The Racine Raiders are a semi-professional

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

club based in Racine, Wisconsin. The team plays in the

Gridiron Developmental Football League The Gridiron Developmental Football League (GDFL) is a low-level american football minor league based in Memphis, Tennessee, using the franchise model. , the league has 63 teams. The GDFL plays a playoff format similar to NCAA tournament, as 16 ...

(GDFL). 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 nine national titles, the most of any semi-pro team in the United States. Entering the 2023 season, the Raiders have 652 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. 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 *General Manager: Robbie Harrington *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 Bi-States Football League (BSFL) and won their first league championship 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, 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 nine national championships and have had nearly a dozen 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 in the mid-1980s. They played at Soldier Field in Chicago, Illinois. Team history The Blitz were one of the twelve charter franchis ...

(1983), St._Louis_Cardinals_(NFL) (1983), Chicago Bears (1987) * Danny Crooks - Atlanta Falcons (1971) * Ron Daugherty -

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

(1987) * Don Deerwester - Chicago/Bloomfield Cardinals (1947) * Greg Dubinetz - Cincinnati Bengals (1975), Charlotte Hornets (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 of the Canadian Football League (CFL), and play their home games at BC Place. The Lions played their first season ...

(1977), New York Giants (1977),

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

(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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

(1979), Hamilton Tiger-Cats (1980) *

Jim Haluska James David Haluska (October 9, 1932 – September 20, 2012) was an American football quarterback who played for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL). Selected in the 30th and final round (354th overall pick) of the 1954 NFL d ...

- Chicago Bears,

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (A ...

(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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

(1964) * Brian Lindstrom - Buffalo Bills (1972) * Phil Micech -

(1987) *

Brent Moss Brent A. Moss (January 30, 1972 – November 13, 2022) was an American professional football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Wisconsin Badgers from 1991–1994. Moss played ...

St. Louis Rams The St. Louis Rams were a professional American football team of the National Football League (NFL). They played in St. Louis from 1995 to the 2015 season, before moving back to Los Angeles, where the team had played from 1946 to 1994. The arr ...

(1995) * Don Perkins - Green Bay Packers (1943–1945), Chicago Bears (1945–1946) * Tim Rucks - New York Jets (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 and p ...

Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...

(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 Military Cross, MC (10 August 1915 – 17 March 2001) was an English film director. He is perhaps best remembered for directing the ''Doctor Series, Doctor'' series of films. His brother, Gerald Thomas, was also a film dire ...

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

Matt Turk Matthew Edward Turk (born June 16, 1968) is a former American football punter. He was originally signed by the Green Bay Packers as an undrafted free agent in 1993. He played college football at the University of Wisconsin–Whitewater. A three- ...

(1995–99),

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

(2000–01, 2003–05), New York Jets (2002),

(2006),

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division, and play their home ga ...

(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 club of the American Football Conference (AFC) South division. The team play ...

(2011). * Fred Venturelli - Chicago Bears (1948) *

Adam Walker Adam Walker may refer to: * Adam Walker (American football, born 1963), American football running back * Adam Walker (American football, born 1968), American football running back * Adam Walker (Australian politician) (1829–1902), Australian polit ...

(1987) * Kevin Webster -

(1987) * Brett Wilson -

(1987)

Head coaches

References

External links

* {{Official website, http://www.racineraiders.com/
Play for the Raiders—Racine Raiders official recruiting website
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