They have Been members of the NFC South Division since 2002.
The first owner of the Buccaneers was Ted McCloskey who was a construction company owner from Philadelphia. He soon had financial problems so the NFL transferred the ownership to Hugh Culverhouse, a tax attorney from Jacksonville. The team started playing their home games at the Tampa Stadium where they played till the 1997 season. They moved to the new Raymond James Stadium in 1998 which is their home field till date.
They had a good year in 1979 when they won five games in a row. They won the NFC Central Division title by beating the Chicago Bears. The Bucs lost the NFC Championship game though soon after to the Los Angeles Rams. In 1981, they won the NFL Championship in Detroit in an upset win over the Detroit Lions who had not lost at home all season.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had a few slack years after that. Ownership was taken over by Malcolm Glazer after the death of Culverhouse and the team was found to be bankrupt. He in turn hired Tom Dungy as Head Coach who changed the fortunes of the team. In 1999, he led them to win their third NFC Central Division Championship.
The Bucs traded four of their players for head coach Jon Gruden of the Oakland Raiders in 2002. This proved to be a shrewd move by Glazer. Gruden started off by taking wide receiver Keenan McCardell from the Jacksonville Jaguars and running back Michael Pittman from the Arizona Cardinals. The Bucs then became a part of the NFC South Division. They even won their first NFC South title that year. In a surprise win over the Philadelphia Eagles, the Buccaneers won their first and so far only NFC Championship.
Jon Gruden proved to be very useful to the Bucs in 2002 as he led them to the Super Bowl as well. They played against his previous team the Oakland Raiders. His knowledge of the team and their play helped the Buccaneers to beat them, 48-21 and win their first Super Bowl. They were the first expansion team created after the AFL-NFL merger to do so. They won their second NFC South Division title in 2005 by defeating the Carolina Panthers.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have retired just one jersey number #63, Lee Roy Selmon. He is also in the Pro Football Hall of Fame along with Steve Young. |
