Pirates documentary celebrates indoor football’s brief but popular run in Peoria

PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD/WYZZ) — It’s been 25 years.

A quarter century ago, something big came to Peoria.

“April 2, 1999. It’s like we took a sport, a team, a coach, fans, a community, characters and community. We put it in Carver Arena, mixed it up and there it was,” said former Peoria Pirates assistant coach Tony Johnson.

The Peoria Pirates brought indoor football to central Illinois 25 years ago. The team won championships in two of its first four seasons in existence and played in front of packed houses at Carver Arena.

The first few years of the franchise, the Pirates were a hot ticket and a big deal in Peoria. But the last couple of seasons were a dud and the franchise folded in 2009.

Those title-winning teams from 1999 (in the IFL) and 2002 (in the AF2) were inducted into the Greater Peoria Sports Hall of Fame last month.

“You think about how naive we were,” said former Pirates offensive lineman Tim Simpson. “You didn’t appreciate what you had at the time. The Pirates may be gone, but it’s part of Peoria folklore.

Simpson played high school football at East Peoria and college football at Illinois. He knows all about central Illinois sports and understands the Pirates place in its history.

So does Johnson, who was on the coaching staff of every Pirates team from 1999-2009. And Johnson wanted to preserve history and mark the 25th anniversary of the team’s arrival in Peoria.

So he joined forces with Peoria Civic Center video director Frank Blain to produce a documentary titled, “They played in Peoria.” It chronicles the indoor football franchise’s rise to fame in Peoria and includes interviews with ownership, head coach Bruce Cowdrey, former players, cheerleaders, fans and media who covered the teams.

The documentary can be seen at www.peoriapirates.com.

“For those that were actually part of it, it’s going to take them back to a really cool time,” said Johnson. “It showed how a community can come together, how success brings people together, how diverse a sport can be. I’m happy with the story it told.”

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