‘Incredible’: Raiders great Tom Flores finally, formally a Pro Football Hall of Famer
Finally. At last.
Tom Flores’ long-awaited trip to the stage at Tom Benson Hall of Fame arrived Sunday afternoon.
He is now officially in the Pro Football Hall of Fame after the Class of 2021 induction ceremony in Canton, Ohio.
It was a long time coming for Flores, finally elected in February after a couple of disappointments when he didn’t get the celebrated knock on the door and a visit from Hall president David Baker.
On Sunday, Flores put that all in the past and enjoyed every moment as former players, family and friends applauded and saluted him for a career that included two Super Bowl wins as a coach for the Raiders.
Carol Davis, the wife of late owner Al Davis, described in a taped speech what Flores — a former Raiders quarterback hired first as an assistant and later promoted to head coach — meant to the franchise in its Oakland and Los Angeles days and still represents with the team relocated to Las Vegas.
“He was a Raider and he came back home,” she said. “Tom means everything to this organization.”
Current Raiders owner Mark Davis also presented Flores and was with him when they revealed Flores’ bust that will forever sit in the Pro Football Hall of Fame museum.
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The Fresno-born and Sanger favorite son waved and thanked everyone who supported his Pro Football Hall of Fame candidacy over the years and his eventual election.
His speech touched on several topics, not the least of which are his roots in the central San Joaquin Valley, including playing at Sanger High, Fresno City College and the University of the Pacific.
“I was always happy in the world of football,” Flores told the audience “And now because of this honor, I’ll be part of it forever and forever. Realize that. That is incredible.”
Al Davis named him head coach in 1979 after Flores served several years as an assistant under John Madden.
Flores led the Raiders to the two league championships and had 97 victories as an NFL head coach, including an 83-53 run with the Raiders from 1979 to 1987.
Sanger High will celebrate Tom Flores Hall of Fame Night on Sept. 17 and the city will host a “Welcome Home Celebration” in downtown from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m., on Sept. 18 when a Tom Flores Boulevard ribbon-cutting will take place.
Jon Gruden salutes Tom Flores
After Sunday’s training camp practice at Allegiant Stadium, Raiders coach Jon Gruden shared what he thinks Flores means to the organization.
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“Coach has always been a supporter, no matter who the head coach of the Raiders been,” he said. “I can only say this: hard work and loyalty is the two things he stood by and advised me to do and keep your head up. He knows what the Raiders are all about.
“A lot of people probably don’t know all the accomplishments of Flores. He’s a great quarterback; he’s a winner — a two-time world champion coach — a leader of men. I think hard work and loyalty are the two things that makes Flores special.”
Transcript of Tom Flores’ Hall of Fame speech
Thank you. Thank you, Carol Davis. How about a round of applause for Carol Davis who wasn’t able to be here tonight. She did a wonderful job. A wonderful lady, a long time friend and she and I go back a long ways, in the old days of the American Football League. But the reason why I’m here, and the reason why I’m second on the program tonight, is that I’m 84 frappin years-old. I gotta go to bed at 9 o’clock. Where’s my pillow?
Being here today, this enshrinement means the world to me. My journey began a long time ago when my father, as a 12-year-old, migrated into the Central Valley in California with his family. They came from Mexico and settled into the San Joaquin Valley and worked the farms, as they did in those days, and our first house had dirt floors and no indoor plumbing. So we came from whatever else came from: we were not the only ones that lived that way. They made sure that my brother and I did well in school and participated in different activities as many as we could. Education was very important to them and it became very important to me and prominent in my life. The Sanger High School District, in my hometown of Sanger, little ol’ town of Sanger. We have people from Sanger here. A long way to come from Sanger. Did you ever try to get here? It’s not an easy place to get to. I’ve been trying for a long time to get here. I started a foundation there in 1988 for kindergarten through eight graders in my school district for their enhancement in educational opportunities. I’m very proud to say, as I stand here, that it been funded and we have funded it, so it will go on in perpetuity. I’m happy to say that.
At first, as a young guy, I wasn’t planning on going to college because in those days when you went to school and then when you got through with high school you went to work. Well, I loved school. So I worked hard to get an academic scholarship. I played every sport that I can possibly play. Did every event I possibly attend and so I settled on football as my major sport to be productive. I worked hard and played in high school football in Sanger and at Fresno City College and College of the Pacific in Stockton California, now the University of the Pacific. Now they don’t even play football anymore, but that’s where I was. A long time ago.
I’m old fashioned. I don’t use a teleprompter. When I was one class short of my Masters degree, after having failed twice to make the professional football league’s in Canada and also in the NFL, I got a call from these guys called the American Football League. And I thought, well, I’m going to give it a try. So, I joined the Oakland Raiders. We were just a bunch of guys who didn’t have a home stadium. Most of the guys in training camp had no idea where Oakland was. I had to tell them, and we were playing in San Francisco. Having a new league gave all of us an opportunity to play football and continue. There weren’t a lot of jobs and a lot of teams in the National Football League, but it gave us an opportunity, and my mother cried when I told her I was going to play professionally instead of coming home to be a teacher as I studied for in college. But in the end, she was the proudest of all because I followed my passion. That’s what brought me to this stage today-tonight.
Passion. When you talk about passion you’re looking at passion on this entire stage. The passion that you have sustains you through all your years of professional football. There are so many people that I want to thank for supporting me here. I can’t name them all, but I’ll name a few going back to my high school coach Lou Papac, Clare Slaughter, Dean Nicholson, Jack Myers in college and Jim Plunkett, a dear friend of mine; Paul McGuire, a dear friend of mine; Ron Wolff, a member of the Hall. Marcus (Allen) a member of the Hall. A friend of mine, Mike Hornstein who wasn’t able to make it tonight. But my No. 1 is this little cute gal who I met when I was a College of the Pacific. She was the cutest gal I’ve ever seen. We both came from hardworking parents who created a better life for us, and everything we did, they tried to encourage us to do. We were both first to graduate from college. Barbara, and I dated for five years. It took me five years to convince her that I was the guy. Now, we’ve been married for 60 years. Barbara, I’m so grateful for you everyday. You know me, the good parts and bad parts. You put up with the bad parts. You’re my biggest fan and you’re my best friend. I love you dearly. Thank you!
I also want to thank my children for being so supportive of my career — the ups and the downs. Children suffered, as all of us up here know, between the hard times and the training camp when dad is away. I can remember once my boys asking ‘daddy, are you going to come and live in our new house with us?’ Because I was always leaving with a suitcase to go someplace to play and say why isn’t daddy playing with us at home? Well, they learned and my kids hung in there with me. They cheered for their old dad and never tried to make me change. My children Mark, Scott and Kim, and my grandchildren Kevin, Jillian, Megan and young Jacob. I’m very proud of you. I’m very proud of you. I’m very proud of what you accomplished and what you have become.
I want to thank all of the players and alumni who worked for me and for me. We worked hard together and we were very successful. We won a few games and won a few Super Bowls. But our friendship will endure forever. And as I enter the Hall, I feel like you’re going in with me. You don’t get there alone. It didn’t happen in a vacuum. A lot of people have helped me and do what I did in my career. I want to thank the Raider organization ... they’ve been incredible. Raider Nation is everywhere.
I spent 55 years of my professional life with the Raiders as a player, assistant coach and head coach and the radio announcer. And now as a representative in the PR department. There is no better group of people and no better place to have your second home. I particularly want to mention the late Al Davis who was my mentor and my coach. I love his wife, Carol, dearly, who you saw in the video. I love coaching his son Mark who is up here with me. Now the owner and running the team. When he used to come to camp as an 8-year-old I met him and he used to create havoc on the playing field because we only had two balls and it was very low budget.
To everyone I played the game with and everyone who played for me, you’re my other family. Football is a world that we share with a powerful bond. When I was traded to Buffalo and went on to Kansas City and onto to Seattle, they all welcomed me as family as it should be. If you played the game, respect is always there, whether we played together or not. Today, on this stage, we’re all on one team. One team of Gold Jackets. This is a very emotional day for me. I’ve been blessed with a great life, doing the work that I love with people that I love and adore. I was always happy in the world of football, and now because of this honor, I’ll be a part of it forever. Forever. Realize that. That is incredible. Here is a memory I would like to leave with you: It’s Super Bowl 15 in New Orleans. The clock is ticking down, there is 1 minute left and we’re ahead by 17 points. One of my assistants, Sam Bogosian who is also from the Central Valley in California and whose family is here tonight. Leaned over and looked at me and said ‘not bad for a couple of grape pickers.’ I said ‘Sam, not bad at all for a couple of grape pickers.’
Thank you so much! Congratulations to 2020 and Class of 2021. Go Raiders!
This story was originally published August 8, 2021 at 5:38 PM.
