Angry Pope
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Sanger native is also former Raiders coach
Jed Chernabaeff
Tom Flores' professional football legacy began in the 1960s as a starting quarterback in a league of players considered rejects.
But the Sanger native's start with the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League, which eventually merged with the National Football League, turned out to be a success by many measures. Flores, 69, had his doubts when he first tried out.
"The AFL experience was like a barnstorming bunch of truck drivers playing football," Flores said. "If you could walk and chew gum and throw a ball, [the Raiders] would take you."
Fast-forward 36 years, and Flores has been in professional football as a player, coach and commentator. He occasionally finds his way back to the San Joaquin Valley — to visit his mother and ask his fans for blood, which they willingly give.
Last weekend, a blood drive brought Flores to Visalia, Fresno, and Sanger. It drew hundreds of Raiders fans and raised hundreds of pints of blood.
Flores is still active in football as a radio announcer with the Oakland Raiders. But his legacy, along with his chances of being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is fading — at least in his lifetime, he says — despite his success.
"I wouldn't be lying if I said I didn't want to get in," Flores said. "I think about it, but I'm not obsessed with it. ... If it happens, it happens."
Some Oakland Raider fans in the San Joaquin Valley say Flores will be remembered more as a coach than a player, and even more so as a Hispanic role model.
Eddie Gomez, 50, of Visalia, a Raider fan since the fifth grade, says Flores is an icon in the Hispanic community.
"There is a great following of the Raiders in the Valley because of Flores' roots here," Gomez said. "A lot of people could relate to him, and it was rare to have a Hispanic player or coach at that level at the time."
Flores did both.
He broke through with the Oakland Raiders in 1960 as the first Hispanic quarterback in the American Football League.
He later became one of the league's first Hispanic coaches, leading the Raiders to two Super Bowl wins in the 1980s.
The Raiders have appealed to the Hispanic community because of early players such as Jim Plunkett and Flores, plus the distinction of being located in cities with large Hispanic populations — Oakland and Los Angeles.
Raider fans also say the team's working-class image is part of its appeal
Alice Lopez, a Farmersville Unified School District school board trustee who was "born a Raider fan," said the Hispanic community grew attached to the team in the 1970s.
"My family started liking the Raiders because they were the people's team," Lopez said. "They were regular people. People could relate to the underdog, and they looked like regular people."
Gomez, who became a fan in 1968, agrees.
"Back then they were aggressive and they looked different from most teams," Gomez said. "Players had long hair and they were different. They looked like real people."
Flores admits he could have played a role in the Raiders gaining a large Hispanic fan base, but he says he was simply hired as a player and coach who could win games.
"[Owner] Al Davis didn't hire me because I was Hispanic," Flores said. "I'm not even sure if he knows what a Hispanic is."
It wasn't until later in his coaching career that he realized he had an effect on the Hispanic community.
"You just didn't have the opportunity [as a Hispanic athlete] back then," Flores said. "I didn't realize until much later when people would approach me in the Southwest and tell me how much hope I gave them.
"There was a lot of pride because I was playing."
While Raiders fans say the team is built on pride and loyalty, non-Raider fans have a different perception of the silver and black team.
Raiders fans are often described as drunk, rude, obnoxious, disrespectful, hateful — plus words not fit for print.
"They are crazy," said Moses Deleon, 28 of Visalia, who is a San Francisco fan married to a Raider fan. "Just look at them. To tell you the truth, I don't know why the fans are the way they are."
Bill Maxwell, 45, of Tulare, who has no favorite team, said Raider fans still fit the tough, working-class image, but the team doesn't follow suit.
"[Raiders] fans are the most diehard fans of all of the teams because they believe in their team," Maxwell said. "But the team isn't living up to the image they use to portray because they have been losing too much."
While fans have their own impression of the Raider Nation, Flores blames television for the negative images.
"Bunch of thugs? I can see that," Flores said. "Unfortunately, television only shows the fans who look like they are in gangs. They show a handful of people who are out of control. They don't show the nice silver-haired lady dressed in black cashmere. They portray them like they are a bunch of wackos."
Flores said each professional football team has its own rowdy bunch of fans.
"Raiders fans haven't booed Santa and haven't urinated on somebody who is being treated while injured," he said. "Every town has their wackos."
He added that being viewed differently by other fans is inevitable.
"When you are dressed in black, you are automatically considered the villain," Flores said. "Villains are always dressed in black. Plus when your mascot has a patch on their eye and Darth Vader is in the stands ... there is a big difference in how the fans react to that."
Some fans say that Raider fans do more harm than good during the football season, but that's not true — at least on one weekend — as Flores and the Central California Blood Center teamed up to draw blood from 751 donors — mostly Raiders fans — in Visalia, Fresno and Sanger.
The event also raised a few thousand dollars for the Tom Flores Youth Foundation, an organization that donates a large portion of its proceeds to the Sanger Unified School District.
Chris Sorenson, director of community relations and development for the Central California Blood Center, said 218 Tulare County residents donated blood Sept. 9. The blood drive marked the second year the center and foundation teamed up.
She credits Flores' connection with Raider fans in the Valley for the success.
"There is by and large more Raiders fans who come to these events," Sorenson said. "Not only is Flores an icon in the Sanger community, but he comes back to give to the San Joaquin Valley."
On Sept. 9 at the Visalia Convention Center, it was a St. Louis Rams fan who showed up first — beating hundreds of Raider fans.
Lesli Stanton, 51, of Visalia said she did it for her Raider-fan husband, Tom, who only days before got into a car crash.
"We were here first last year and he pretty much booted me out of the house," Stanton said. "Plus, we are regular donors, and I know that blood is needed. Even if you aren't a Raiders fan, there is a sense of camaraderie."
Jed Chernabaeff
Tom Flores' professional football legacy began in the 1960s as a starting quarterback in a league of players considered rejects.
But the Sanger native's start with the Oakland Raiders in the American Football League, which eventually merged with the National Football League, turned out to be a success by many measures. Flores, 69, had his doubts when he first tried out.
"The AFL experience was like a barnstorming bunch of truck drivers playing football," Flores said. "If you could walk and chew gum and throw a ball, [the Raiders] would take you."
Fast-forward 36 years, and Flores has been in professional football as a player, coach and commentator. He occasionally finds his way back to the San Joaquin Valley — to visit his mother and ask his fans for blood, which they willingly give.
Last weekend, a blood drive brought Flores to Visalia, Fresno, and Sanger. It drew hundreds of Raiders fans and raised hundreds of pints of blood.
Flores is still active in football as a radio announcer with the Oakland Raiders. But his legacy, along with his chances of being inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, is fading — at least in his lifetime, he says — despite his success.
"I wouldn't be lying if I said I didn't want to get in," Flores said. "I think about it, but I'm not obsessed with it. ... If it happens, it happens."
Some Oakland Raider fans in the San Joaquin Valley say Flores will be remembered more as a coach than a player, and even more so as a Hispanic role model.
Eddie Gomez, 50, of Visalia, a Raider fan since the fifth grade, says Flores is an icon in the Hispanic community.
"There is a great following of the Raiders in the Valley because of Flores' roots here," Gomez said. "A lot of people could relate to him, and it was rare to have a Hispanic player or coach at that level at the time."
Flores did both.
He broke through with the Oakland Raiders in 1960 as the first Hispanic quarterback in the American Football League.
He later became one of the league's first Hispanic coaches, leading the Raiders to two Super Bowl wins in the 1980s.
The Raiders have appealed to the Hispanic community because of early players such as Jim Plunkett and Flores, plus the distinction of being located in cities with large Hispanic populations — Oakland and Los Angeles.
Raider fans also say the team's working-class image is part of its appeal
Alice Lopez, a Farmersville Unified School District school board trustee who was "born a Raider fan," said the Hispanic community grew attached to the team in the 1970s.
"My family started liking the Raiders because they were the people's team," Lopez said. "They were regular people. People could relate to the underdog, and they looked like regular people."
Gomez, who became a fan in 1968, agrees.
"Back then they were aggressive and they looked different from most teams," Gomez said. "Players had long hair and they were different. They looked like real people."
Flores admits he could have played a role in the Raiders gaining a large Hispanic fan base, but he says he was simply hired as a player and coach who could win games.
"[Owner] Al Davis didn't hire me because I was Hispanic," Flores said. "I'm not even sure if he knows what a Hispanic is."
It wasn't until later in his coaching career that he realized he had an effect on the Hispanic community.
"You just didn't have the opportunity [as a Hispanic athlete] back then," Flores said. "I didn't realize until much later when people would approach me in the Southwest and tell me how much hope I gave them.
"There was a lot of pride because I was playing."
While Raiders fans say the team is built on pride and loyalty, non-Raider fans have a different perception of the silver and black team.
Raiders fans are often described as drunk, rude, obnoxious, disrespectful, hateful — plus words not fit for print.
"They are crazy," said Moses Deleon, 28 of Visalia, who is a San Francisco fan married to a Raider fan. "Just look at them. To tell you the truth, I don't know why the fans are the way they are."
Bill Maxwell, 45, of Tulare, who has no favorite team, said Raider fans still fit the tough, working-class image, but the team doesn't follow suit.
"[Raiders] fans are the most diehard fans of all of the teams because they believe in their team," Maxwell said. "But the team isn't living up to the image they use to portray because they have been losing too much."
While fans have their own impression of the Raider Nation, Flores blames television for the negative images.
"Bunch of thugs? I can see that," Flores said. "Unfortunately, television only shows the fans who look like they are in gangs. They show a handful of people who are out of control. They don't show the nice silver-haired lady dressed in black cashmere. They portray them like they are a bunch of wackos."
Flores said each professional football team has its own rowdy bunch of fans.
"Raiders fans haven't booed Santa and haven't urinated on somebody who is being treated while injured," he said. "Every town has their wackos."
He added that being viewed differently by other fans is inevitable.
"When you are dressed in black, you are automatically considered the villain," Flores said. "Villains are always dressed in black. Plus when your mascot has a patch on their eye and Darth Vader is in the stands ... there is a big difference in how the fans react to that."
Some fans say that Raider fans do more harm than good during the football season, but that's not true — at least on one weekend — as Flores and the Central California Blood Center teamed up to draw blood from 751 donors — mostly Raiders fans — in Visalia, Fresno and Sanger.
The event also raised a few thousand dollars for the Tom Flores Youth Foundation, an organization that donates a large portion of its proceeds to the Sanger Unified School District.
Chris Sorenson, director of community relations and development for the Central California Blood Center, said 218 Tulare County residents donated blood Sept. 9. The blood drive marked the second year the center and foundation teamed up.
She credits Flores' connection with Raider fans in the Valley for the success.
"There is by and large more Raiders fans who come to these events," Sorenson said. "Not only is Flores an icon in the Sanger community, but he comes back to give to the San Joaquin Valley."
On Sept. 9 at the Visalia Convention Center, it was a St. Louis Rams fan who showed up first — beating hundreds of Raider fans.
Lesli Stanton, 51, of Visalia said she did it for her Raider-fan husband, Tom, who only days before got into a car crash.
"We were here first last year and he pretty much booted me out of the house," Stanton said. "Plus, we are regular donors, and I know that blood is needed. Even if you aren't a Raiders fan, there is a sense of camaraderie."