For Raiders icon Tom Flores, the Hall of Fame wait is over

Tom Flores didn’t realize then how much of an impact he made as the first and only head coach to bring a Super Bowl title to Los Angeles.

Flores rarely left his hotel room besides going to Raiders’ headquarters for the first 14 months he spent in Southern California after the team relocated from Oakland in 1982.

With his family in Northern California, Flores dedicated most of his time to delivering a Super Bowl for the Raiders in their new city, a feat he accomplished in his second season in Los Angeles.

“We moved and all of a sudden we’re coaching and playing in Los Angeles,” Flores said in a phone interview Tuesday from his home in Indian Wells. “I didn’t have a lot of time to enjoy (Los Angeles Raiders fans), even that Super Bowl year, because I was in a hotel for 14 months.

“It didn’t seem to be that much of a deal or that relevant then as it is now.”

The 1983 Raiders led by Flores have a special place in Los Angeles sports history.

Flores thought he was alone then, but his teams in the 1980s are why many Southern California football fans still strongly support the Raiders, despite them playing in their second city since leaving Los Angeles in 1995.

Flores, the Mexican-American kid who worked in the farm fields of Central California, is an icon to Latinos and Raider Nation. His feats are special to many people, and Flores acknowledges that by saying “we” when speaking about his accomplishments.

The decades of support are why he’s been able to stomach the disappointment of being passed over by the Pro Football Hall of Fame decade after decade.

But the time has finally come for Flores and his supporters. The Latino of many firsts is finally getting his gold jacket in Canton, Ohio – and the “Iceman” is bringing toda la Silver and Black familia.

“It’s been exciting,” Flores said about entering the Hall of Fame. “My whole family is going to be there. Grandkids and all and lots of friends, lots of players. … It’s going to be a fun event where everybody gets to celebrate, everybody who was a part of my journey.”

Flores, 84, couldn’t hold back his emotions when Hall of Fame president David Baker knocked on his door earlier this year to let him know his long wait had ended.

“That’s when it hit me,” Flores recalled. “I said, ‘I finally made it. I finally, finally made it.’ Up until that point, it was one disappointment after another and I said, ‘Well, if it happens, it will happen.’ It didn’t matter when it happened. It will happen soon and it ended up happening.”

Flores will be presented by Carol Davis, the wife of late Raiders owner Al Davis, at his enshrinement ceremony Sunday. Davis will introduce Flores in a pre-taped speech.

“If Al were still alive, he would have been the one I would have asked,” Flores said. “I had a couple people in mind and I’m thinking, I’m talking to my wife (Barbara) and all of a sudden, I said, ‘How about Carol Davis?’

“She’s been a sweetheart and I’ve known her for a long time. And I ran it by (Raiders owner) Mark (Davis) and Mark was ecstatic about it. He was just overwhelmed.”

Flores, who grew up in Sanger, California, was a trailblazer as the first Latino starting quarterback and head coach in the NFL. Al Davis promoted Flores from assistant coach to head coach in 1979 and Flores had the daunting task of replacing John Madden.

Flores went on to win Super Bowls XV and XVIII as the head coach of the Raiders, the second being the championship in Los Angeles.

“It’s nice to have come in as an outsider, and all of a sudden, you’re the world champs and you bring it to a city that certainly deserves it,” Flores said.

But Flores wasn’t an outsider. He looked like the many Latinos in the Los Angeles area. His presence on the NFL field was an inspiration to them.

It’s a mystery as to why the Hall of Fame for so long snubbed someone who won four Super Bowls – one as a player and one as an assistant coach – and made a lasting impact in the NFL.

“I don’t know if it took that long for us because we are minorities,” Flores said about his long wait into the Hall of Fame. “They kind of forgot about us somewhere in the corner.”

The tales of the “Iceman” weren’t forgotten by Latinos even as the decades passed. Many have stopped to thank Flores for breaking barriers and paving the way for minorities.

“There’s a lot of pride involved,” Flores said about his Latino supporters. “You can do anything in this country if you work hard and stay focused and get a few breaks along the way. It just means a lot. It means a lot when people come up to you, especially after your career – it’s not over – but you’ve done a lot of these things, and tell you how proud they were when you did them.

“You say, ‘Well, why? Because we are all together on this and you’re one of us.’ I say, ‘Yup, it can be done.’”

It was done and now there will be a Mexican-American coach with a bust in Canton.

Flores said he’s not looking forward to anything specifically during the Hall of Fame festivities. He’s not sure how he’ll feel emotionally, but after years of waiting, he’s going to soak it all in.

“I’m just looking forward to enjoying every part of it that I can,” Flores said. “When it’s over, reflect on it, take a deep breath and say, ‘Wow.’”