The Racine Raiders immortalized six more people into the Racine Raiders Hall of Fame during halftime of the team’s game against the Motor City (MI) Rams on Saturday night at Historic Horlick Athletic Field. The six inductees spanned six decades of the team’s existence. The six new members of the hall of fame are Bill Bushell, Brian Erickson, Mike Hyzdu, Brian Jansen, Craig McClelland, and J.R. Taylor. Between them, they played in 14 national or world championship games with the Raiders, with ten rings earned.
BILL BUSHELL
Bill Bushell played with the Racine Raiders from 1964 through 1967. Bill was named an all-league player at right guard in 1965. He also handled the kickoffs for the team. Bill was part of teams that won 25 straight games.
Bill would re-join the Raiders in the 1990s, serving as a vice president on the board of directors. During Bill’s time on the board, the Raiders were able to secure the contract to run the concessions stand at Horlick Field. Bill took the lead in this effort and had to organize 20 volunteers to run the concessions stand for each Raiders home game. Volunteering with the Raiders was a family affair as Bill’s wife and mother-in-law helped out.
Bill was an electrician for 44 years, spending 24 of those years working for the City of Racine. He’s been married to his wife, Dorothy, for nearly 56 years and they have three children – Ann, Bill, and Jane – and three grandchildren. Bill says, “Giving back to the Raiders as a volunteer is a small price to pay for what they gave me.”
BRIAN ERICKSON
Brian Erickson played 12 seasons with the Racine Raiders from 1989 through 2001. Brian played linebacker from 1989 through 1998 and the switched to tight end from 1999 through 2001. He was also the team’s longsnapper during his entire career.
During his 12 years with the Raiders, he won one world championship and played in five national championship games, winning two of those. Brian was named the defensive most valuable player of the 1997 national championship game.
Brian was named the defensive rookie of the year in 1989, defensive most valuable player in 1993, 1994, and 1996, and defensive captain in 1995 and 1996. He was also an offensive captain in 1999 and was named to multiple all-star teams.
Brian was elected to the American Football Association hall of fame in 2004, the same year he was named the Raiders defensive coordinator. Brian earned another national championship in 2014, this time as a coach. Brian returned to the Raiders this season and currently coaches the linebackers.
MIKE HYZDU
Mike Hyzdu loved football. After a high school career at Moeller High School in Cincinnati, Mike played at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He moved to Racine in 1990 and “was thrilled to learn about the best semi-pro program in the world.” Mike played for three seasons with the Raiders in the early-1990’s before moving back to Ohio.
Mike got married to Nicole and they raised a son and daughter who BOTH played for Mike for four year in the Dublin Football League which had 600 boys and ONE girl. Mike and Nicole have now been married for 31 years and live in a suburb of Columbus, Ohio. He’s a managing director at UBS where he does financial planning for business owners.
Mike says, “the commitment to excellence, working hard, and having fun have always been a part of the Raiders tradition and I carry that with me each and every day. It’s great to come back and be a fan…Wisconsin knows how to do football right!”
BRIAN JANSEN
Brian Jansen fell in love with football the moment his dad took him to buy equipment including a Green Bay Packers helmet. His parents were always huge supporters of his football efforts, even driving to Wyoming to watch him play for the Wisconsin Badgers on his dad’s birthday. The Badgers helped Brian and his dad celebrate by grabbing a 41-17 win.
Despite not being allowed to play organized football until ninth grade due to weight restrictions in leagues, Brian became a standout player at Tremper High School, helping them secure two state championships. He then played for the Wisconsin Badgers before beginning his semi-pro playing days with a Kenosha team for one year.
Brian played with the Racine Raiders for five years, helping lead the team to wins in the 1988 national championship over the Brooklyn Mariners and the 1989 world championship game in Ottawa, Canada, against the Bootleggers. Brian was inducted into the American Football Association Hall of Fame in 2013.
Brian is currently the Vice President of Business Services with Tri City National Bank, one of the Raiders sponsors. He’s been there for 17 years. He continues to stay involved with football through youth football endeavors.
Brian lives in Pleasant Prairie with his wife Janice. They’ll celebrate their 30th anniversary on October 9, 2023. They have three children: Leah, Benjamin, and Brock. Brian wishes to thank the Raiders organization for allowing him to play football after college and for this honor.
CRAIG MCCLELLAND
After playing at UW-Oshkosh from 2007-2010, Craig McClelland was stalked by former Racine Raiders head coach Gino Perfetto and current board president Matt Nelson. Perfetto and Nelson knew if they could get Craig running the offense, national championships would follow…and they weren’t wrong.
McClelland helped lead the Raiders to national championship games in 2012, 2013, and 2014, winning the titles in 2012 and 2014. Craig threw for 51 touchdowns in 2012 which is tied for second most in Raiders/Gladiators history and seventh most in the history of semi-pro football. Craig amassed 6,850 passing yards and 104 touchdown passes and added 401 rushing yards and another eight touchdowns on the ground in his three seasons with the Raiders. Craig is married to Becky and is the varsity football head coach at Union Grove High School.
J.R. TAYLOR
After a standout career playing alongside Burlington’s own Tony Romo at Eastern Illinois University where he was a consensus All-American selection, J.R. Taylor was a priority rookie free agent signee of the Green Bay Packers.
Taylor was first an enemy of the Raiders, playing for the Kane County Eagles from 2005-2008. After Kane County folded, Taylor came to Racine and played for the Raiders in 2009 and then from 2011 through 2016. While with the Raiders, J.R. rushed for 5,754 yards and 79 touchdowns while adding 842 yards through the air with nine more touchdowns. J.R.’s best season with Racine came in 2012 when he had 1,830 combined yards and 21 TD’s.
J.R. won a national championship with the Eagles in 2007 and appeared in three national championship games with the Raiders, winning titles in 2012 and 2014. He is a member of the Eastern Illinois University hall of fame and now, also a member of the Racine Raiders hall of fame.
J.R. now spends a lot of time coaching his son Trae Taylor III and making campus visits as Trae is entering his freshman year of high school and already has a handful of NCAA Division One offers, including several from Power Five conferences.
