The Racine Raiders are a semi-professional American football club based in Racine, Wisconsin. The team plays in the Gridiron Developmental Football League (GDFL).[1]
| Founded | 1953 |
|---|---|
| League |
|
| Team history | Racine Raiders (1953–1975) North Shore Gladiators (1978) Racine Gladiators (1979–1985) Racine Raiders (1986–present) |
| Based in | Racine, Wisconsin |
| Stadium | Horlick Field |
| Colors | Black, silver, cardinal |
| President | Matt Nelson |
| Head coach | Wilbert Kennedy |
| Championships | 10 (1981, 1983, 1988, 1989, 1992, 1995, 2001, 2012, 2014, 2023) |
| Division titles | 21 |
| Dancers | Raiders Spirit Squad |
| Mascot | R.J. Raider |
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 ten national titles, the second 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 (IRS) in 1990.[2] 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
edit- President: Matt Nelson
- Vice President of Football Operations/General Manager: Geoffrey Schick
- Head Coach: Wilbert Kennedy
Franchise history
editSummary
editWilliam "Wigs" Konicek,[3] a graduate of Horlick High School and local restaurateur, started the Racine Raiders in 1953.[4] 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.[5]
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.[6]
American Football Association (AFA) Minor League Football Hall of Fame
edit| 1982 | Harry Gilbert | Coach Category | ||
| 1987 | Bob Milkie | Player Category | ||
| 1988 | Kurt Kampendahl | Player Category | ||
| 1988 | Ed O'Reilly | Coach Category | ||
| 1989 | Greg Johnson | Player Category | ||
| 1990 | Charlie Bliss | Player Category | ||
| 1994 | Norm Killion | Coach Category | ||
| 1996 | Ron Hart | Player Category | ||
| 1997 | Tom Kohr | Coach Category | ||
| 1999 | Arnie Garber | Coach Category | ||
| 1999 | Joe Mooney | Executive Category | ||
| 2000 | John Scardina | Player Category | ||
| 2001 | Phil Micech | Player Category | ||
| 2002 | Tony Lombardo | Player Category | ||
| 2003 | Jordan Kopac | Coach Category | ||
| 2003 | Dennis Galipo | Player Category | ||
| 2004 | Brian Forston | Player Category | ||
| 2004 | Brian Erickson | Player Category | ||
| 2005 | Ron Anton | Player Category | ||
| 2005 | Terry Converse | Coach Category | ||
| 2005 | Gary Kuykendall | Player Category | ||
| 2005 | Mike Willkomm | Player Category | ||
| 2006 | Dan Dragan | Player Category | ||
| 2006 | Gary Suhr | Media Category | ||
| 2007 | Chris Pivovar | Coach Category | ||
| 2007 | Scott Smith | Player Category | ||
| 2010 | Greg Fictum | Player Category | ||
| 2010 | Jerry Kupper | Coach Category | ||
| 2013 | Wilbert Kennedy | Player Category | ||
| 2013 | Brian Jansen | Player Category | ||
| 2015 | Pedro Trevino | Coach Category | ||
| 2016 | Adam Walker | Player Category | ||
| 2018 | Todd Gorsline | Player Category | ||
| 2018 | John Mamerow | Player Category | ||
| 2019 | Mark Trudel | Player Category | ||
| 2019 | Don Wadewitz | Media Category | ||
| 2022 | Greg Erchull | Player Category | ||
| 2022 | Matt Nelson | Player/Coach/Executive Categories |
Minor League Football News Hall of Fame
edit| 2007 | Brian Forston | |
| 2007 | Peter Deates | |
| 2007 | Jordan Kopac | |
| 2015 | Gary Griffin | |
| 2016 | Don Wadewitz |
Retired numbers
edit| 10 | Jim May | Quarterback | 1964–1965 |
| 11 | Charlie Bliss | Quarterback | 1980–1989, 1992 |
| 23 | Tony Lombardo | Running back | 1962–1966 |
| 51 | Bob Milkie | Center | 1957–1971 |
| 53 | L. Fred Vondra | Center | 1979–1985 |
| 55 | Wilbert Kennedy | Defensive tackle | 1988–2009 |
| 74 | Kurt Kampendahl | Defensive tackle | 1982–1993 |
| 75 | Ron Hart | Defensive tackle | 1964–1975 |
| 82 | Ron Anton | Tight end | 1964–1973 |
| 83 | Phil Micech | Defensive end/Defensive tackle/Tight end | 1985–1995, 2001 |
Players that played professional outdoor football
edit- Todd Cox - Chicago Blitz (1983),[7] St._Louis_Cardinals_(NFL) (1983),[8] Chicago Bears (1987)[9]
- Danny Crooks - Atlanta Falcons (1971)[10]
- Ron Daugherty - Minnesota Vikings (1987)[11]
- Don Deerwester - Chicago/Bloomfield Cardinals (1947)[12][13]
- Greg Dubinetz - Cincinnati Bengals (1975), Charlotte Hornets (1975), British Columbia Lions (1977), New York Giants (1977), Toronto Argonauts (1976, 1978), Washington Redskins (1979), Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1980)
- Jim Haluska - Chicago Bears, Cleveland Browns (1956) [14]
- Tony Lombardo - Philadelphia Eagles (1964)
- Brian Lindstrom - Buffalo Bills (1972) [15]
- Phil Micech - Minnesota Vikings (1987)
- Brent Moss - St. Louis Rams (1995)
- Don Perkins - Green Bay Packers (1943–1945), Chicago Bears (1945–1946)
- Tim Rucks - New York Jets (1983)[16]
- Dave Smith (fullback) - Houston Oilers (1960–1964) Sporting News All-AFL in 1960. Member of AFL's first two championship teams in 1960 and 1961.
- Ralph Thomas - Chicago Cardinals (1952), Washington Redskins (1955–1956)
- Matt Turk - Washington Redskins (1995–99), Miami Dolphins (2000–01, 2003–05), New York Jets (2002), St. Louis Rams (2006), Houston Texans (2007–2010;2011), Jacksonville Jaguars (2011).
- Fred Venturelli - Chicago Bears (1948)[17]
- Adam Walker - Minnesota Vikings (1987)[18]
- Kevin Webster - Minnesota Vikings (1987) [19]
- Brett Wilson - Minnesota Vikings (1987)[20]
Head coaches
edit| 1953 | Don Perkins | (1-2-2) | .200 | |||
| 1953 | Les Kalchik | (1-6-0) | .143 | |||
| 1954–1962 | Frank Schinkowitch | (47-47-5) | .475 | 2 League Titles | ||
| 1963 | Jim Haluska | (2-8-0) | .200 | |||
| 1964–1967, 1982 | Harry Gilbert | (44-9-2) | .800 | 2 League Titles | ||
| 1968–1969 | Jim Thompson | (11-12-0) | .478 | |||
| 1970–1972 | Bruno Wojtaszek | (15-24-0) | .385 | |||
| 1973–1974 | Warren Greco | (16-9-0) | .640 | |||
| 1975, 1979 | Larry Benjamin | (15-12) | .556 | |||
| 1978 | Jim Perry | (2-10-0) | .167 | |||
| 1980–81, 1986–90, 1997–2000 | Bob Milkie | (137-29-0) | .825 | 2 National Championships, | 1 World Championship, | 3 League Titles |
| 1983–1984 | Pete Bock | (32-3-0) | .914 | 1 National Championship, | 2 League Titles | |
| 1985 | Rich McClure | (9-7-0) | .563 | |||
| 1991–1994 | Terry Converse | (49-3-0) | .942 | 1 National Championship, | 3 League Titles | |
| 1995–1996 | Kurt Kampendahl | (29-4-0) | .879 | 1 National Championship, | 1 League Title | |
| 2001, 2005–2007, 2011 | Jordan Kopac | (60-20-0) | .750 | 1 National Championship | ||
| 2002–2004 | Gregg Brenner | (36-10-0) | .783 | |||
| 2008–2010 | John Mamerow | (24-13-0) | .649 | |||
| 2012–2013 | Gino Perfetto | (28-3-0) | .903 | 1 National Championship, | 1 League Title | |
| 2014–present | Wilbert Kennedy | (104-25-0) | .806 | 2 National Championships, | 4 League Titles |
References
edit- ^ "Racine Raiders Join GDFL,Opens up Midwest".
- ^ D'Amato, Gary (13 March 1990). "Racine Raiders gain tax-exempt status". The Journal Times. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ "Obituaries". The Journal Times. 10 July 1989. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
- ^ Brehm, Keith (30 March 1953). "Sports, It's this way..." The Journal Times. Retrieved 2 June 2021.
- ^ Danowski, Jeff (22 June 1986). "'Return of Raiders' to premier this week". The Journal Times. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-01-22. Retrieved 2011-08-28.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link) - ^ "Blitz Signs DeWitt Kicker". newspaperss.com.
- ^ "DeWitt's Cox to St. Louis". newspaperss.com.
- ^ "Hall of Fame - Cox kicks way to hall nomination". dewittobserver.com.
- ^ "Ron Daughtry". profootballarchives.com.
- ^ "Ron Daughtry". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ^ "Don Deerwester". profootballarchives.com. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
- ^ Legacy Obituaries [1], accessed August 4, 2015.
- ^ The Milwaukee Sentinel "Berzinski, Haluska sign with Racine", accessed June 23, 2011.
- ^ Arizona Star website [2], accessed July 10, 2013.
- ^ Tim Rucks, 1960-2015. Carthage College Athletics.
- ^ Brehm, Keith (27 August 1953). "Raiders Assembling Topnotch Grid Team". The Journal Times. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
- ^ Nelson, David (6 July 2016). "Former Red Men Adam Walker Inducted Into the American Football Association Semi-Pro Hall of Fame". carthage.edu. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
- ^ Sheboygan Press "North Wall of Fame to Induct 3", accessed March 10, 2015.
- ^ "Brett Wilson". pro-football-reference.com. Retrieved 18 June 2021.
Further reading
edit- Racine Raiders Join GDFL
- The Milwaukee Sentinel – Google News Archive Search
- JSOnline.com News Archives (subscription required)
- Men young and old chase football dreams at Racine Raiders tryout
- Raiders leave NAFL for MidStates Football League
- Racine Raiders don't find the answer
- Racine’s Horlick Athletic Field: Drums Along the Foundries