Shreveport Pirates
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| Shreveport Pirates | |
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| League | Canadian Football League |
| Division(s) | East Division/South Division |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Folded | 1995 |
| Home field | Independence Stadium |
| Based in | Shreveport, Louisiana |
| Colours | Purple, Orange, Silver and Black |
| Owner(s) | Bernard Glieberman and Lonnie Glieberman |
| Head Coach(es) | John Huard and Forrest Gregg |
The Shreveport Pirates played at Independence Stadium in Shreveport, Louisiana, USA, in 1994 and 1995 in the Canadian Football League. They were known to be one of the least successful of the CFL's American franchises on and off the field. Bernard Glieberman and his son Lonnie, former owners of the Ottawa Rough Riders, bought the team. As a result, they were allowed to take some Ottawa players with them to Shreveport.
The team was doomed from the beginning. The team fired their first head coach John Huard and replaced him with Forrest Gregg before the team took a snap. Most of Shreveport's football fans were used to supporting the Dallas Cowboys or New Orleans Saints and were neither familiar with nor willing to embrace the nuances of Canadian football. Attendance was poor and dwindled as the season progressed, primarily due to the team's losing record as 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.
The following year, there was lots of promise but the team still finished last in the CFL South Division with a 5-13 record. All their victories were against Canadian teams. The problems continued off the field as the Gliebermans tried to relocate the team to Norfolk, Virginia but the deal fell through. Notable about the move to Virginia was "the Great Tucker Caper" when the City of Shreveport tried to seize Bernard Glieberman's 1948 Tucker (which was on loan to a classic automobile museum in downtown Shreveport) for defaulting on debts related to the Pirates' lease at Independence Stadium. Glieberman's lawyer, Mark Gilliam, tried to escape with the car and hide the vintage auto, but he ran out of gas along the way. The police spotted him, and took the car back to the museum where it was being stored until the case could be settled. The soap opera saga led to the contraction of the team. The positives that came of the Shreveport franchise were that noted tele-evangelist Jimmy Swaggart was among the Pirates' fans. He had season tickets for both seasons and would drive over from Baton Rouge to see them play. Some notable players were quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver and kick returner Freeman Baysinger. Kicker Bjorn Nittmo was also a fan favorite, both for making some very long field goals and for being friendly to the fans, often attending meetings of their Booster Club.
The Pirates booster club was formed during the team's first season in order to support the team, and remained active long after the team became defunct, spearheading various later attempts to get another professional football team in the Shreveport area.
