Flores played quarterback for two seasons at Fresno 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. Flores graduated from the University of the Pacific in 1958, but was unable to find a job in professional football. He was cut by the Calgary Stampeders of the CFL in 1958, after which he spent the season with the Salinas Packers of the Pacific Football Conference along with future Raider teammate turned pro wrestlerDon Manoukian. A second attempt to break into pro football with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League in 1959 also failed. In 1960, Flores finally landed a position as a quarterback with the American Football League's Oakland 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. Although he completed only 49.3 percent of his attempts, he passed for 2,638 yards and 24 touchdowns in 14 games. Oakland traded him to the Buffalo Bills in 1967. After serving as Jack 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 the Kansas City Chiefs. There he was backup to Len Dawson on the Chiefs' Super Bowl Championship team. He retired as a player after 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. In 1982, Flores was inducted as a charter member of the Athletics Hall of Fame. In 1988, he was inducted into the Fresno County Athletic Hall of Fame. In 2007, Flores was inducted into the California Sports Hall of Fame. In 2011, he was also inducted into the California Community College Athletic Association Hall of Fame. In July 2011, Flores received the Roberto Clemente Award for Sports Excellence that is given by the National Council of La Raza for contributions in society by an Hispanic Athlete. In 2012, he was also inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame.
Coaching career
Flores is still a member of the Sid Gillmancoaching tree. After stints as an assistant coach in Buffalo and Oakland, Flores became the Raiders' head coach in 1979, following Madden's retirement. In 1980, Flores lead the Raiders as a wild card playoff team to win the Super Bowl XV championship over the Philadelphia Eagles. This was the first wild card team to win the Super Bowl and the only team to win four post-season games en route to a title until Denver accomplished the same feat in 1997. Flores then moved with the team to Los Angeles in 1982. In the 1983 season Flores lead the Raiders to another Super Bowl victory over the Washington Redskins. In total, as head coach Flores won 8 of 11 games in post season play. He was named AFC Coach of the year by United Press International and the Football Writer's Association in 1982. The first Madden game was named after the Raiders head coach. Tom Flores won a championship as a player with the Kansas City Chiefs in 1969, as an assistant with the Oakland Raiders in 1976, and as a head coach for the Raiders in 1980 and 1983. Flores was the NFL's first minority head coach to win a Super Bowl, winning twice – Super Bowl XV with the Oakland Raiders and Super Bowl XVIII with the Los Angeles Raiders. After a 5–10 finish to the 1987 season, Flores moved to the Raiders' front office, but left after just one year to become the president and general manager of the Seattle Seahawks. He returned to coaching as the Seahawks head coach in 1992, but was fired after the 1994 season following three disappointing seasons. His 83 wins with the Raiders are the second-most in franchise history, behind only Madden. Flores left Pro Football with a lifetime coaching record of 97–87, as well as an 8–3 playoff record, with two Super Bowl victories. Flores, and George Seifert are the only eligible coaches with two such victories who have not been selected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Head coaching record
Post-coaching career
From 1997 until his dismissal in 2018, Flores served as color commentator alongside play-by-play announcer Greg Papa for the Raiders Radio Network. Flores served as coach of the American team in the 2011 NFLPA Collegiate Bowl.
Personal life
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. In 1961 Flores married Barbara Fridell. Together, they have twin sons and a daughter, three grandsons and two granddaughters. Flores holds an honorary doctorate degree from Pepperdine University for humanitarian service. His biography “Fire in the Ice Man” was released in 1992. Flores also coauthored “Tales of the Oakland Raiders”. Flores is still involved with the Raiders for various events.
