Peoria Pirates
Peoria Pirates
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| Founded | 1999 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 2009 |
| League | AF2 |
| Conference | American |
| Division | Midwest |
| Based in | Peoria, Illinois |
| Arena | Carver Arena (Peoria Civic Center) |
| Owner(s) | Doug MacGregor (49%) Jim Foster |
| Championships | 2000, 2002 (af2 ArenaCup) |
| Conference titles | 2002, 2004 (af2) |
| Division titles | 1999 (IFL) 2000, 2002 (af2) |
The Peoria Pirates were a professional arena football team that last played in af2, the minor league to the Arena Football League (AFL). They played their home games at Carver Arena, part of the Peoria Civic Center in Illinois, and were coached by Mike Hohensee and Bruce Cowdrey. The Pirates originally began play as a charter member of the Indoor Football League in 1999.
In their existence, the Pirates played in the Indoor Football League (IFL), af2 (twice), and United Indoor Football (UIF). They also won the 2000 IFL Championship. They were also, while in the UIF, known as the Peoria Rough Riders.
The Peoria Pirates were charter members of the Indoor Football League (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. After the move, the Pirates managed to win ArenaCup III over the Florida Firecats, but couldn't repeat their performance the following year.
After losing ArenaCup V to the Firecats, the franchise moved to United Indoor Football (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, as they finished 6–9, then 0–15.
On September 15, 2006, the Rough Riders officially ceased operations.
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.
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