Tom Flores: The Raiders first quarterback
Tom Flores was the first starting quarterback in Oakland Raider history. Flores wasn't a game breaker but he had a decent touch and loved hitting the long bomb to WR Art Powell. Not much can be said about Flores playing career and even though he owns a few Raider passing records his main contribution to the team was his coaching. As a assistant on John Maddens staff he won a World Championship in 1976 but Flores had other contributions. He is and will always be the only coach to ever win the Super Bowl during the 1980's while coaching a AFC team. First in 1981 and then again in 1984 Tom Flores Raiders won the Super Bowl and cemented his reputation as one of the greatest coaches ever. Later he retired and became general manager of the Seattle Seahawks for a time, then he was the Seahawks head coach and finally Flores has been the voice of the Oakland Raiders on the radio since the mid 1990's. Below are Flores career stats and his stats as a head coach. Enjoy!!!
| Year | Att | Comp | % | Yards | TD | INT | Rush | Yards | Avg | TD |
| 1960 | 252 | 136 | 54 | 1738 | 12 | 12 | 39 | -42 | -1.1 | 3 |
| 1961 | 366 | 190 | 52 | 2176 | 15 | 19 | 23 | 36 | 1.6 | 1 |
| 1962 | injured | inj | inj | inj | inj | inj | inj | inj | inj | inj |
| 1963 | 247 | 113 | 46 | 2101 | 20 | 13 | 11 | 2 | 0.2 | 0 |
| 1964 | 200 | 98 | 49 | 1381 | 7 | 14 | 11 | 64 | 5.8 | 0 |
| 1965 | 269 | 122 | 45 | 1583 | 14 | 11 | 11 | 32 | 2.9 | 0 |
| 1966 | 306 | 151 | 49 | 2638 | 24 | 14 | 5 | 50 | 10.0 | 1 |
| Career | 1640 | 810 | 49.3 | 11617 | 92 | 83 | 100 | 142 | 1.42 | 5 |
Flores may be best remembered for his work with Jim Plunkett. Tom took that former heisman trophy winner, who flopped as a pro football player and made him into a clutch quarterback who could make big plays. Plunkett responded in 1980 and guided the Raiders to a playoff birth after taking over the the injured Dan Pastorini. In the playoffs the Raiders won three straight games including two tough road games verses Cleveland and San Diego. The Raiders then whipped the Eagles in Super Bowl 15 and Plunkett became the games MVP while throwing for 3 touchdowns. In 1984 Flores and the Raiders were underdogs against one of the greatest teams of all time. The 1983 Redskins had scored more points than any other team had in a season in league history. Running Back John Riggins was the ultimate power runner who bulldozed his way to a Super Bowl MVP award in Super Bowl XVII. But in Super Bowl XVIII it was all Los Angeles as Flores squad held Riggins to just 64 yards in 26 carries, his longest run of the day was a mere 8 yards!! The Raiders won 38-9 and they held the Redskins out of the end zone until the third quarter.
Flores coaching stats
* = Player Strike
| Year | Wins | Loses | Ties | Playoff Rec 1-1 |
| 1979 | 9 | 7 | 0 | 0-0 |
| 1980 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 4-0 |
| 1981 | 7 | 9 | 0 | 0-0 |
| 1982* | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1-1 |
| 1983 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 3-0 |
| 1984 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 0-1 |
| 1985 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0-1 |
| 1986 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 0-0 |
| 1987* | 5 | 10 | 0 | 0-0 |
| Totals | 83 | 53 | 0 | 8-3 |