Shreveport Pirates
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| Founded | 1994 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1995 |
| Based in | Shreveport, Louisiana, United States |
| Home field | Independence Stadium |
| Head coach |
John Huard Forrest Gregg |
| Owner(s) |
Bernard Glieberman Lonnie Glieberman |
| Division |
East Division South Division |
| Colours | Purple, orange, silver, black, and white |
| Uniform | |
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The Shreveport Pirates were a Canadian Football League team, playing at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, United States, in 1994 and 1995. They were one of the least successful of the CFL's American franchises on and off the field.
The Pirates were created when Bernard Glieberman and his son Lonnie, owners of the Ottawa Rough Riders, made noises about moving the struggling franchise to the United States. The CFL rejected this move, but engineered a deal in which the Rough Riders were essentially split in two. The Gliebermans received an expansion franchise in Shreveport, while a new ownership group took over the Rough Riders name, colours and history.
General manager J. I. Albrecht hired John Huard as head coach, but the Gliebermans overruled him and installed Forrest Gregg as coach before the team took its first snap. It took them until week 15 to record their first victory, a 24–12 victory over the Sacramento Gold Miners. After the historic victory, the team won two out of their last three games, but they still finished last in the CFL East Division with a 3–15 record. Albrecht resigned and sued Glieberman and the Pirates.
Top performers were wide receiver Charles Thompson with 641 yards receiving and 3 touchdowns and running back Martin Patton was the team leading rusher with 659 yards and 8 touchdowns. Terrence Jones (gridiron football) had 1,046 yard passing with 4 touchdowns and with 9 interceptions and Mike Johnson, of the University of Akron, passed for 1,259 yards and 4 touchdowns with 12 interceptions. The club averaged 17,871 fans per game (second highest of the American teams, behind only Baltimore), and, once the team snapped its losing streak, attendance rose near the end of the season, with a high of 32,011 for their season-ending victory over the Ottawa Rough Riders, a single game attendance record for the American teams outside of Baltimore.
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