The Racine Raiders are a semi-professional American football club based in Racine, Wisconsin. 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 (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 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 1982Harry GilbertCoach Category1987Bob MilkiePlayer Category1988Kurt KampendahlPlayer Category1988Ed O'ReillyCoach Category1989Greg JohnsonPlayer Category1990Charlie BlissPlayer Category1994Norm KillionCoach Category1996Ron HartPlayer Category1997Tom KohrCoach Category1999Arnie GarberCoach Category1999Joe MooneyExecutive Category2000John ScardinaPlayer Category2001Phil MicechPlayer Category2002Tony LombardoPlayer Category2003Jordan KopacCoach Category2003Dennis GalipoPlayer Category2004Brian ForstonPlayer Category2004Brian EricksonPlayer Category2005Ron AntonPlayer Category2005Terry ConverseCoach Category2005Gary KuykendallPlayer Category2005Mike WillkommPlayer Category2006Dan DraganPlayer Category2006Gary SuhrMedia Category2007Chris PivovarCoach Category2007Scott SmithPlayer Category2010Greg FictumPlayer Category2010Jerry KupperCoach Category2013Wilbert KennedyPlayer Category2013Brian JansenPlayer Category2015Pedro TrevinoCoach Category2016Adam WalkerPlayer Category2018Todd GorslinePlayer Category2018John MamerowPlayer Category2019Mark TrudelPlayer Category2019Don WadewitzMedia Category2022Greg ErchullPlayer Category2022Matt NelsonPlayer/Coach/Executive Categories

Minor League Football News Hall of Fame 2007Brian Forston2007Peter Deates2007Jordan Kopac2015Gary Griffin2016Don Wadewitz

Retired numbers 10Jim MayQuarterback1964–196511Charlie BlissQuarterback1980–1989, 199223Tony LombardoRunning back1962–196651Bob MilkieCenter1957–197153L. Fred VondraCenter1979–198555Wilbert KennedyDefensive tackle1988–200974Kurt KampendahlDefensive tackle1982–199375Ron HartDefensive tackle1964–197582Ron AntonTight end1964–197383Phil MicechDefensive end/Defensive tackle/Tight end1985–1995, 2001

Players that played professional outdoor football

Todd Cox – Chicago Blitz (1983), St. Louis Cardinals (NFL) (1983), Chicago Bears (1987) Danny Crooks – Atlanta Falcons (1971) Ron Daugherty – Minnesota Vikings (1987) Don Deerwester – Chicago/Bloomfield Cardinals (1947)Legacy Obituaries , accessed August 4, 2015. 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)The Milwaukee Sentinel "Berzinski, Haluska sign with Racine", accessed June 23, 2011. Tony Lombardo – Philadelphia Eagles (1964) Brian Lindstrom – Buffalo Bills (1972)Arizona Star website , accessed July 10, 2013. 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)Tim Rucks, 1960–2015. Carthage College Athletics. 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) Adam Walker – Minnesota Vikings (1987) Kevin Webster – Minnesota Vikings (1987)Sheboygan Press "North Wall of Fame to Induct 3", accessed March 10, 2015. Brett Wilson – Minnesota Vikings (1987)

Head coaches 1953Don Perkins(1–2–2).2001953Les Kalchik(1–6–0).1431954–1962Frank Schinkowitch(47–47–5).4752 League Titles1963Jim Haluska(2–8–0).2001964–1967, 1982Harry Gilbert(44–9–2).8002 League Titles1968–1969Jim Thompson(11–12–0).4781970–1972Bruno Wojtaszek(15–24–0).3851973–1974Warren Greco(16–9–0).6401975, 1979Larry Benjamin(15–12).5561978Jim Perry(2–10–0).1671980–81, 1986–90, 1997–2000Bob Milkie(137–29–0).8252 National Championships,1 World Championship,3 League Titles1983–1984Pete Bock(32–3–0).9141 National Championship,2 League Titles1985Rich McClure(9–7–0).5631991–1994Terry Converse(49–3–0).9421 National Championship,3 League Titles1995–1996Kurt Kampendahl(29–4–0).8791 National Championship,1 League Title2001, 2005–2007, 2011Jordan Kopac(60–20–0).7501 National Championship2002–2004Gregg Brenner(36–10–0).7832008–2010John Mamerow(24–13–0).6492012–2013Gino Perfetto(28–3–0).9031 National Championship,1 League Title2014–presentWilbert Kennedy(104–25–0).8062 National Championships,4 League Titles

References

Further reading Racine Raiders Join GDFL The Milwaukee Sentinel – Google News Archive Search JSOnline.com News Archives 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

External links