You can't tell the story of professional football without Tom Flores.
Yet despite having a trailblazing six-decade career as a Pro Bowl quarterback, Super Bowl winning coach, front-office executive and accomplished analyst — not to mention his four Super Bowl rings — Flores still remains on the outside looking in to the hallowed halls of Canton.
The Pro Football Hall of Fame took a step toward righting that wrong on Tuesday with the announcement that Flores was once again a finalist as a coach nominee for the Class of 2021.
More from the Pro Football Hall of Fame on the selection process:
To be elected to the Hall of Fame, Flores must receive the same 80 percent voting support by the entire 48-member Selection Committee on "Selection Saturday." The Hall's Selection Committee, at its annual meeting to be held on Saturday, Feb. 6, 2021 in Tampa, Fla., will consider 18 finalists, including a Senior (Drew Pearson, also named Tuesday), a Coach (Flores) and a Contributor (to be named Tuesday, Aug. 25), and 15 Modern-Era Finalists (to be determined from a preliminary list announced on September 16; trimmed to 25 semifinalists in November and to 15 finalists in January).
Current bylaws call for a class no smaller than four or larger than eight. Flores will be voted on for election independent of the other finalists.
We'll know a little more about Flores' chances as the panel begins to meet. Until then, may we reintroduce them to some of Flores' career highlights?
Career Highlights
1960: Makes first career starts as first quarterback in Raiders history
1963: Records first 400-yard passing performance in Raiders history
1966: Named to Pro Bowl
1969: Member of Kansas City Chiefs Super Bowl IV winning team
1972: Joins Raiders coaching staff
1976: Flores is member of Raiders Super Bowl XI-winning coaching staff
1979: Promoted to head coach of the Raiders
1980: Becomes first Latino head coach to win Super Bowl, Raiders first Wild Card team to win SB
1983: Leads Raiders to second Super Bowl title in four years
1985: Running back Marcus Allen wins NFL MVP
1987: Retires from coaching after 1987 season
1989: Joins Seattle Seahawks as team president/general manager, first Latino NFL team president
1992: Returns to coaching as head coach of Seahawks
1994: Retires from coaching a second time
1997 - 2017: Member of Raiders radio broadcast
2011: Roberto Clemente Award for Sports Excellence from National Council of La Raza
2012: Inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
2017: National Trailblazer Award - League of United Latin American Citizens
