The Racine Raiders are a

semi-professional Semi-professional sports are sports in which athletes are not participating on a full-time basis, but still receive some payment. Semi-professionals are not amateur because they receive regular payment from their team, but generally at a cons ...

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

club based in

Racine, Wisconsin Racine ( ) is a city in Racine County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the shore of Lake Michigan at the mouth of the Root River (Wisconsin), Root River, south of Milwaukee and north of Chicago. It is the List ...

. The team plays in The Players Football Association (PFA). Founded in 1953, they are the oldest minor league football team still operating in Wisconsin. They are the second-oldest, non-collegiate sports team in Wisconsin. They own a total of 11 national titles, the most of any semi-pro team in the United States. The Raiders have 667 wins, more wins than any other semi-pro team in the United States. The Raiders were the first minor league football team to gain 501(c)(3) Not-For-Profit status from the

Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...

(IRS) in 1990. The organization is composed entirely of volunteers. The helmet design is a silver background with a cowboy bandit in black with an eye patch on the left eye with a half and half bandanna of cardinal and black.

Staff

*President: Matt Nelson *Vice President of Football Operations/General Manager: Geoffrey Schick *Head Coach: Wilbert Kennedy

Franchise history

Summary

William "Wigs" Konicek, a graduate of

Horlick High School William Horlick High School (also known as Horlick or Racine Horlick High School) is a comprehensive public four-year high school in Racine, Wisconsin with an enrollment of approximately 2,000 students. The school opened to students in 1928, after ...

and local restaurateur, started the Racine Raiders in 1953. The team began in the Central States Football League (CSFL) and won their first league championship as members of the Bi-States Football League (BI-SFL)in 1954. The team was able to sustain itself until 1975 when it disbanded. Although they did not field a team for the 1976 and 1977 season, they remained organized for those seasons. New owners started the Racine Gladiators in 1978. They paid players and were successful on the field, winning three national championships. The team fell on hard times and disbanded following the 1985 season. In 1986, Bob Milkie, a retired bearing company executive, Joe Mooney, a police sergeant, Jess Levin, a local banker, and others rebuilt the team, this time as community-owned, non-profit organization. Perhaps the biggest moment in the team's history, as well as that of minor league football, came in 1989 when the team traveled to Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, to play in a World Championship game. While the team won the game in five degree weather and a blizzard, just playing the game was the important element. The team was now able to apply for, and received, 501(c)3 Not-For-Profit status from the Internal Revenue Service, setting the tone for dozens of minor league football teams since to be able to do the same. The Raiders have won ten national championships and have had dozens of players with National Football League (NFL) experience. They also have 38 players, coaches, or staff in the American Football Association (AFA) Semi Pro Hall of Fame, more than any other team.

American Football Association (AFA) Minor League Football Hall of Fame

Minor League Football News Hall of Fame

Retired numbers

Players that played professional outdoor football

* Todd Cox –

Chicago Blitz The Chicago Blitz was a professional American football team that played in the United States Football League (USFL) in the mid-1980s. They played at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. Team history The Blitz were one of the twelve charter ...

(1983),

St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) From 1960 to 1987, the professional American football team now known as the Arizona Cardinals played in St. Louis, Missouri, as the St. Louis Cardinals. The team moved from Chicago to St. Louis in 1960, and played their first home game ther ...

(1983),

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

(1987) * Danny Crooks –

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

(1971) * Ron Daugherty –

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

(1987) * Don Deerwester – Chicago/Bloomfield Cardinals (1947) * Greg Dubinetz –

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

(1975),

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

(1975),

British Columbia Lions The BC Lions are a professional Canadian football team based in Vancouver, British Columbia. The Lions compete in the West Division (CFL), West Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions playe ...

(1977),

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

(1977),

Toronto Argonauts The Toronto Argonauts (officially the Toronto Argonaut Football Club and colloquially known as the Argos) are a professional Canadian football team based in Toronto, Ontario. The Argonauts compete in the East Division (CFL), East Division of t ...

(1976, 1978),

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...

(1979),

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

(1980) * Jim Haluska –

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

(1956) * Tony Lombardo –

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

(1964) * Brian Lindstrom –

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

(1972) * Phil Micech –

(1987) * Brent Moss –

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis, Missouri, from 1995 through the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, California, where the team had played ...

(1995) *

Don Perkins Donald Anthony Perkins (March 4, 1938 – June 9, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a fullback in the National Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Cowboys. He played college football at the University of New Mexico. ...

–

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

(1943–1945),

(1945–1946) * Tim Rucks –

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

(1983) *

Dave Smith (fullback) Dave Smith (born March 23, 1937, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is a former American collegiate and professional football player. A fullback, he attended Greendale High School in Greendale, Wisconsin, before playing collegiately for Ripon College a ...

–

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...

(1960–1964) Sporting News All-AFL in 1960. Member of AFL's first two championship teams in 1960 and 1961. *

Ralph Thomas Ralph Philip Thomas (10 August 1915 – 17 March 2001) was an English film director who directed the Doctor (film series), ''Doctor'' film series. Thomas cast the actor James Robertson Justice in many of his films. He often worked with the pr ...

– Chicago Cardinals (1952), Washington Redskins (1955–1956) * Matt Turk –

(1995–99),

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

(2000–01, 2003–05),

(2002),

(2006),

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

(2007–2010; 2011),

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

(2011). * Fred Venturelli – Chicago Bears (1948) * Adam Walker –

(1987) * Kevin Webster –

(1987) * Brett Wilson –

(1987)

Head coaches

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.racineraiders.com/ Sports in Racine, Wisconsin American football teams in Wisconsin Sports in Milwaukee American football teams established in 1953 Semi-professional American football 1953 establishments in Wisconsin Viking Age in popular culture Gridiron Developmental Football League teams