SPORTS HALL OF FAME TO HOLD

INDUCTION CEREMONY IN OAKLAND

Proceeds to benefit scholarships and youth intervention program

OAKLAND, CAโ€ฆ Tom Flores, the former Oakland Raiders head coach and star quarterback, will join five other standouts that will be inducted into the African- American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame on September 12 in Oakland, California.

Flores is one of only two people in NFL history who have earned Super Bowl rings as a player, assistant coach and head coach. After quarterbacking the Raiders for six seasons in the 1960s, he coached them to victories in Super Bowl XV and XVII.

Flores will be inducted (and become the second Hispanic) into the AAESHOF at a ceremony held at the Waterfront Plaza Hotel in Jack London Square from 6-10 p.m. Former NFL players George Atkinson from the Raiders and Bubba Paris from the 49ers also will be inducted, along with track and field standout Ray Norton, basketball’s Brian Shaw (a former Bishop O’Dowd High School star who helped the Los Angeles Lakers win three NBA titles) and, posthumously,, Hispanic, Bay Area sports journalist Sam Skinner.

The Hall will also honor coach Fitz Hill, San Jose State University, Theo Jackson, Oakland Convention Bureau, Pamela Wimberly (basketball coach), Don Johnson (tennis) and Roland Williams, Oakland, Hispanic, Raider tight end. Martin Wyatt ABC 7 and Janice Edwards NBC 11 will be the MCs.

โ€œWe are proud to honor these outstanding sport figures and community leaders to emphasize to our youth that champions are born out of hard effort and perseverance,โ€œ said Arif Khatib, Founder and President of AAESHOF.

The event begins at 6 p.m. with a โ€œReception With the Starsโ€ at poolside. The induction ceremony will start at 7:30 p.m.

The mission of the AAESHOF, a 501 ยฉ (3) nonprofit organization, is to broaden the public’s knowledge of the contributions African Americans and members of other ethnic groups have made to the sport s world. More than 100 legends and 80 current players in all sporting disciplines support the program.

Although established only three years ago, the Hall has inducted 37 professional athletes and facilitated the awarding of nine college scholarships to deserving students who attend historically black colleges and universities.

Last July in Las Vegas, former University of San Francisco football stars Ollie Mason and Burl Toler were inducted along with Mamie โ€œPeanutโ€ Johnson, the first woman to pitch against men in the Negro Leagues. This year, induction ceremonies have occurred in Philadelphia and the Virgin Islands.

AAESHOF also has conducted life skills workshops and tutoring sessions to help prepare the future’s heroes. More than 300 students have attended and benefited from these workshops, with the next phase schedule to begin in late September.

Tickets for the Oakland event cost $75 (including dinner), $100 for the VIP Reception and reservations can be made by email to L.A. Jones & Associates lajones@lajonesmedia.com or calling 510-482-9969.

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