Miles
Well-known member
- Mar 18, 2019
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He led the Raiders to two Super Bowl victories, in 1979 while in Oakland (Super Bowl XV) and in Los Angeles in 1982 (Super Bowl XVIII).
Flores always seems so cool, calm and collected on the sidelines, but his outward demeanor hid an inner passion. His nickname to many was "The Iceman," but he had an inner drive that few could imagine.
In fact, his autobiography is titled "Fire in the Iceman."
He and Mike Ditka are the only two people in NFL history to win a Super Bowl as a player, assistant coach, and head coach.
From 1997 until 2018, Flores served as a radio announcer for the Raiders Radio Network, so he made annual trips to Denver in that capacity as well.
He is the only individual ever to appear in Denver "against" the Broncos as quarterback, assistant coach, head coach, and member of his team's broadcast crew.
And now he is a consultant, spanning all sixty years of Broncos and Raiders history in pro football.
One of Tom and Barbara Flores' sons lived for years in the Denver area and he would enjoy getting together whenever the Raiders visited here.
We shared many a visit in the Raiders' broadcast booth, and it is impossible not to like and have great respect for Tom Flores.
He has noted to me many times how much Denver has changed since 1960, both in the growth of the Mile High City and in terms of the change from old Bears Stadium, to Mile High Stadium, and now to Empower Field at Mile High, adding that "One thing that has never changed is the passion of the fans here. Even when the Broncos were not very good in those early years, the fans were always loud and supportive.
"Then, of course, Denver became a playoff team and a fierce rival,” Flores added. “Then you got John Elway. The rest is history, but the fans have always been here."
Just recently, Flores was named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020 Centennial Slate.
Naturally, I think he is an excellent choice, but that is matter for the Hall of Fame blue-ribbon panel of selectors to consider.
Any time you have a great rival team, you are fortunate. When one of the most significant people in the game's history represents that rival for six decades, it is most remarkable indeed.
On Sunday, the Broncos welcome Tom Flores’ Raiders to Denver, as one of the legendary rivalries in the NFL closes out the season in the Mile High City.