NFL Years

1919
Pre-NFL Green Bay Packers beat Racine Legion, 76-6.

1921
Racine Legion meet Green Bay Packers in the battle for the Wisconsin championship in December. The game is played at the Brewers stadium in Milwaukee. Thousands of fans show up to watch the teams battle to a 3-3 tie. While the Packers are members of the American Professional Football Association, the pre-cursor to the National Football League, the Legion are an unaffiliated semi-pro team.

1922
Horlick-Racine Legion team accepted into fledgling National Football League. Team was co-sponsored by William Horlick and the American Legion. There first game was October 1, 1922, against the Chicago Bears at Horlick Athletic Field. It was the first game for the Bears with that name, changing from the Decatur Staleys following the 1921 season when they won the league championship in the America Professional Football Association. The Bears beat the Legion, 6-0.

1923
Horlick-Racine Legion beat Green Bay Packers 24-3 in NFL game. Packers only allowed 34 points that entire season!

1925
Horlick-Racine Legion turns franchise over to Racine Exchange Club who do not field a team that season.

1926
The Racine Exchange Club still hold a franchise in the National Football League but don’t field a team.

1927
NFL enacts $1,000 franchise fee. Racine Exchange sell team to two men from Portsmouth, Ohio. The team becomes the present day Detroit Lions in 1934!

Minor League Football

1930’s & 1940’s
Racine was represented in semi-pro football by various teams, including the Chippewas, Hornets, and Bees.

1948
Racine Rocks join Central States Football League (CSFL).

1950
Racine Rocks fold.

Racine Raiders

1953
Wigs Konicek begins the Racine Raiders and the team adopts the colors of black and silver, seven years before anyone hears about the AFL and Oakland Raiders!

1954
Raiders win Bi-States Football League Title.

1956
Raiders win second Bi-States Football League Title.

1957
Raiders switch to Tri-States Football League.

1961
Raiders switch to Central States Football League (CSFL).

1963 – 66
Raiders win 25 straight games, including Central States Football League titles in 1964 and 1965.

1975
Original Racine Raiders fold due to financial concerns.

Racine Gladiators

1978
Racine Gladiators formed.

1979
Head Coach Larry Benjamin named CSFL “Coach of the Year.”

1981
Gladiators win American Football Association (AFA) National Championship.

1983
Gladiators win second straight AFA National Championship.

1985
Gladiators fold after season due to financial concerns.

Racine Raiders

1986
Racine Raiders resurrected as a non-profit and community-owned organization.

1987
Raiders go 14-1 and win Midwest Football League (MFL) Championship.

1988
Raiders go undefeated in regular season to win second straight MFL Championship and also win American Football Association (AFA) National Championship with a 5-3 win over the Brooklyn Mariners before a record crowd of 6,299 fans who braved snow, sleet, rain, and wind in what became known as the “Mud Bowl” at Historic Horlick Field.

1989
Raiders become the first and only minor league football team to be granted 501.(c)(3) Non-Profit status by the IRS. The Raiders also win the MFL Championship for the third straight year and are crowned World Champions under the banner of the MLFA.

1990
Raiders go undefeated in the regular season to take the MFL Regular Season Championship but fall to the Palos-Orland Force in playoffs to stop their run for a three-peat.

1991
Raiders add Cardinal Red to their black & silver colors and go to current logo depicting a masked cowboy. Team dropped league affiliation to play an independent schedule in hopes of attracting better competition and finish 9-2.

1992
Raiders join the Midwest Football League and go 15-0, scoring 501 points while allowing only 25. Raiders defeat the Brooklyn Mariners for the MLFA/USFA National Championship.

1993
Raiders go 13-0 and win MFL Championship but fall 14-7 to the Marlboro Shamrocks in the MLFA/USFA National Championship game.

1994
Raiders have another undefeated season (12-0) but do not get invited to National Playoffs. They instead compete in the Greater Midwest Classic Tournament and win it with a 36-7 victory over the Wichita Warriors.

1995
Raiders join the Mid-Continental Football League and go 17-1. They win the MCFL Championship and United States Football Association National Title.

1996
Raiders go 13-4 but lose to the Southern Michigan Timberwolves in MCFL Title Game.

1997
Raiders go 13-5 but once again lose to Southern Michigan Timberwolves in MCFL Title Game. They are still invited to play in Midwest Football Tournament and win it but lose to the Marlboro Shamrocks in the USFA National Championship Game.

1998
Raiders go 10-4.

1999
Raiders win Mid-States Football Tournament Championship with an 11-4 record.

2000
Raiders go 14-3 but lose to the Marlboro Shamrocks in the National Championship Game.

2001
Raiders go 15-3 and win the USFA National Title by defeating the Scranton Eagles.

2012
Gino Perfetto named head coach of the Racine Raiders. Raiders lose only one game all season and beat the Nashville Storm to win the eighth national championship in the history of the team.

2013
Raiders fall to Albany Metro Mallers in national championship game. Gino Perfetto steps down as head coach.

2014
Wilbert Kennedy named head coach of the Raiders. In his first season, he leads the team to an undefeated season and the organization’s 9th national title.

2015
The Raiders won the MidStates Football League (MSFL) championship but would lose in the Midwest Football Tournament championship game.

2016
The Raiders went 10-0 in the MSFL but lost the conference championship game to the Door County (WI) Destroyers.

2019
The Raiders went 9-0 in league play and claimed the MSFL championship in a thrilling, come-from-behind game against the Midway (IL) Marauders at Historic Horlick Athletic Field. They would lose in the championship game of the Midwest Football Tournament.

2020
The COVID-19 pandemic grounded the team on the field while the organization still continued to operate.

2023
The Raiders moved to the Gridiron Developmental Football League (GDFL) which had 30 teams from across the country. The team went 8-0 in the regular season, beating seven previously unbeaten teams and five teams that played in their respective league championship games. The Raiders won Gridiron Bowl XIV against the West Sound (WA) Rebels, 27-18, in Landover, Md. The Raiders beat teams representing 11 different states plus the District of Columbia.

2024
The Racine Raiders coasted through the regular season, going 9-0. Along the way, head coach Wilbert Kennedy picked up his 100th win as head coach. During the team’s run to back-to-back Gridiron Developmental Football League national championships, they extended their winning streak to 27 games. The defense didn’t allow a touchdown for over 30 quarters between June 8 and the national title game on August 31. The Raiders beat the Upstate (NY) Predators in a close game, 7-6, to claim the national title in front of about 2,000 fans at Historic Horlick Athletic Field in Racine.