Mike Flores has worn many hats: teacher, dean and athletic director. But no one is better suited for a job that comes around just once a year.
On a Friday night in late October, he returns to the tiny press box atop the grandstand at East LA College’s Weingart Stadium, welcoming thousands of fans to the biggest rivalry on the Eastside.
With team rosters, a program and a can of soda nearby, the 75-year-old speaks candidly into a black microphone.
“Good evening, ladies and gentlemen,” Flores rehearses before the big game. “Welcome to the East LA Classic. Get ready for a really great game.”
Over the past four decades, Flores has lent his voice as announcer of the East LA Classic, the annual football rivalry between Roosevelt and Garfield high schools that has become a century-old cultural tradition, family ritual and celebration of Eastside pride. Players, band members, spirit teams and the community start preparing for the game at the start of the school year. Alumni travel miles for the nostalgia.
This Friday, Oct. 30, Flores will announce his 21st East LA Classic.
Few straddle the two communities like Flores does. He was born in Boyle Heights and raised in East LA. He graduated from Garfield in 1968 and taught at Roosevelt for 26 years. For a game built on rivalry, the retired teacher brings something different to the showdown: a soft spot for both teams.
“Everybody works so hard to put on a good show,” Flores said, holding back tears. “The players, coaches, spirit teams. They’re all so motivated and spend many hours practicing.”
Flores tries to shout out everyone involved in putting on the yearly performance — from coaches to players to band members. Inside the press box, he’s surrounded by a timekeeper, scoreboard operator and spotter, who helps him identify players. He tries to stay neutral, upbeat and determined to make players and their families on both teams proud.
“I try to make it sound like this is one of the most memorable events of their lives,” Flores said. “The more names you announce, the greater the excitement for families, fans and players. I want everyone to feel like they’re a part of The Classic.”
Flores knows a thing or two about Eastside sports. He played baseball and football at City Terrace Park before becoming an undefeated track star at Garfield. After graduating from Cal State LA, he taught at Florence Nightingale Middle School in Cypress Park and Stevenson Junior High School in Boyle Heights before landing at Roosevelt in 1986. There, he taught health and PE, coached baseball and track and was a counselor, dean of students and athletic director.
“I remember hearing Mr. Flores’ voice every Friday night,” said Abel Mendez, who in 1991 was an all-city middle linebacker and played in front of 27,000 fans at the East LA Classic. He credits Flores for always believing in him.
“I have the utmost respect for that man,” Mendez said, who had Flores as a counselor at Roosevelt. “He always told me, ‘Stay in your lane, Mendez. You’re almost to the finish line.’”
Bee Corona, 62, Flores’ former student at Stevenson, described him as “the teacher everybody went to.”
“You can talk to him about anything and he won’t judge you,” she said. “When I told him I wasn’t talking to my sister, he didn’t say I should talk to her. He said, ‘I’m really sorry to hear that. I hope you can reconcile things with her.’ That’s the kind of guy he is.”
After retiring in 2012, Flores was asked to announce football games at Garfield. At first, he felt loyal to Roosevelt, but as a Garfield alumnus with love for all students, he agreed to cross over.
Omar Cendejas, Flores’ best friend since middle school, went on to teach at Garfield. He remembers a coach who spoke at their graduation from Garfield. “He said we should always give back to the community,” Cendejas said. “That stuck with us. It was always our intention to teach in East LA and Boyle Heights.”
After all these years, Flores is still deeply loved by his community and is often spotted on the street by former students.
“Everywhere we go, someone will yell, ‘Bonehead!’” Corona said, referring to the nickname Flores affectionately called his students. “It happened at the IHOP in Monterey Park, then after lunch at Chalio on Atlantic. He just smiles and waves. He thinks it’s so funny.”
That decades-long commitment to students from both schools has earned Flores recognition. He recently received the John Benson Scholarship Foundation Community Service Award for 50 years of service to East LA and Boyle Heights. On Nov. 7, he’ll be inducted into Roosevelt High School’s Alumni Hall of Fame.
As for this year’s competition, he prefers balance over a blowout.
“Garfield won the last few years and Roosevelt had a really rough year,” Flores said. “I’ll be pushing for them to remember 1990 when Roosevelt was 0-7 and Garfield was undefeated with a 7-0 record. Roosevelt went ahead and won that game.”
The East LA Classic takes place on Friday, Oct. 30 at East Los Angeles College’s Weingart Stadium.
