.jpg) Flores, circa 1962 | |||||||||||||||||||
| No. 15, 16, 12 | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Position: | Quarterback | ||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||
| Born: | (1937-03-21)March 21, 1937 (age 88) Sanger, California, U.S. | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Weight: | 202 lb (92 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||||||
| High school: | Sanger Union (Sanger, California) | ||||||||||||||||||
| College: | Pacific | ||||||||||||||||||
| Undrafted: | 1958 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||||||
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As a staff member / executive: | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Career AFL statistics | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Head coaching record | |||||||||||||||||||
| Regular season: | 97–87 (.527) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Postseason: | 11–8 (.579) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Career: | 108–95 (.532) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coaching profile at Pro Football Reference | |||||||||||||||||||
Thomas Raymond Flores (born March 21, 1937) is an American former professionalfootball player in theAmerican Football League (AFL) and coach in theNational Football League (NFL). He played as aquarterback for nine seasons in the AFL, primarily with theOakland Raiders. After his retirement as a coach, he was a radio announcer for more than twenty years.
Flores won fourSuper Bowls in his playing and coaching careers. He andMike Ditka are the only two people in NFL history to win a Super Bowl as a player, assistant coach, and head coach (Flores wonSuper Bowl IV as a player for theKansas City Chiefs,Super Bowl XI as an assistant coach of the Raiders, andSuper Bowl XV andSuper Bowl XVIII as head coach of the Raiders). Flores was also the first Mexican starting quarterback and the first minority head coach in professional football history to win a Super Bowl. Although it may not be officially sourced, Flores is also noted as the only head coach to win a Super Bowl with the same team in two cities in Oakland (1980) and Los Angeles (1983).[1]
From 1997 until 2018, Flores served as an announcer for theRaiders Radio Network.[2] Flores was elected to thePro Football Hall of Fame in 2021 as a head coach.
Flores played quarterback for two seasons atFresno City College, beginning in 1955. He was active off the field too, serving on the Student Council and as President of the Associated Men's Students. He received an academic scholarship to study at the College of the Pacific—now known as theUniversity of the Pacific—from which he graduated in 1958. Flores came to Pacific from Fresno City College and started for the Tigers as quarterback.[3] Following his playing career with the Tigers, he was hired as an assistant coach at Pacific and worked toward his master's degree.
Flores was unable to find a job in professional football. He was cut by theCalgary Stampeders of theCFL in 1958, after which he played with the Bakersfield Spoilers (Semi-Pro) football team.[4] A second attempt to break into pro football with theWashington Redskins of theNational Football League (NFL) in 1959 also failed. In 1960, Flores finally landed a position as a quarterback with theAmerican Football League'sOakland Raiders, who began play in 1960 as a charter member of the league. He was named the Raiders' starter early that season, becoming the first-ever Hispanic starting quarterback in professional football.
Flores had his most productive season in 1966, passing for 2,638 yards and 24 touchdowns in 14 games. Oakland traded him to theBuffalo Bills in 1967. After serving asJack Kemp's backup that year, he had a chance to be the Bills' starter when Kemp suffered a season-ending injury during training camp. However, Flores hurt his shoulder before the first game, and his season was limited to a five-pass appearance in Week 6. After another five-pass appearance in the first game of 1969, the Bills released Flores and he signed with theKansas City Chiefs. There he was third-string quarterback behind fellow Hall of FamerLen Dawson andMike Livingston on the Chiefs' Super Bowl Championship team. He officially retired as a player after not playing a single game in the 1970 season. He was one of only twenty players who were in the AFL for its entire ten-year existence. He is the fifth-leading passer in the AFL's history.
Flores is a member of theSid Gillmancoaching tree. After stints as an assistant coach inBuffalo and Oakland (he won aSuper Bowl XI ring as an assistant coach underJohn Madden), team ownerAl Davis promoted Flores became the Raiders' head coach in 1979, following Madden's retirement. In 1980, Flores led the Raiders as a wild card playoff team to win theSuper Bowl XV championship over thePhiladelphia Eagles, 27–10. This was the first wild card team to win the Super Bowl and the only team to win four postseason games en route to a title, until Denver accomplished the same feat in 1997. Flores then moved with the team toLos Angeles in 1982. In the 1983 season Flores led the Raiders to another Super Bowl (XVIII) victory over theWashington Redskins, 38–9. He was named AFC Coach of the year byUnited Press International and the Football Writers Association in 1982. Flores was the NFL's first minority head coach to win a Super Bowl, winning twice –Super Bowl XV with the Oakland Raiders andSuper Bowl XVIII with theLos Angeles Raiders. After a 5–10 finish to the 1987 season, Flores moved to the Raiders' front office but left after just one year. His 83 wins with the Raiders are the second-most in franchise history, behind only Madden. While he appreciated the time spent with the Raiders, Flores once stated that he believed his lack of induction in thePro Football Hall of Fame was because of the "dominating force" cast by Davis.[5]
On February 22, 1989,Ken Behring (a close friend of Flores) of theSeattle Seahawks hired Flores to serve as team president and general manager after not renewingMike McCormack's contract.[6] After the 1991 season, head coachChuck Knox agreed to part ways after meeting with Flores and the owner. Flores had wantedDennis Erickson (then of theUniversity of Miami) to be the new head coach but Erickson elected to stay with Miami. On January 6, 1992, he appointed himself head coach of the Seahawks.[7] In the offseason, the team elected to move on fromDave Krieg as quarterback that left a roster ofKelly Stouffer,Stan Gelbaugh, andDan McGwire. The team went from 7–9 the previous year to 2–14, complete with scoring 140 points, the lowest total by a team for an entire 16-game season in NFL history. The one bright spot wasCortez Kennedy, who won theNFL Defensive Player of the Year. The Seahawks elected to go withRick Mirer at quarterback for 1993 that resulted in a 6–10 campaign where they lost five of their last six games.
The 1994 team started 3–1 but then lost four in a row on the way to a 6–10 finish. Five days after the season ended, on December 29, 1994, the Seahawks fired Flores and his entire staff.[8] Flores left pro football with a lifetime coaching record of 97–87 (52.7%), as well as an 8–3 playoff record, with two Super Bowl victories.
From 1997 until 2018, Flores was a color commentator alongside play-by-play announcerGreg Papa for theRaiders Radio Network.[2]
Flores served as coach of the American team in the 2011NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.[9]
In 1961 Flores married Barbara Fridell, who he met while a student at University of the Pacific. They have twin sons and a daughter, and five grandchildren and one great nephew Adelso Flores.
Sanger High School's football stadium is named Tom Flores Stadium in honor of Flores, who was a graduate of Sanger. He heads the Tom Flores Youth Foundation, which benefits the K-8th grades in the Sanger School district in the fields of art, science, and sports.
Flores graduated from University of the Pacific in 1958. He was the starting quarterback while at Pacific[3] and following his playing career with the Tigers, Flores was hired as an assistant coach at Pacific as he worked toward his master's degree.
Flores holds an honorary doctorate degree fromPepperdine University for humanitarian service.
His biography,Fire in the Iceman, was released in 1992. Flores also coauthoredTales of the Oakland Raiders (2002).
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Won | Lost | Ties | Win % | Finish | Won | Lost | Win % | Result | ||
| OAK | 1979 | 9 | 7 | 0 | .563 | 4th in AFC West | – | – | – | – |
| OAK | 1980 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 2nd in AFC West | 4 | 0 | 1.000 | Super Bowl XV champions |
| OAK | 1981 | 7 | 9 | 0 | .438 | 4th in AFC West | – | – | – | – |
| RAI | 1982 | 8 | 1 | 0 | .889 | 1st in AFC | 1 | 1 | .500 | Lost toNew York Jets inAFC second round Game |
| RAI | 1983 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 1st in AFC West | 3 | 0 | 1.000 | Super Bowl XVIII champions |
| RAI | 1984 | 11 | 5 | 0 | .688 | 3rd in AFC West | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost toSeattle Seahawks inAFC wild card game |
| RAI | 1985 | 12 | 4 | 0 | .750 | 1st in AFC West | 0 | 1 | .000 | Lost toNew England Patriots inAFC Divisional Game |
| RAI | 1986 | 8 | 8 | 0 | .500 | 4th in AFC West | – | – | – | – |
| RAI | 1987 | 5 | 10 | 0 | .333 | 4th in AFC West | – | – | – | – |
| OAK/RAI total | 83 | 53 | 0 | .610 | 8 | 3 | .727 | |||
| SEA | 1992 | 2 | 14 | 0 | .125 | 5th in AFC West | – | – | – | – |
| SEA | 1993 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 5th in AFC West | – | – | – | – |
| SEA | 1994 | 6 | 10 | 0 | .375 | 5th in AFC West | – | – | – | – |
| SEA total | 14 | 34 | 0 | .292 | – | – | – | |||
| Total[10] | 97 | 87 | 0 | .527 | 8 | 3 | .727 | |||
In 1982, Flores was inducted as a charter member of theUniversity of the Pacific Athletics Hall of Fame.[11] In 1988, he was inducted into theFresno County Athletic Hall of Fame.[12] In 2007, Flores was inducted into theCalifornia Sports Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was also inducted into theCalifornia Community College Athletic Association Hall of Fame. In July 2011, Flores received the Roberto Clemente Award for Sports Excellence that is given by theNational Council of La Raza for contributions in society by an Hispanic athlete.[13] In 2012, he was also inducted into theBay Area Sports Hall of Fame.[14]In 2021, Flores was enshrined into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio, alongside former RaiderCharles Woodson,Peyton Manning and five others.[15]
Media related toTom Flores at Wikimedia Commons| International | |
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