2016. “Those were guys I could look up to and really aspire to be like m.”

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