Capital City Outlaws Team History

The Outlaws, are from Springfield IL. The franchise began play in 1991 as the Springfield Statesman. The team founder was Maurice Horton, a notorious Springfield figure. The team, as an independent, played one game that year, against the legendary Racine Raiders. The score was reported to be over 100 to 0, in Racine's favor. Adrian Dotts took the team over in 1992, and the team's name was changed to The Springfield Buccaneers. After Dotts' departure in 1995, and the team converted to a general manager system.

League Play: The Buccaneers played in the MCFL (Mid-Continental Football League) in 1993 and 1994, then joined the MFL (Midwest Football League) in 1995, until 2005. Since 2005, the Outlaws are a member of the 8FL, and no longer play 11 man football.

Team Name: From 1992 to 2002, the team name changed from the Buccaneers, The Bucs, The Bucks, and even the Fighting Tigers, though not officially. Of note: For the 1995 season, Coach Hibbler started his own team, The Sangamo Express, of which folded after the season was over. This team consisted of most of the 1994 Bucs Squad. The season record was 3-7.

(http://www.mcfl.org/history/1995.htm)

Former Head Coaches: Coach Hibbler, Adrian Dotts, Herb McMath, Stacey Moore (also GM, player), Herb Fullerton (also a player), Russ Anders (also GM, player), Chris Lawson (also a player). Keith Soulet worked with the team in various coaching capacities for several seasons.

Current Head Coach: In 1999, the Bucs won the MFL championship under Head Coach Chris Lawson. Coach Lawson coached the team from 1995 to 1999, and is also a former player. In '98 and '99, he was voted the MFL Coach of the Year. For the 2000 season, Chris served as the MFL league commissioner. (Coach Lawson returned to the team as head coach in 2003). Info provided by the Outlaws official site; (http://www.capitalcityoutlaws.com)

*History data is provided by former Outlaws/Bucs/Express players Brent Bordenkircher and Tom Gaskins, both of whom played on most of these teams. Additional data and photos provided by Coach Lawson.

1991-2002