The 1994 Shreveport Pirates season was the first season in the teams franchise history. They finished last place in the East division with a 3–15 record and failed to make the playoffs.
| 1994 Shreveport Pirates season | |
|---|---|
| Owner | Bernard Glieberman and Lonnie Glieberman |
| General manager | J. I. Albrecht |
| Head coach | John Huard (released during training camp), Forrest Gregg |
| Home field | Independence Stadium |
| Results | |
| Record | 3–15 |
| Division place | 6th, East |
| Playoff finish | did not qualify |
| Uniform | |
 | |
Offseason
editDuring the 1993 season, Bernie Glieberman was the owner of the Ottawa Rough Riders franchise. The city refused to renegotiate the terms of the lease for Frank Clair Stadium and Glieberman threatened to move the franchise. Instead, Glieberman sold the franchise to local businessman Bruce Firestone.[1] Glieberman was offered the opportunity to start a new franchise and the Shreveport Pirates were born.[1] His son Lonie was named team president and the Gliebermans were leased Independence Stadium at a 10-year lease for $2,500 a game.[2] Lonie Glieberman boasted that the Pirates would be the first US based CFL franchise to win the Grey Cup.[2]
Training camp
editThe Pirates first training camp was meant to be on the grounds at Louisiana State University. Instead, there was a scheduling error and the Pirates were forced to hold their training camp on the grounds of the Louisiana State Fair.[3] The players were housed in a large barracks style room that housed 12 to 18 players, and were on the second level, while animals were on the first level.[3] Pirates player Joe Mero would book a nearby hotel room at his own expense.[4] Head coach John Huard was the former football coach at the Maine Maritime Academy and he would be fired during training camp. An incident occurred where Huard berated a volunteer athletic therapist. The therapist left training camp and Huard was released from his coaching duties.[4] Huard was replaced by NFL Hall of Famer and former Cincinnati Bengals and Toronto Argonauts head coach Forrest Gregg. Gregg convinced the Gliebermans to remove the Vice President of Operations and the General Manager.[5]
Preseason
edit| Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | |||||
| A | Fri, June 24 | vs. Baltimore CFLers | L 18–33 | 0–1 | Independence Stadium | 19,000 |
| B | Tue, June 28 | at Toronto Argonauts | L 1–24 | 0–2 | Skydome | 12,712 |
Regular season
editDespite the losing, Shreveport averaged a respectable attendance of 17,871 fans per game.[6] The Pirates set a CFL record with the longest losing streak in history (14 consecutive losses).[5]
| Team | GP | W | L | T | Pts | PF | PA | Div | Stk | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winnipeg Blue Bombers | 18 | 13 | 5 | 0 | 26 | 651 | 572 | 9–1 | W1 | Details |
| Baltimore CFLers | 18 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 24 | 561 | 431 | 8-2 | L1 | Details |
| Toronto Argonauts | 18 | 7 | 11 | 0 | 14 | 504 | 578 | 5–5 | L2 | Details |
| Ottawa Rough Riders | 18 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 480 | 647 | 3–7 | L7 | Details |
| Hamilton Tiger-Cats | 18 | 4 | 14 | 0 | 8 | 435 | 562 | 3–7 | L3 | Details |
| Shreveport Pirates | 18 | 3 | 15 | 0 | 6 | 330 | 661 | 2–8 | W2 | Details |
Schedule
edit| Week | Game | Date | Opponent | Results | Venue | Attendance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score | Record | ||||||
| 1 | 1 | Wed, July 6 | at Ottawa Rough Riders | L 10–40 | 0–1 | Frank Clair Stadium | 18,134 |
| 2 | 2 | Sat, July 16 | vs. Toronto Argonauts | L 34–35 | 0–2 | Independence Stadium | 20,634 |
| 3 | 3 | Sat, July 23 | at Baltimore CFLers | L 24–40 | 0–3 | Memorial Stadium | 31,172 |
| 4 | 4 | Sat, July 30 | vs. Edmonton Eskimos | L 10–24 | 0–4 | Independence Stadium | 17,434 |
| 5 | 5 | Fri, Aug 5 | at Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 15–38 | 0–5 | Ivor Wynne Stadium | 12,612 |
| 6 | 6 | Sat, Aug 13 | vs. Las Vegas Posse | L 13–49 | 0–6 | Independence Stadium | 18,011 |
| 7 | 7 | Sat, Aug 20 | vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats | L 26–30 | 0–7 | Independence Stadium | 14,364 |
| 8 | 8 | Sat, Aug 27 | at BC Lions | L 15–67 | 0–8 | BC Place | 20,398 |
| 9 | 9 | Sat, Sept 3 | vs. Baltimore CFLers | L 16–28 | 0–9 | Independence Stadium | 16,332 |
| 10 | 10 | Sat, Sept 10 | at Las Vegas Posse | L 21–34 | 0–10 | Sam Boyd Stadium | 9467 |
| 11 | 11 | Sat, Sept 17 | at Sacramento Gold Miners | L 3–56 | 0–11 | Hornet Stadium | 13,747 |
| 12 | 12 | Sat, Sept 24 | vs. Saskatchewan Roughriders | L 11–29 | 0–12 | Independence Stadium | 15,502 |
| 13 | 13 | Sat, Oct 1 | at Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 21–39 | 0–13 | Winnipeg Stadium | 20,426 |
| 14 | 14 | Sat, Oct 8 | vs. Winnipeg Blue Bombers | L 22–38 | 0–14 | Independence Stadium | 14,088 |
| 15 | 15 | Sun, Oct 16 | vs. Sacramento Gold Miners | W 24–12 | 1–14 | Independence Stadium | 12,465 |
| 16 | 16 | Fri, Oct 21 | at Calgary Stampeders | L 8–52 | 1–15 | McMahon Stadium | 21,317 |
| 17 | 17 | Fri, Oct 28 | at Toronto Argonauts | W 29–27 | 2–15 | Skydome | 20,328 |
| 18 | 18 | Fri, Nov 4 | vs. Ottawa Rough Riders | W 28–24 | 3–15 | Independence Stadium | 32,011 |
Awards and honors
edit- Ben Williams, Defensive Tackle, CFL Eastern All-Star
- Joe Fuller, Defensive Back, CFL Eastern All-Star
References
edit- ^ a b Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.77, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
- ^ a b Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.78, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
- ^ a b Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.193, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
- ^ a b Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.194, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
- ^ a b Weird Facts about Canadian Football, p.195, Overtime Books, First Printing 2009, ISBN 978-1-897277-26-3
- ^ a b "1994 Shreveport Pirates (CFL) - Pro Football Archives".