Peoria Pirates
Encyclopedia
The Peoria Pirates were a professional arena football
Arena football
Arena football is a variety of gridiron football played by the Arena Football League . It is a proprietary game, the rights to which are owned by Gridiron Enterprises, and is played indoors on a smaller field than American or Canadian outdoor football, resulting in a faster and higher-scoring game....

 team that last played in af2
Af2
AF2 was the name of the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football rules and style of play. League seasons ran from April through July with the postseason and ArenaCup...

, the minor league
Minor league
Minor leagues are professional sports leagues which are not regarded as the premier leagues in those sports. Minor league teams tend to play in smaller, less elaborate venues, often competing in smaller cities. This term is used in North America with regard to several organizations competing in...

 to the Arena Football League. They played their home games at Carver Arena, part of the Peoria Civic Center
Peoria Civic Center
Peoria Civic Center is a convention center located next to Peoria City Hall in downtown Peoria, Illinois. USA. It has an arena, a theater, an exhibit hall, and meeting rooms...

 in Illinois, and were coached by Mike Hohensee
Mike Hohensee
Michael Louis Hohensee is an American Arena Football League coach who is regarded as one of the best coaches in the history of the AFL. He was hired to guide the Soul's resumption of play after a two-year hiatus starting in 2011. He resigned on July 27, 2011...

. The Pirates originally began play as a charter member of the Indoor Football League
Indoor Football League
The Indoor Football League began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers and Madison Mad Dogs, left the PIFL after its first, financially-troubled, season to start his own league. Unlike the PIFL, the IFL was an...

 in 1999.

In their existence, the Pirates played in the Indoor Football League (IFL), af2 (twice), and United Indoor Football
United Indoor Football
United Indoor Football was a United States indoor football league that started in 2005. Ten owners from the National Indoor Football League, including one expansion and two from arenafootball2 took their franchises and formed their own league...

 (UIF). They also won the 2000 IFL Championship. They were also, while in the UIF, known as the Peoria Rough Riders.

Indoor Football League (IFL) / af2

The Peoria Pirates were charter members of the Indoor Football League
Indoor Football League
The Indoor Football League began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers and Madison Mad Dogs, left the PIFL after its first, financially-troubled, season to start his own league. Unlike the PIFL, the IFL was an...

 (IFL) and were also the IFL runners-up in 1999 and won the IFL championship in 2000 before their original league folded and the franchise moved over to af2
Af2
AF2 was the name of the Arena Football League's developmental league; it was founded in 1999 and played its first season in 2000. Like parent AFL, the AF2 played using the same arena football rules and style of play. League seasons ran from April through July with the postseason and ArenaCup...

. After the move, the Pirates managed to win ArenaCup III
ArenaCup III
ArenaCup III was the 2002 edition of the af2's championship game, in which the National Conference Champions Florida Firecats were defeated by the American Conference Champions Peoria Pirates in Peoria, Illinois by a score of 65 to 47 .-External links:*...

 over the Florida Firecats, but couldn't repeat their performance the following year.

United Indoor Football (UIF)

After losing ArenaCup V
ArenaCup V
ArenaCup V was the 2004 edition of the af2's championship game, in which the National Conference Champions Florida Firecats defeated the American Conference Champions Peoria Pirates in Estero, Florida by a score of 39 to 26 .-External links:*...

 to the Firecats, the franchise moved to United Indoor Football
United Indoor Football
United Indoor Football was a United States indoor football league that started in 2005. Ten owners from the National Indoor Football League, including one expansion and two from arenafootball2 took their franchises and formed their own league...

 (UIF) and became the Peoria Rough Riders. Before changing team name (along with their move to the UIF), their name was the Mutineers. However, their IFL and af2 success did not translate with their move to United Indoor Football
United Indoor Football
United Indoor Football was a United States indoor football league that started in 2005. Ten owners from the National Indoor Football League, including one expansion and two from arenafootball2 took their franchises and formed their own league...

, as they finished 6–9, then 0–15.

On September 15, 2006, the Rough Riders officially ceased operations.

af2 return

On August 22, 2007, it was announced that a new team would begin playing at Carver Arena, which would, play in af2, assume the old Peoria Pirates name, logo, colors, and history, and have longtime head coach Bruce Cowdrey become head coach once again. The Pirates returned to play in the 2008 af2 season
2008 af2 season
The 2008 AF2 season was the ninth season of the AF2. The regular season began on Friday, March 28 and ended on Saturday, July 26. The league champions were the Tennessee Valley Vipers, who beat the Spokane Shock in ArenaCup IX.-Standings:...

.

2009 closure

The domain of the Pirates official website expired on 31 August 2009. On 7 September 2009, the Pirates announced that they were closing down, would not play in 2010, and were selling off the team equipment later in the week. The team could not provide a the required commitment and two $100,000 letters of credit
Letter of credit
A standard, commercial letter of credit is a document issued mostly by a financial institution, used primarily in trade finance, which usually provides an irrevocable payment undertaking....

 by the af2's September 8 deadline for the 2010 season. Later in the week, the Peoria Journal Star
Peoria Journal Star
The Journal Star is the major daily newspaper for Peoria, Illinois and surrounding area. First owned locally, then employee-owned, it became a Copley-owned entity in 1996. In 2007, the paper was sold to Fairport, New York-based GateHouse Media.-History:...

noted that one of the owners of the nearby Bloomington Extreme
Bloomington Extreme
The Bloomington Extreme are a professional indoor football team and a member of the Indoor Football League. The team's name is derived from a naming rights deal with local auto dealer Extreme Motors. The Extreme play their home games at the U.S. Cellular Coliseum in Bloomington,...

 was interested in assisting with the launch of a new Peoria team as part of a new Midwest division for the Indoor Football League
Indoor Football League
The Indoor Football League began in 1999 as an offshoot of the troubled Professional Indoor Football League. Keary Ecklund, the owner of the Green Bay Bombers and Madison Mad Dogs, left the PIFL after its first, financially-troubled, season to start his own league. Unlike the PIFL, the IFL was an...

.

Season-by-season

|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | Peoria Pirates (IFL)
|-
|1999 || 11 || 1 || 0 || 1st EC Northern || Won Semifinal (Dayton
Dayton Skyhawks
The Dayton Skyhawks is a now-defunct indoor football team. They were a charter member of the Indoor Football League.They lasted both of the league's two seasons and folded when the league disbanded. Earnest Wilson was the Skyhawk’s first head coach & general manager...

)
Lost Gold Cup I (Green Bay
Green Bay Bombers
The Green Bay Bombers was an indoor football team that played in the Professional Indoor Football League in 1998, and in the Indoor Football League in 1999 & 2000. The Bombers franchise was owned by Keary Ecklund. The team office was based in Neenah, Wisconsin, and played their games at the Brown...

)
|-
|2000 || 14 || 0 || 0 || 1st EC Northern || Won Round 1 (Madison
Madison Mad Dogs
The Madison Mad Dogs was an indoor football team that played in the Professional Indoor Football League in 1998, and in the Indoor Football League in 1999 & 2000. The Mad Dogs franchise was owned by Keary Ecklund. The team office was based in Madison, Wisconsin, and played their games at the Dane...

)
Won Semifinal (Steel Valley
Ohio Valley Greyhounds
The Ohio Valley Greyhounds were a professional indoor football team. They began play in 1999 as the Steel Valley Smash, a charter member of the IFL. After the league folded, they moved to the NIFL, became a charter member, and renamed themselves as the Ohio Valley Greyhounds...

)
Won Gold Cup II (Bismarck
Bismarck Blaze
The Bismarck Blaze are a now-defunct indoor football team from Bismarck, North Dakota. They were a 2000 expansion member of the Indoor Football League. During their only year of existence, the Blaze won their division and made it all the way to the Gold Cup, yet fell to the Pirates of Peoria...

)

|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | Peoria Pirates (af2)
|-
|2001
2001 af2 season
The 2001 AF2 season was the second season of the AF2. The league champions were the Quad City Steamwheelers, who defended their title with a victory over the Richmond Speed in ArenaCup II...

 || 7 || 9 || 0 || 4th NC Midwestern || --
|-
|2002
2002 af2 season
The 2002 AF2 season was the third season of the AF2. The league champions were the Peoria Pirates, who defeated the Florida Firecats in ArenaCup III. This is also the first time that both conferences have the same division name...

 || 11 || 5 || 0 || 1st NC Midwestern || Won NC Round 1 (Wichita
Wichita Stealth
The Wichita Stealth is a now-defunct arena football team. They played their home games at the Kansas Coliseum in Wichita, Kansas. They originally began play in the Indoor Football League as a 2000 expansion team known as the Wichita Warlords before the league folded, in which they moved to the...

)
Won NC Semifinal (San Diego
San Diego Riptide
The San Diego Riptide is a defunct Arena Football League af2 team. The team played its home games at the San Diego Sports Arena in San Diego, California.The team was originally coached by Cree Morris, then Mouse Davis and then Sean Ponder....

)
Won NC Championship (Birmingham)
Won ArenaCup III (Florida)
|-
|2003
2003 af2 season
The 2003 AF2 season was the fourth season of the AF2. The league champions were the Tulsa Talons, who defeated the Macon Knights in Arena Cup IV...

 || 5 || 11 || 0 || 4th NC Midwestern || --
|-
|2004
2004 af2 season
The 2004 AF2 season was the fifth season the AF2. The league champions were the Florida Firecats, who defeated the Peoria Pirates in Arena Cup V.-Standings:* Green indicates clinched playoff berth* Purple indicates division champion...

 || 9 || 7 || 0 || 3rd NC Midwestern || Won NC Round 1 (Oklahoma City
Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz
The Oklahoma City Yard Dawgz was a member of the new Arena Football League. The team began play as a 2004 expansion team of the original Arena Football League's now-defunct minor league af2...

)
Won NC Semifinal (Bakersfield
Bakersfield Blitz
The Bakersfield Blitz were a professional arena football team based in Bakersfield, California. They are a 2004 expansion member of the af2 and play their home games at Rabobank Arena....

)
Won NC Championship (Tulsa
Tulsa Talons
The San Antonio Talons are a professional arena football franchise in San Antonio, Texas that plays in the Arena Football League.The Talons began in 2000 in Tulsa, Oklahoma as the Tulsa Talons, a charter member of the defunct minor league Arena Football 2, also known as af2...

)
Lost ArenaCup V (Florida)
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | Peoria Rough Riders (UIF)
|-
|2005
2005 United Indoor Football season
The 2005 United Indoor Football season was the very first season of the UIF. The league champions were the Sioux Falls Storm, who defeated the Sioux City Bandits in United Bowl I....

 || 6 || 9 || 0 || 3rd Midwest || --
|-
|2006
2006 United Indoor Football season
The 2006 United Indoor Football season was the second season of the UIF. The league champions were the Sioux Falls Storm, who defended their title by defeating the Lexington Horsemen in United Bowl II and acquired a perfect season....

|| 0 || 15 || 0 || 3rd Central || --
|-
|2007 || colspan="6" align="center" | Did Not Play
|-
| colspan="6" align="center" | Peoria Pirates (af2)
|-
|2008 || 4 || 12 || 0 || 6th AC Midwest || --
|-
|2009 || 5 || 11 || 0 || 5th AC Midwest || --
|-
!Totals || 79 || 76 || 0
|colspan="2"| (including playoffs)

External links

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