ABOUT THE RACINE RAIDERS

The Racine Raiders are a 501c(3) not-for-profit organization staffed entirely by volunteers. The members of the board of directors, coaching staff, players, and support staff all donate their time. The Raiders were founded in 1953 and are the longest continuously operating adult amateur or semi-pro football team in the United States.

The Racine Raiders continue a history of amateur, college, semi-professional, and professional football in Racine that dates back to the 1800’s. The Raiders were founded by local restauranteur Wigs Konicek in 1953. The team drew players from major Big 10 universities and several were former National Football League players. The team drew a good fan base but would run into financial troubles in the 1970’s and disbanded following the 1975 season.

In 1978, the North Shore Gladiators played games in Racine and in 1979, the Racine Gladiators were born. The Gladiators were a huge success on the field during their short run of seven years. They won national titles in 1981 and 1983. The for-profit model proved too costly and the team would fold following the 1985 season.

Racine wouldn’t be without football, however. 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. The team would win a national title in 1988 and a world title in 1989 after beating the Ottawa Bootleggers on their home field. The game paved the way for the Raiders and hundreds of semi-pro teams. Since the Raiders played in amateur international competition, they were awarded 501c(3) not-for-profit status by the Internal Revenue Service.

The Raiders have gone on to win six more national titles (1992, 1995, 2001, 2012, 2014, and 2023) giving them a total of ten national or world titles, the most by any team at the semi-pro level. The team finished the 2023 season with 667 wins, also the most by any team at the semi-pro level.