Tom Flores

Thomas Raymond Flores (born March 21, 1937) is an American former professional football coach and player.

Flores and Mike Ditka are the only people in National Football League history to win a Super Bowl as a player, assistant coach and head coach (Super Bowl IV as a player for the Chiefs, Super Bowl XI as an assistant coach of the Raiders, and Super Bowls XV and XVIII as head coach of the Raiders). Flores was also the first Hispanic starting quarterback and the first minority head coach in professional football history to win a Super Bowl.

Flores is currently a radio announcer for the Raiders Radio Network.

Biography

Football player

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 (now University) 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 wrestler Don Manoukian. A second attempt to break into pro football with the Washington Redskins of the National Football League (NFL) 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.