Midwest Professional Football League (1972)
Independent 1973
Tombstone
Born: 1972 – Midwest Professional Football League expansion franchise
Re-Branded: Spring 1974 (Cedar Rapids Buccaneers)1NO BYLINE. “C.R. Bucks Will Start On Aug. 3”. The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA). April 17, 1974
First Game: September 2, 1972 (L 42-17 @ Indiana Caps)
Last Game: October 28, 1973 (T 24-24 vs. Madison Mustangs)
Midwest Professional Football League Champions: 1972
Stadia
1972: Kingston Stadium
Opened: 1952
1973: Veterans Memorial Stadium
Opened: 1949
Demolished: 2001
Branding
Team Colors:
Ownership
Owners:
Background
The Cedar Rapids Rapid Raiders were a semi-pro football outfit formed in 1972 as a member of the small Midwest Professional Football League.
After losing their debut game in lopsided fashion to the Indiana Caps on September 2, 1972, the Rapid Raiders reeled off ten wins in a row. Cedar Rapids captured the MPFL championship with a 10-1 record.
The Rapid Raiders hosted Wisconsin’s West Allis Spartans, champions of the Central States Football League, in a postseason contest billed as the “Super Bowl of minor league football”.2Miller, Al. “Big Test For Raiders”. The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, IA). November 17, 1972 The Spartans snapped the Rapid Raiders 10-game winning streak, hanging a 33-14 loss on the hosts.
Final Season
The Rapid Raiders returned in 1973, but the Midwest Professional Football League did not. The circuit folded during the winter and left the Raiders scrambling to find capable opponents for an independent schedule. Also in 1973, the Raiders moved Kingston Stadium to Cedar Rapids’ minor league baseball park, Veterans Memorial Stadium.
In October 1973, Rapid Raiders head coach Frank Bates quit, citing frustration over a string of game cancellations by Cedar Rapids rag tag collection of opponents. Bates had led the Rapid Raiders to an 18-3 record over two seasons at the time of his resignation. Ultimately, Cedar Rapids would finish out its 1973 schedule with an 8-2-1 record.
In 1974 the Rapid Raiders were accepted into the relatively well-organized Central States Football League. But that league already had a team known as the Raiders in Racine, Wisconsin. So Cedar Rapids changed its named to the Bucks (short for Buccaneers). The Bucks lasted just one season and were placed by the Cedar Rapids Falcons, who competed in different semi-pro leagues in 1976 and 1977.
Downloads
9-2-1972 Cedar Rapids Rapid Raiders Roster
9-2-1972 Cedar Rapids Rapid Raiders Roster
Links
Midwest Professional Football League Programs
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