After losing their first two regular-season contests in 1968 (and drawing only 1,200 fans for a game in Davenport, Iowa against the Chicago Owls), the Raiders were set to play the Indianapolis Capitols in Indiana.
[1] Instead, Indianapolis businessman Thomas Redmond swiftly purchased the club and announced the team would be known as the Las Vegas Cowboys (who lost to the Caps, 41–0 on September 14.
At the time, there was already a Las Vegas Cowboys franchise in the minor Western Football League, with Las Vegas holding a 1–1 record in that circuit; Redmond apparently merged the two franchises, forfeited the Cowboys' remaining games in the WFL, and played a Continental League schedule for the rest of 1968.
In 1969, the final season of the CoFL, Las Vegas improved drastically, both at the gate (drawing 5,068 fans per game to Cashman Field, about double the 1968 figures) and on the field, winning the Pacific Division with an 8–4 record.
After routing the Sacramento Capitols, 31–0, in the Pacific Division playoffs, the Cowboys were eliminated and in the second round by the eventual champion San Antonio Toros.