QB Flores Led Raiders Franchise to First Wins in 1960
The Oakland Raiders were the eighth and final franchise created in the inaugural season of the American Football League in 1960, and the other teams actually stole players from Oakland’s original roster, which was chosen by proposed owners in Minneapolis who wound up going with the established National Football League instead.
It took the afterthought Raiders a while to get going and they lost their first two regular-season games of that season, 37-22, to the Houston Oilers and, 34-16, to the Dallas Texans, both at Kezar Stadium in San Francisco.
Then they went on the road for the third game of the season and upset the Oilers, 14-13, at Jeppesen Stadium in Houston on a 14-yard touchdown pass from rookie quarterback Tom Flores to tight end Gene Prebola with 4:58 left in the game.
“Gene was a big, strong tight end, but not very fast and really was ahead of his time,” said Flores, who years later would coach the Raiders to victories in Super Bowls XV and XVIII on his way to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. “He was just a load, and I hit him on a post pattern for that touchdown.
“We were pretty excited to win that game against the Oilers, who had George Blanda at quarterback, and they went on to win the first AFL Championship that season. It was the first game of a three-game road trip, which is what we did often in those days.
“I just remember it was so humid in Houston, but even though we weren’t that good, we competed because were in great condition. We’d outrun teams in the fourth quarter. (Coach) Eddie Erdelatz had us run everywhere between drills in practice.
“It was a carryover from when he coached at Navy because they only had 45 minutes to practice and didn’t have time for wind sprints, so they ran the whole time they were on the field, and so did we.”
Flores, who split time at quarterback with veteran Babe Parilli, completed 7-of-10 passes in that game for 57 yards, but he played a much bigger role when the Raiders won their first home game of the season by beating the Boston Patriots, 27-14, in Week 6 at Kezar to even their record at 3-3.
By that time Flores, who played at Fresno City College and College (now University) of the Pacific in Stockton, Calif., had become the full-time starter and he completed 14-of-24 passes for 161 yards and touchdowns of 36 yards to Prebola and nine yards to Al Hoisington in the second quarter to give the Raiders a 21-6 lead.
Halfback Jack Larscheid ran 87 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter and fullback Billy Lott applied the clincher with a 40-yard scoring run in the fourth quarter.
“Prebola and Hoisington were both tight ends and we went to them a lot in the passing game because we didn’t have too much on the outside,” said Flores, who also had a key seven-yard run for a first down. “Al was really fast and he was our deep threat, even though that touchdown wasn’t a long one.
“It was great to finally win a game at home and I think we won a couple more. They usually announced the crowd at about 10,000, but that was probably cheating by about 5,000. We didn’t have much of a homefield advantage that first season, but we still did pretty well with what we had.
“Actually, our record was pretty good that season when you think of how it all happened and the roster we had.”
The Raiders finished 6-8 in 1960, but there was no indication that this would become one of the greatest franchises in the 10-year history of AFL, and then the NFL.
Want to air your opinion about all things Las Vegas Raiders? Maybe you like to talk about other sports that aren't silver and Black related? We got your back. Join our 100% FREE message board, a brand new option, when you CLICK RIGHT HERE.
Make sure you like our Facebook Page WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.
Want the latest breaking Las Vegas Raiders news delivered straight to your email for FREE? Sign up for the DAILY Raiders Nation newsletter when you CLICK THE FOLLOW button on the main page. Don't miss any of the latest up-to-the-second updates for your Las Vegas Raiders when you follow on Twitter @HondoCarpenter
