Tom Flores, 1988 Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee
Item
Title
Tom Flores, 1988 Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame Inductee
Description
Born and reared in Sanger, Calif., this tall, slender youngster learned to throw a football with accuracy at an early age. He captained the Sanger High School football, basketball and baseball teams in his senior year (1953-54). Flores was voted Sanger Athlete of the Year and then enrolled at Fresno City College. He quarterbacked the Rams under coach Hans Wiedenhoefer in 1954 and 1955, gaining honorable mention All-American honors in his final year. Flores enrolled at College of the Pacific (now University of the Pacific) in Stockton and was the sixth ranked passer in the nation in 1956 and was fourth in total offense. In 1957 he was the seventh ranked passer, received honorable mention All-American and was named to the West team in the annual Shrine East-West game in San Francisco. During his two years at COP he broke most of the records set by the legendary Eddie LeBaron. He was an academic collegiate All-American. In 1958 he signed professionally with the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian Football League. A shoulder injury caused him to sit out the 1959 season, but in 1960 he signed with the Oakland Raiders in the newly formed American Football League. He rehabilitated his shoulder through a series of exercises and led the AFL in pass completion percentage and fewest interceptions. In 1961 he was the second leading passer in the AFL and he was the Raiders quarterback until he was released in 1966. His Raider career totals were 810 completions for 11,635 yards and 92 touchdowns. He played two more seasons each for the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs, quarterbacking the 1969 Super Bowl champion Chiefs. He was named head coach of the Oakland Raiders in 1979. In 1980 he took the Raiders to the Super Bowl championship, was named NFL Coach of the Year in 1982 and took the now Los Angeles Raiders to the Super Bowl title in 1983. He received the NFL Life Achievement award in 1988 and numerous accolades for his humanitarian work.
Creator
Flores, Tom
Relation
Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame
Coverage
Fresno, California
Identifier
SCMS_fahf_00002
extracted text
Peter G. Mehas: Tom Flores, hall of famer, pride of the Sangria Apaches, absolute legend in the National
Football League. For the record name, place, and date of birth.
Tom Flores: My name is Tom Flores. I was born in Fresno, California raised in Sanger. Date of birth was
March 21, 1937
Peter G. Mehas: Tell us about growing up in Fresno.
Tom Flores: Well, growing up in the, in the valley in those days was everybody, it was pretty common to
just be a kid and run around and stomp around the great fields and the orchards and if you were big
enough and old enough to pick some of the fruit, you picked some of the fruit and then if you got tired
you went over and played because everybody did it, work was plentiful. It was a very simple life. Uh I
was one of those few guys that really loved school. I guess maybe the reason I loved school so much was
because I knew when, the day that school ended, the next day I had to go to work and I didn't like I
didn't want to do that too often, but started out in school. My brother and I walked into school 8, 8
grades. Uh three teachers, no kindergarten. In fact, I think I remember my brother Bob and I going to
school. I went to school with him in the first grade, I was too young, so they sent me home and I had to
come back the next year, and I started first grade when I was five years old. So, I was a little young at the
time growing up but it was, yeah, those were great memories and we all, we all did the same thing. So,
no one felt that they were left out or unique or anything like that.
Peter G. Mehas: How did you get involved in sports? What was your first earliest sports experience?
Tom Flores: Earliest was softball when we were little kids. For one Christmas my dad, everybody played
softball, but one Christmas, our dad gave us each a mitt and I think that was probably when I was in the
4th grade and we are just transferred from the city, I mean from the country, Granville elementary
school to the big city of Sanger, Wilson and uh he gave us each a baseball mitt and that was about the
only sport that my dad knew, baseball and boxing. He was a fan of both. Uh most of it through the radio
and so we just started playing it. But anything that anything that bounced or looked funny or anything
that involves sports, it was just fun. It was a fun thing to do. So, I always, always enjoyed that part of it
and maybe the competition and just the overall playing. In football, I never, I never knew what a football
was or basketball because there was no television in those days. So, you weren't exposed to it. But you
were exposed to baseball on radio and the first time I picked up a football, I asked what it was, and I
threw it, and it went in a pretty good spiral. So, I guess, uh, it was meant to be.
Peter G. Mehas: You’ve had some incredible, incredible memories. I can still remember seeing your face.
Uh, the Super Bowl victory and how all of us, we're so proud that you were from, from the valley and
representing us. What were some of the highlights of memories that you had from, whether it was at
Sanger or City College or College of the Pacific to the Raiders. What are the most memorable moments?
And I'm sure there's many.
Tom Flores: Well, there's several and it's hard to just pick out one. Obviously, uh, growing up in Sanger
and graduating from Sanger High was, was a treat. Being able to participate in everything. I wasn't, like I
said earlier, I loved school, I was in the band, I was in the choir, the orchestra, played football,
basketball, baseball. I would have, I ran for student body officers, offices, and the class officer. So, school
for me was a great experience. So, to graduate was, was a memorable time to be able to play with, with
all these guys and, and have the great memories. But when you get beyond that and get into the college
ranks, it becomes a different, entirely different level. Qualifying for the East West Shrine game was, was
an honor. And experiencing that, the visit to the Shriners hospitals and those things. Uh, and the pros
just playing pro football was, was an experience. But I guess one of the most memorable ones was my
first Super Bowl when I was a quarterback with Kansas City after having spent most of my career with
Oakland. Um, and winning Super Bowl four, it was just a real treat. I wasn't a starter, but I certainly
contributed. And uh, and you just, you look back on those days and there's no guarantee that you'll ever
get back to a game that size. And then now years later you see what that game has grown to. It just
became such a, a wonderful experience. And then the next one, that was probably my most satisfying
accomplishment in pro football, was my second year as head coach of the Raiders. When as a wild card
team, we won the Super Bowl and that was in my opinion, the best accomplishment I that I had, I ever
had as a player coach or whatever because of how we did it. We did it as a wildcard, the tough way
playing in 39 below chill factor weather. I didn't have to play, but I had to coach, and I had so many
clothes on that day. I don't think I could have even moved. If I had fallen down. I probably, probably
wouldn't have been able to get back up. But we did win, and I look back on those, those days, and that
day as one of the, one of the great ones.
Peter G. Mehas: When you look at your life and who you've associated with, it reads a textbook of who's
who in the world of sports. Most people would die to be in one Super Bowl. You've played in the Super
Bowl, you've coached in the Super Bowl what are some of the folks that stand out in your memory, the
coaches, or the players that you've associated with, that, that you can recall.
Tom Flores: Well, going way back to the old American Football League, I was the very first quarterback
for the Raiders. I'm very proud that we played at Kezar Stadium. Uh July 31st, 1960, was the very first
game that the Raiders played. It was freezing cold in Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, the preseason game.
Surviving the 10 years and the existence of that league. And having been one of the pioneers, there
were only, I believe 17 or 18 of us that that survived 10 years of football. Uh the characters in those days
while and playing with the great Raider teams of those days. And some of the players probably wouldn't,
aren't household names, but Jim Otto was a great center in the Hall of Fame himself. Played with Lenny
Dawson, who's in the Hall of Fame. Those are two of the, was that people might remember Working for
Al Davis was, was in itself uh, something I should probably be in the Hall of Fame for. We have worked
together, we worked together for 20 years professionally and been friends since 1963 and we're still
friends and, and I admire him. He's, he's a unique individual, but he's the whole story by himself. Um,
some of the great players that I played with and coached mostly coached, Ted Hendricks Hall of Famer,
Gene Upshaw, Art Shell, Willie Brown, guys like that. John Matuszak was not a Hall of Famer, but he
certainly was a unique player, an individual Lyle zero. So, I could go on and on, Darryl Lamonica from the
Valley here. Ah, so there's a, there are so many, it's hard to name just one or two. One of the best
players I've ever been associated with was a complete player. I got a guy was, well not a guy like he was
Marcus Allen who was still, today is still active in the National Football League is still very productive and
so I'm very proud of and, and, and it makes me feel good when I see these guys and what they've
accomplished and a lot of them have accomplished more after football and they continue to do so.
Peter G. Mehas: You speak of a lifetime, and you certainly have personified a lifetime of
accomplishments. Some young people say, wow, he's had it all. Any disappointments.
Tom Flores: Oh Yeah, there were disappointments. Listen, it didn't come easy. I mean, I mean, first of all
I had, you know, we didn't have, I didn't have a scholarship that supplied you with a lot of money. I had
at Fresno Junior College, I had a scholarship academically that, that helped me pay for my books, and
that was it. I had to drive to school every day. We used to carpool. A friend of mine and I, and, and uh,
when I went to college in Pacific, I had $20 in my pocket and then one pair of slacks, uh, Levi's, had Levi's
and a James Dean jacket that I bought after watching the film. Uh, rebel without a cause. I think
everybody bought one of those red jackets. And uh, and even when I left college, I failed my first
attempt in Canada. I had surgery on my shoulder, failed my second attempt with the Redskins. And then
luckily made it my 3rd and last attempt with the open Raiders. Only because probably, it was a not
because I think it was a brand-new league and they were taking anybody as long as you can walk and
you're warm. So, I got an opportunity and made it. And then after two years, uh, when things were
really looking good, and I had married my wife Barbara and we had twins. And then all of a sudden, I'm
struck with tuberculosis and I'm down. And in all, it looked like my career was over and devastated, but I
missed one year. And perseverance came back, and it took me about three or four years to pay all the
bills from all the doctors. And, but I persevered, and the rest is history. So, things weren't always rosy.
And it wasn't just an easy ride with no potholes that there was a lot of potholes.
Peter G. Mehas: A lot of people look at your career and the young people, they say, boy, I want to go
into sports. What advice would you give young people today who aspire to go into sports?
Tom Flores: I would encourage them; I would encourage them to do everything they can in a sport that
they like if they have a passion for that sport. But don't neglect the rest of your life and don't neglect the
other things that that that surrounds sports. Because if you are good enough to go and participate in
sports, everything that goes that is surrounded, everything surrounds that game, and that activity is a
great experience. But don't depend on, on being a pro. Like the guy you see on television every Sunday
or whenever you turn on the whether it's the NBA or Major League Baseball or whatever because very
few people make it. But a lot of them have tried and given it their best. And I think the experiences that
you gain along the way are just invaluable, their invaluable because they, it's a team sport, the values
that it gives you as a team member, uh, to compete to be part of something and to be dependable.
Those are things that you're gonna be able to use later in life and you can only play so long and
sometimes whatever it is, it's not long enough, but, but the memories are great.
Peter G. Mehas: Tom Flores has had many accomplishments. What did it mean to Tom Flores to be
inducted into the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame?
Tom Flores: Well, I do you wanna stop?
Peter G. Mehas: Sure, okay, here we go and we're rolling and recording. Tom Flores has had many, many
accomplishments. What did it mean to Tom Flores to be inducted into the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame?
Tom Flores: It was, it was a very proud moment for me because I mean I was raised all my life in the
valley. I went to school in Sanger, Junior College in Fresno and, and College of the Pacific just up the road
in Stockton and my roots are here. My mom and dad still live here. My brother lives here. So I've always
been a valley guy and to be inducted in the Hall of Fame with some of the great ones like Warner Damn
and you know, people of that nature, uh, that made, put Fresno on the map, Pete Biden, I could go on
and on, but I am. It's just a great moment. I mean, I don't know, it's hard to explain sometimes when you
get these warm, fuzzy feelings that just means so much to you and it's hard to put them down on paper
or to express them, but it was one of the proud moments in my life because of it's something that
you're, you're being honored for accomplished, accomplishments that you did. And you're being
honored by the people that you grew up with in the, in the place that you were, where all started.
Peter G. Mehas: A lot of people achieve greatness, but then they forget where they came from. One of
the books on Tom Flores is he's never forgotten his roots. He continues to contribute to the community.
He continues to contribute to Children's hospital in terms of name, time, Tom Flores has never said no.
What is this that has motivated Tom Flores to give back so unselfishly to the community?
Tom Flores: I think it's just a pride, a sense of pride and a sense of values that that you get when you're
growing up from your family, from your friends and, and the hard work, you know, roll your sleeves up,
go to work, get it done and don't be afraid of hard work. And then you look back on, on, on some of the
values that were created and the strengths that you learn on sometimes you have to reach back and
lean on some of the strengths that you gathered along, along the way and you say, well, you know,
maybe there's something I can do for these kids and uh, I formed a foundation in my hometown and,
and the Foundation. The real purpose e of the Foundation is to, to try to enhance the educational
process of these young kids in, in the, in the areas of the fine arts, science and sports because we
alternate the money that we get every year to those different departments and to try to enhance their
education so that it may, they make it fun, it's fun for them. It's enjoyable for them. So that when they
get to a point where it's time to make a decision, a very serious decision and it’s so young, and
sometimes it's not easy. They'll make the right decision.
Peter G. Mehas: And lastly, at the end of four quarters when the great scorekeeper gives the stats on
Tom Flores, what do you want people to remember about Tom Flores? What do you want them aside
from the super bowls and all those glorious accomplishments? But what do you, what do you want them
to remember about you as Tom Flores? The man?
Tom Flores: I think well, that's a hard question to answer because I don't plan on checking out for a
while, but I guess you'd like to be remembered as someone who, who gave back, who was proud of his
community, proud of where he came from his heritage, was loyal to his friends and uh, and his
community and uh, and loved everything about life and, and lived a pretty good life.
Peter G. Mehas: I think that's what people remember now Tom. And it's a long ways to go. It's only the
first half. So, anything you want to add that I might should have asked didn't ask?
Tom Flores: I think you covered it all. There's not, there are a lot of things you can ramble on, but you
know, the big thing is that you have one, you only have one chance at life and don't blow it. You know,
give it the best, you have to give it the best you can. And if that's not good enough, then give it a second
best and make that good enough. But you want to, you know, get too many chances nowadays and it's
not a perfect world, but you gotta work to maybe make it a perfect world.
Peter G. Mehas: Tom Flores, Fresno Athletic Hall of Famer and Football on behalf of the board. Uh,
congratulations and thank you for a lifetime of accomplishment.
Tom Flores: You're welcome.
Peter G. Mehas: Great!
Tom Flores: Great!
Football League. For the record name, place, and date of birth.
Tom Flores: My name is Tom Flores. I was born in Fresno, California raised in Sanger. Date of birth was
March 21, 1937
Peter G. Mehas: Tell us about growing up in Fresno.
Tom Flores: Well, growing up in the, in the valley in those days was everybody, it was pretty common to
just be a kid and run around and stomp around the great fields and the orchards and if you were big
enough and old enough to pick some of the fruit, you picked some of the fruit and then if you got tired
you went over and played because everybody did it, work was plentiful. It was a very simple life. Uh I
was one of those few guys that really loved school. I guess maybe the reason I loved school so much was
because I knew when, the day that school ended, the next day I had to go to work and I didn't like I
didn't want to do that too often, but started out in school. My brother and I walked into school 8, 8
grades. Uh three teachers, no kindergarten. In fact, I think I remember my brother Bob and I going to
school. I went to school with him in the first grade, I was too young, so they sent me home and I had to
come back the next year, and I started first grade when I was five years old. So, I was a little young at the
time growing up but it was, yeah, those were great memories and we all, we all did the same thing. So,
no one felt that they were left out or unique or anything like that.
Peter G. Mehas: How did you get involved in sports? What was your first earliest sports experience?
Tom Flores: Earliest was softball when we were little kids. For one Christmas my dad, everybody played
softball, but one Christmas, our dad gave us each a mitt and I think that was probably when I was in the
4th grade and we are just transferred from the city, I mean from the country, Granville elementary
school to the big city of Sanger, Wilson and uh he gave us each a baseball mitt and that was about the
only sport that my dad knew, baseball and boxing. He was a fan of both. Uh most of it through the radio
and so we just started playing it. But anything that anything that bounced or looked funny or anything
that involves sports, it was just fun. It was a fun thing to do. So, I always, always enjoyed that part of it
and maybe the competition and just the overall playing. In football, I never, I never knew what a football
was or basketball because there was no television in those days. So, you weren't exposed to it. But you
were exposed to baseball on radio and the first time I picked up a football, I asked what it was, and I
threw it, and it went in a pretty good spiral. So, I guess, uh, it was meant to be.
Peter G. Mehas: You’ve had some incredible, incredible memories. I can still remember seeing your face.
Uh, the Super Bowl victory and how all of us, we're so proud that you were from, from the valley and
representing us. What were some of the highlights of memories that you had from, whether it was at
Sanger or City College or College of the Pacific to the Raiders. What are the most memorable moments?
And I'm sure there's many.
Tom Flores: Well, there's several and it's hard to just pick out one. Obviously, uh, growing up in Sanger
and graduating from Sanger High was, was a treat. Being able to participate in everything. I wasn't, like I
said earlier, I loved school, I was in the band, I was in the choir, the orchestra, played football,
basketball, baseball. I would have, I ran for student body officers, offices, and the class officer. So, school
for me was a great experience. So, to graduate was, was a memorable time to be able to play with, with
all these guys and, and have the great memories. But when you get beyond that and get into the college
ranks, it becomes a different, entirely different level. Qualifying for the East West Shrine game was, was
an honor. And experiencing that, the visit to the Shriners hospitals and those things. Uh, and the pros
just playing pro football was, was an experience. But I guess one of the most memorable ones was my
first Super Bowl when I was a quarterback with Kansas City after having spent most of my career with
Oakland. Um, and winning Super Bowl four, it was just a real treat. I wasn't a starter, but I certainly
contributed. And uh, and you just, you look back on those days and there's no guarantee that you'll ever
get back to a game that size. And then now years later you see what that game has grown to. It just
became such a, a wonderful experience. And then the next one, that was probably my most satisfying
accomplishment in pro football, was my second year as head coach of the Raiders. When as a wild card
team, we won the Super Bowl and that was in my opinion, the best accomplishment I that I had, I ever
had as a player coach or whatever because of how we did it. We did it as a wildcard, the tough way
playing in 39 below chill factor weather. I didn't have to play, but I had to coach, and I had so many
clothes on that day. I don't think I could have even moved. If I had fallen down. I probably, probably
wouldn't have been able to get back up. But we did win, and I look back on those, those days, and that
day as one of the, one of the great ones.
Peter G. Mehas: When you look at your life and who you've associated with, it reads a textbook of who's
who in the world of sports. Most people would die to be in one Super Bowl. You've played in the Super
Bowl, you've coached in the Super Bowl what are some of the folks that stand out in your memory, the
coaches, or the players that you've associated with, that, that you can recall.
Tom Flores: Well, going way back to the old American Football League, I was the very first quarterback
for the Raiders. I'm very proud that we played at Kezar Stadium. Uh July 31st, 1960, was the very first
game that the Raiders played. It was freezing cold in Kezar Stadium, San Francisco, the preseason game.
Surviving the 10 years and the existence of that league. And having been one of the pioneers, there
were only, I believe 17 or 18 of us that that survived 10 years of football. Uh the characters in those days
while and playing with the great Raider teams of those days. And some of the players probably wouldn't,
aren't household names, but Jim Otto was a great center in the Hall of Fame himself. Played with Lenny
Dawson, who's in the Hall of Fame. Those are two of the, was that people might remember Working for
Al Davis was, was in itself uh, something I should probably be in the Hall of Fame for. We have worked
together, we worked together for 20 years professionally and been friends since 1963 and we're still
friends and, and I admire him. He's, he's a unique individual, but he's the whole story by himself. Um,
some of the great players that I played with and coached mostly coached, Ted Hendricks Hall of Famer,
Gene Upshaw, Art Shell, Willie Brown, guys like that. John Matuszak was not a Hall of Famer, but he
certainly was a unique player, an individual Lyle zero. So, I could go on and on, Darryl Lamonica from the
Valley here. Ah, so there's a, there are so many, it's hard to name just one or two. One of the best
players I've ever been associated with was a complete player. I got a guy was, well not a guy like he was
Marcus Allen who was still, today is still active in the National Football League is still very productive and
so I'm very proud of and, and, and it makes me feel good when I see these guys and what they've
accomplished and a lot of them have accomplished more after football and they continue to do so.
Peter G. Mehas: You speak of a lifetime, and you certainly have personified a lifetime of
accomplishments. Some young people say, wow, he's had it all. Any disappointments.
Tom Flores: Oh Yeah, there were disappointments. Listen, it didn't come easy. I mean, I mean, first of all
I had, you know, we didn't have, I didn't have a scholarship that supplied you with a lot of money. I had
at Fresno Junior College, I had a scholarship academically that, that helped me pay for my books, and
that was it. I had to drive to school every day. We used to carpool. A friend of mine and I, and, and uh,
when I went to college in Pacific, I had $20 in my pocket and then one pair of slacks, uh, Levi's, had Levi's
and a James Dean jacket that I bought after watching the film. Uh, rebel without a cause. I think
everybody bought one of those red jackets. And uh, and even when I left college, I failed my first
attempt in Canada. I had surgery on my shoulder, failed my second attempt with the Redskins. And then
luckily made it my 3rd and last attempt with the open Raiders. Only because probably, it was a not
because I think it was a brand-new league and they were taking anybody as long as you can walk and
you're warm. So, I got an opportunity and made it. And then after two years, uh, when things were
really looking good, and I had married my wife Barbara and we had twins. And then all of a sudden, I'm
struck with tuberculosis and I'm down. And in all, it looked like my career was over and devastated, but I
missed one year. And perseverance came back, and it took me about three or four years to pay all the
bills from all the doctors. And, but I persevered, and the rest is history. So, things weren't always rosy.
And it wasn't just an easy ride with no potholes that there was a lot of potholes.
Peter G. Mehas: A lot of people look at your career and the young people, they say, boy, I want to go
into sports. What advice would you give young people today who aspire to go into sports?
Tom Flores: I would encourage them; I would encourage them to do everything they can in a sport that
they like if they have a passion for that sport. But don't neglect the rest of your life and don't neglect the
other things that that that surrounds sports. Because if you are good enough to go and participate in
sports, everything that goes that is surrounded, everything surrounds that game, and that activity is a
great experience. But don't depend on, on being a pro. Like the guy you see on television every Sunday
or whenever you turn on the whether it's the NBA or Major League Baseball or whatever because very
few people make it. But a lot of them have tried and given it their best. And I think the experiences that
you gain along the way are just invaluable, their invaluable because they, it's a team sport, the values
that it gives you as a team member, uh, to compete to be part of something and to be dependable.
Those are things that you're gonna be able to use later in life and you can only play so long and
sometimes whatever it is, it's not long enough, but, but the memories are great.
Peter G. Mehas: Tom Flores has had many accomplishments. What did it mean to Tom Flores to be
inducted into the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame?
Tom Flores: Well, I do you wanna stop?
Peter G. Mehas: Sure, okay, here we go and we're rolling and recording. Tom Flores has had many, many
accomplishments. What did it mean to Tom Flores to be inducted into the Fresno Athletic Hall of Fame?
Tom Flores: It was, it was a very proud moment for me because I mean I was raised all my life in the
valley. I went to school in Sanger, Junior College in Fresno and, and College of the Pacific just up the road
in Stockton and my roots are here. My mom and dad still live here. My brother lives here. So I've always
been a valley guy and to be inducted in the Hall of Fame with some of the great ones like Warner Damn
and you know, people of that nature, uh, that made, put Fresno on the map, Pete Biden, I could go on
and on, but I am. It's just a great moment. I mean, I don't know, it's hard to explain sometimes when you
get these warm, fuzzy feelings that just means so much to you and it's hard to put them down on paper
or to express them, but it was one of the proud moments in my life because of it's something that
you're, you're being honored for accomplished, accomplishments that you did. And you're being
honored by the people that you grew up with in the, in the place that you were, where all started.
Peter G. Mehas: A lot of people achieve greatness, but then they forget where they came from. One of
the books on Tom Flores is he's never forgotten his roots. He continues to contribute to the community.
He continues to contribute to Children's hospital in terms of name, time, Tom Flores has never said no.
What is this that has motivated Tom Flores to give back so unselfishly to the community?
Tom Flores: I think it's just a pride, a sense of pride and a sense of values that that you get when you're
growing up from your family, from your friends and, and the hard work, you know, roll your sleeves up,
go to work, get it done and don't be afraid of hard work. And then you look back on, on, on some of the
values that were created and the strengths that you learn on sometimes you have to reach back and
lean on some of the strengths that you gathered along, along the way and you say, well, you know,
maybe there's something I can do for these kids and uh, I formed a foundation in my hometown and,
and the Foundation. The real purpose e of the Foundation is to, to try to enhance the educational
process of these young kids in, in the, in the areas of the fine arts, science and sports because we
alternate the money that we get every year to those different departments and to try to enhance their
education so that it may, they make it fun, it's fun for them. It's enjoyable for them. So that when they
get to a point where it's time to make a decision, a very serious decision and it’s so young, and
sometimes it's not easy. They'll make the right decision.
Peter G. Mehas: And lastly, at the end of four quarters when the great scorekeeper gives the stats on
Tom Flores, what do you want people to remember about Tom Flores? What do you want them aside
from the super bowls and all those glorious accomplishments? But what do you, what do you want them
to remember about you as Tom Flores? The man?
Tom Flores: I think well, that's a hard question to answer because I don't plan on checking out for a
while, but I guess you'd like to be remembered as someone who, who gave back, who was proud of his
community, proud of where he came from his heritage, was loyal to his friends and uh, and his
community and uh, and loved everything about life and, and lived a pretty good life.
Peter G. Mehas: I think that's what people remember now Tom. And it's a long ways to go. It's only the
first half. So, anything you want to add that I might should have asked didn't ask?
Tom Flores: I think you covered it all. There's not, there are a lot of things you can ramble on, but you
know, the big thing is that you have one, you only have one chance at life and don't blow it. You know,
give it the best, you have to give it the best you can. And if that's not good enough, then give it a second
best and make that good enough. But you want to, you know, get too many chances nowadays and it's
not a perfect world, but you gotta work to maybe make it a perfect world.
Peter G. Mehas: Tom Flores, Fresno Athletic Hall of Famer and Football on behalf of the board. Uh,
congratulations and thank you for a lifetime of accomplishment.
Tom Flores: You're welcome.
Peter G. Mehas: Great!
Tom Flores: Great!