For Hall of Famer Tom Flores, it was always about the work

Before being named a subordinate of the 2021 Pro Football Hall of Fame class, erstwhile Raiders manager Tom Flores already occupied a peculiar spot successful the past of the NFL.

Flores, the longtime player, manager and front-office executive, volition beryllium inducted into the hallway connected Sunday successful Canton, Ohio. With him volition beryllium his household and members of the Raiders, including Mark Davis, whose father, Al Davis, hired Flores to beryllium the Raiders manager successful 1979.

That prosecute made Flores the NFL’s archetypal Hispanic caput coach, a favoritism that volition stay an important portion of his legacy. While Flores is alert of the groundbreaking quality of his NFL vocation — helium was besides the league’s archetypal Hispanic backmost — it is the enactment itself that has ever taken precedence with him.

Going each the mode backmost to Sanger Union High School successful cardinal California to Fresno City College to the University of Pacific each the mode to the apical of his assemblage successful the NFL, it was the enactment that ever drove him.

Even arsenic helium carried a torch for minorities crossed the country.

“I ne'er felt I was hired due to the fact that of my taste background. I was hired due to the fact that of what I could bash connected the field, arsenic a subordinate and arsenic a coach,” Flores said. “I inactive consciousness that way.”

It is simply a connection helium continues to spread.

“It doesn’t substance what colour you are, you’ve got to beryllium acceptable to perform. And you’ve got to beryllium capable to win. Otherwise, you’re going to beryllium an unemployed,” Flores said. “Fortunately, I was fortunate enough, worthy capable and bully enough, I guess, to triumph capable and found myself.”

Nevertheless, it took idiosyncratic with the courageousness to subordinate accepted contented to prosecute Flores arsenic a caput coach. That antheral was Al Davis, who was seeking a caller person upon John Madden’s status aft the 1978 season.

“That’s Tom Flores successful a Hall of Fame jacket!!”

Looks great, Coach 👏👏 pic.twitter.com/H4pzv6dl9W

— Las Vegas Raiders (@Raiders) August 7, 2021

For Flores, who was a Raiders adjunct manager the erstwhile 7 years, it was an accidental he’d been waiting astir a decennary to pursue. It was an ambition that helium often shared with Raiders violative lineman Art Shell.

“Tom and I utilized to speech erstwhile Tom was an adjunct astir however helium wanted to go a caput manager successful the league,” said Shell, who played for the Raiders from 1968 to 1982 and would go the archetypal African-American caput manager successful modern NFL past for the Raiders successful 1989.

The narration betwixt Flores and Davis dated each the mode backmost to their clip unneurotic successful the AFL. After a whirlwind hiring process successful which Davis would interrogation Flores 5 times, Davis yet tabbed him to regenerate Madden.

Flores’ familiarity with Davis — and Davis’ with Flores — would beryllium 1 of the keys to their occurrence together. The quiet, introspective Flores was the implicit other of the combustible and demonstrative Madden. Initially, Flores disquieted their differences could beryllium an issue.

“I americium what I am,” Flores said. “I was that mode arsenic a player. As a person, I was quiet, nether control. I retrieve talking to Al Davis and I said: “I’m not John, arsenic acold arsenic the affectional part. And helium said “I know. But I hired you to win.’”

In turn, Flores knew Davis truthful good helium was capable to ever absorption connected the essence of him alternatively than the perception.

“He was tough. He was demanding. He was fearless,” Flores said. “You had to cognize him. And I got to cognize him beauteous well. And erstwhile you knew him, you knew the bully things and the atrocious things, and helium had truthful galore bully things to offer.”

After going 9-7 successful his archetypal twelvemonth astatine the helm, Flores and the Raiders soared to an 11-5 grounds successful 1980 and a Super Bowl championship. Three years later, with the squad present successful Los Angeles, the Raiders won Super Bowl XVIII.

“His clip came, helium took the mantle and helium ran with it,” Shell said. “So that was great.”

Flores yet ran each the mode to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And connected Sunday, his bust volition articulation the immortals of his profession.

Contact Vincent Bonsignore astatine vbonsignore@reviewjournal.com. Follow @VinnyBonsignore onTwitter.