Tom Flores: Hall of Fame Controversy

Thomas Raymond Flores was born in Sanger, California in 1937 to Nellie Padilla Flores and Tomas Cervantes Flores. Although, not particularly open about his childhood, Tom mentions his dad immigrating to America as a child in pursuit of the ‘American Dream’ with his family. His parents emphasized education for Tom and his brother. An opportunity his father didn’t have, working as a sharecropper since age 12. His mother wasn’t afforded the option either – she finished 8th grade and then began sharecropping full-time.

Early life was difficult for the young boy. He describes living in a lean-to as a child, and sleeping in a grape box lined with blankets. Later on, his family moved to a house in poor condition, dirt floors, and no in-door plumbing. A highlight of his childhood was his family saving up enough money to buy a house in better condition. Tom Flores details his experience as a high school student athlete, saying players would wake up at 5 AM,  go to school, come home to do sharecropping, and then attend football practice until 10 or 11 PM.

Tom Flores and football find each other

The “Iceman,” no not that “Iceman,” the one on the football field, began his football career in high school. Flores’ played many sports in high school. The “Iceman” nickname originated from the stoic, calm, and quiet energy Tom brought to the field.

College was a pipe dream, for the young athlete. Deciding to give higher education a try, Flores played baseball and football at Fresno City College. Next, he transferred to The College of Pacific after being offered a academic scholarship and a quarterback position.

Going pro was not a smooth transition for the rookie quarterback. Tom tried for two years to get a pro-football gig. Finally, in 1960, the Oakland Raiders signed him. Flores’ remained the starting quarterback for six years there, taking a break in 1962 after contracting Tuberculosis. His football career came to a close in 1969, playing his last seasons as a back-up quarterback for the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs. A superbowl win with the Kansas City Chiefs later, Tom had new aspirations.

The name is Flores, Coach Flores

During college, Flores got a little coaching experience here and there as an assistant.

Next, he coached the pros – debuting as the quarterback coach for the Buffalo Bills for a year.

Then, the new coach went to his home away from home, the Oakland Raiders. There he became one of Coach Madden’s assistant, and the wide-receiver coach for 7 years.  As if being the first Hispanic starting quarterback wasn’t enough, he also was the first Hispanic head coach in the league to win a Super Bowl. Some say mistakenly, that he was the first minority coach in the league. This is not true, and takes credit away from other trailblazers in the BIPOC community. Flores has not said this himself.

Once Coach Madden retired, Flores’ took over as head coach for 12 years. His “Iceman” qualities made him an ideal leader, loved by his players. From there, he took a front office position for the Raiders for two more years. Firsts are Flores’ favorite it appears, because next he became the first Hispanic President and GM of a team – the Seattle Seahawks. Three years later, Flores felt the coaching call again, and became the Seahawks head coach until 1994. Upon retiring from the field, Coach Flores took a less active role in football as a color analyst from 1997 to 2018.

The controversy

Despite all of Tom Flores’ accomplishments, he was not being invited  into the Hall of Fame.

Of course, there were reasons presented why this was happening. He was the head coach under a very loud, unpopular team owner, Al Davis. Davis seemed to thrive off of fighting with the league. The coach was also  quiet. In a time when most head coaches were dramatically extroverted, Tom was a bit of a wallflower and easy to overlook. Others say racism is in the mix. Although, these points are not necessarily mutually exclusive.

The problem

For being as accomplished as Tom Flores was as a player and a coach, it seemed odd he would be ignored for so many years. Representation in football is sparse in the Hispanic community. Despite 30 million Hispanics identifying as football fans, only 0.5% of players in the league identified as Latino in 2019, and there has been exactly four head coaches in the entire league’s history, with only one in 2022. Prior to 2021, just 4 NFL Hall of Famers are Hispanic. Other former Hispanic players’ don’t seem to be receiving appropriate recognition either – Jim Plunkett, for example.

A positive

Also, it is worth pointing out that although Al Davis had an eccentric personality, he was a man with an eye on diversity. Perhaps the league was annoyed when he boycotted the AFL all-star game in New Orleans when players were facing racist acts. Maybe they were perturbed when he wouldn’t quiet down, and the entire game had to be moved to a more inclusive location. Their eyebrows probably went up when he fired the first African American coach in 40 years, Art Shell. Making a Hispanic American player the lead quarterback, and then the head coach, likely ruffled some feathers. It’s like that one saying… “well behaved team owners seldom make history.”

The boiling point

2019 was supposed to be Tom Flores’ year to be inducted into the Hall of Fame. And 2018, and 2017… But 2019 was the hardest because he received an invitation to the event where inductees are introduced. He was also old by the HOF president he was almost a guaranteed “shoo-in“. Because, the world is a cruel place, even though Flores’ traveled to Florida in his 80’s, struggling with health conditions, he was not inducted.

Some people still have a soul, and this couldn’t go unnoticed. Seeing Flores going from excited, to upset  had most people looking like this:

Next, came an unprecedented public campaign.

An unlikely friend, Coors Light, a beer company of all things, had a commercial showing support for Tom Flores’ induction.

A grounds man for the High School in Flores’ hometown, Sanger, created and maintained this artistic appeal for votes on the field for the entire 2020-2021 season. Other residents were creating similar artistic messaging.

Social media blew up in his support.

Shockingly, Congress even got involved. A legislative push including a resolution in support of Tom Flores’ induction came from the California Latino Legislative Caucus. Jim Costa was speaking of Flores’ achievements at a House of Representatives meeting during “general speeches” in 2021.

And then…

Tom Flores was inducted in 2021, at 83! Thank goodness because we were running out of legislative bodies.

Legacy of the Iceman – family

Of course, Tom Flores is leaving a beautiful legacy for his own family. The Hall of Famer speaks of his fathers and grandfathers aspirations for a better life, and the fulfillment they felt when he achieved so much.

In his speech, Flores spoke about his mother was so happy he got a college education and that he was going to be a teacher. She cried when she found out he was going to be a football player instead. Ultimately, she was his biggest supporter and felt he was a teacher – he taught his players.

Also, Tom Flores had an anecdote in his speech he was excited to share. He tells of the time that a assistant coach for the Raiders, from the same area in California,  came up to him a minute before they won another  Super Bowl, and said “Not bad for a couple of grape pickers.” Wholeheartedly, Flores agreed – it wasn’t bad at all.

Legacy of the Iceman – advocate and role model

As a result of his support his for his community, Tom Flores was awarded the League of United Latin America Lifetime Service Award. It turns out that when Flores isn’t busy collecting all the ‘firsts’ he also is advocating for comprehensive immigration reform and working for inclusion and diversity in government.

Importantly, Tom never forgets the importance of giving back to the community that raised him. He is aware he is a role model, although he humbly admits he didn’t think about the impact his actions would have while trailblazing. Flores is proud to be a “pioneer” for Hispanic kids, as he says. We all could benefit from being a little bit more like Tom Flores.

For other Hispanic Heritage Month articles, look here and here.