The Pro Football Hall of Fame is comprised of a very elite group of men. Very few players, coaches and executives get in, even if they appear to have the pedigree to do so.
One of the many deserving players that is not in is Oakland Raiders legend Tom Flores. Flores was one of the first players of Latino descent to start at quarterback, and eventually becoming a Super Bowl champion as a backup with the Kansas City Chiefs.
However, Flores’ biggest contributions come from the sidelines. Once he made the transition to coaching, he became a part of three Raiders championship squads. He was an assistant under John Madden in 1976 when the Raiders won it all, and then served as head coach from 1979 to 1987, winning two more championships.
Despite his accomplishments, he has still yet to be Elected into the Hall of Fame. However, according to Raiders.com, congressmen Jim Costa (D-CA) and Darren Soto (D-FL) are seeking a congressional resolution to change that:
“As society progresses, we become ever more mindful [of] our nation’s diverse history, and the first Hispanic quarterback, Tom Flores, is no exception,” said Rep. Soto. “Flores was a multiple time Super Bowl Champion, both as a quarterback and as a coach. These victories are made even more meaningful by the fact that he was in every sense an NFL trailblazer. It’s time for his name to be etched into the history books with his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. I am proud to work with Congressman Costa to introduce this resolution!”
While it is unlikely that the United States government will want to get too deep into this issue, the campaign for Flores does carry some weight outside of football. Flores was the first minority head coach to win the Super Bowl, and his impact on the game and spreading it to different cultures is immeasurable.
Flores spent six years as the Raiders starting quarterback between 1960 and 1966. In that time he amassed 11,635 passing yards, a total that still stands as the seventh-most in franchise history.
After his coaching career with the Raiders ended in 1987, he went on to become the Seattle Seahawks’ general manager. He stayed with the Seahawks from 1989 to 1994, also serving as head coach in his final three years with the team.
From there he became the Raiders’ radio announcer from 1997 until 2018. With a career as storied and long as Flores’, it seems odd to not place him in the Hall of Fame. Hopefully, Congressmen Costa and Soto can raise some awareness and help make it happen.
