I just stumbled upon your blog. My father-in-law, Gino, just passed away at 101 years. Aside from being a WWII veteran, and former POW in Germany, he played for the Detroit Raiders, the only American team ever in the Canadian Football League. I believe they only lasted one season, 1958, because we have a team roster, and I've not been able to find anything on line about the team. You seem to have a wealth of sources, and if you have any knowledge of the Detroit Raiders, I would love to find out more about the team. Cheers!
I'm sorry to hear about your FIL. Was his last name D'Ambrosio? There is a lot of information available about the Raiders on newspapers.com. I've dug into them before but did not publish anything, so let me take another look. BTW, the Raiders were in the Senior ORFU (Ontarior Rugby Football Union), not the CFL, which started in 1958. The ORFU did not compete in the Grey Cup after 1954.
Yes, Gino D'Ambrosio (often listed as Gene or Eugene) that's him. He was the quarterback for Wayne University in Detroit (later Wayne State University) from 1947 to 1950. He played baseball as well, and was a close friend of Mike Ilitch. They both graduated from Cody HS in Detroit. Gino ended up working for the Ilitch organization later in life after Mike bought the Detroit Red Wings. Thanks for the info.
I just stumbled upon your blog. My father-in-law, Gino, just passed away at 101 years. Aside from being a WWII veteran, and former POW in Germany, he played for the Detroit Raiders, the only American team ever in the Canadian Football League. I believe they only lasted one season, 1958, because we have a team roster, and I've not been able to find anything on line about the team. You seem to have a wealth of sources, and if you have any knowledge of the Detroit Raiders, I would love to find out more about the team. Cheers!
I'm sorry to hear about your FIL. Was his last name D'Ambrosio? There is a lot of information available about the Raiders on newspapers.com. I've dug into them before but did not publish anything, so let me take another look. BTW, the Raiders were in the Senior ORFU (Ontarior Rugby Football Union), not the CFL, which started in 1958. The ORFU did not compete in the Grey Cup after 1954.
Yes, Gino D'Ambrosio (often listed as Gene or Eugene) that's him. He was the quarterback for Wayne University in Detroit (later Wayne State University) from 1947 to 1950. He played baseball as well, and was a close friend of Mike Ilitch. They both graduated from Cody HS in Detroit. Gino ended up working for the Ilitch organization later in life after Mike bought the Detroit Red Wings. Thanks for the info.