Hamilton Tiger-Cats
Established | 1950 |
---|---|
Based in | Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
Home stadium | Tim Hortons Field (2014–present) |
Head coach | Scott Milanovich |
General manager | Ed Hervey |
Owner(s) | Hamilton Sports Group Bob Young |
League | Canadian Football League |
Division | East Division |
Colours | Black, gold, white[1][2] |
Nickname(s) | Ticats, Cats, Tabbies |
Grey Cups | 8 (1953, 1957, 1963, 1965, 1967, 1972, 1986, 1999) |
Website | ticats |
Current uniform | |
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home games at Tim Hortons Field.[3][4]
The club traces its origins back to 1869 to the founding of Hamilton Football Club which adopted the nickname “tigers” a few years after its founding (although it had been informally called the Tigers since its first game). In 1950, the
Since 1950, the team has won the
In their first 40 years after absorbing the Wildcats, the Tiger-Cats qualified for the playoffs in all but three of those years and won seven Grey Cup championships. They are one of six teams in the modern era to win the Grey Cup at home and were the first to accomplish this when they did it in 1972. However, since 1990, they have missed the playoffs on eleven occasions and have won just one Grey Cup in 1999. In addition to having the longest Grey Cup drought of all the CFL teams, they are the only team to have not won the Grey Cup in the 21st century. Their lowest point came in 2003, when they lost a CFL record 17 games in one season, with just one win.[9] The franchise has started to return to prominence after qualifying for the post-season in eight of the 10 years of the 2010s, including appearances in the 101st, 102nd, 107th and 108th Grey Cups, where they lost each time.[8]
Ownership
Businessman
As of 2011[update], the Hamilton Tiger-Cats Executive Committee consists of five people: Bob Young, Caretaker; Scott Mitchell, CEO; Doug Rye, Executive Vice President; President and COO Matt Afinec; and Vice Chairman Glenn Gibson.[11]
On January 2, 2022, the club reorganized its ownership under the newly announced Hamilton Sports Group, an entity that will also own Forge FC and the master licence for Tim Hortons Field. Bob Young continues to serve as chairman and the largest shareholder while also welcoming new investment from Hamilton-based steel company Stelco (represented by its chairman and CEO Alan Kestenbaum), club CEO Scott Mitchell, and Woodbine Entertainment CEO Jim Lawson.[12]
Franchise history
Although the current Hamilton Tiger-Cats were only founded in 1950, football in Hamilton goes back much further than that.
The Hamilton Tigers began play in the
In the following season (1913), the Tigers won their first of five Grey Cups when they beat the
After over a decade-long drought, the Hamilton Tigers won the Grey Cup championship game in 1928, 1929 and 1932. The 1941 season saw the Tigers suspend play for the remainder of World War II. The Hamilton Tigers folded, largely because a number of players had gone into the armed services. It is believed by some that the failure of the Tigers is what caused the IRFU to be dissolved, and the Eastern Rugby Football Union (ERFU) to be formed.[13] Because of the absence of the Tigers, a new club called the Hamilton Wildcats were formed to play in the ORFU in 1941. The Wildcats were given permission to use players from the Hamilton Tigers, but not the traditional black and yellow colors of the Tigers. In 1943, the Hamilton Flying Wildcats, stocked with Royal Canadian Air Force personnel, won the 31st Grey Cup.
Things returned to normal in 1945 when the IRFU and the Hamilton Tigers resumed play while the Wildcats (no longer known as the Flying Wildcats) continued on in the ORFU. In 1948 the
A Steel Town dynasty (1950–1972)
The Ti-Cats had great success throughout the 1950s and 1960s, in the 1950s and 1960s the club appeared in ten Grey Cups. They finished first in the East thirteen times from 1950 to 1972. During that same time span, they appeared in eleven Grey Cup finals winning the championship six times. Players, such as Angelo Mosca, Bernie Faloney, Joe Zuger and Garney Henley became football icons in the Steel City. Beginning in 1957 under coach Jim Trimble (who left the team after the 1962 season), the Tiger-Cats played in every national final through 1967, except for those of 1960 and 1966, winning 4 Cups (1957, 1963, 1965 and 1967).
The Cats' 1972 Grey Cup win, 13–10 over the Saskatchewan Roughriders, was led by two sensational rookies, Chuck Ealey who had an outstanding college career at the University of Toledo and Ian Sunter, an 18-year-old kicker who booted the deciding field goal that gave Hamilton the cup on their home turf.
During this era, the Tiger-Cats also became (and remain to this day) the only Canadian team to have ever defeated a current National Football League team; on August 8, 1961, they defeated the Buffalo Bills by a score of 38–21 (at the time, Buffalo was still a part of the American Football League).[19][20]
Late 20th century
In 1978,
Hamilton businessman
The 1990s were marked by financial instability, and constant struggles on the field. Quarterback was a weak spot for the Ti-Cats, as the first half of the decade had names like Don McPherson, Damon Allen, Timm Rosenbach, Matt Dunigan, Lee Saltz and Todd Dillon taking their turns at the pivot. Despite the excellent play of Eastern All-Star Earl Winfield rewriting the team's record books for pass catching, Hamilton struggled to attract crowds to Ivor Wynne Stadium. It was not until 1998 with the arrival of head coach Ron Lancaster and the pitch-and-catch duo of Danny McManus and Darren Flutie plus the pass rush abilities of Joe Montford that led Hamilton back to the CFL's elite, reaching the Grey Cup finals in 1998 and winning the cup the following year. However, the Ti-Cats then suffered a slow decline. In 2000, Hamilton finished 9–9, losing 4 of their last 5 games, as well as the East semifinal 24–22 to Winnipeg.
Early 21st century
In 2001, Hamilton finished 11–7, and lost to Winnipeg in the playoffs for a second straight season, 28–13.[23] In 2002, Hamilton finished 7–11 and missed the playoffs.[24] The team reached their lowest ebb in 2003, having not only a franchise-worst season, but the worst record in CFL history, finishing 1–17 (and losing the most games in the CFL's 18-game schedule), with only a 27–24 overtime victory in week 14 keeping the declawed Tiger-Cats from having an imperfect season.[25]
Native Hamiltonian Bob Young has owned the Tiger-Cats since 2004, and although the team had a resurgence in home attendance, corporate sponsorship plus a brand new "Tiger Vision" scoreboard at Ivor Wynne stadium, it struggled with its on-field performance. Last place finishes both in 2005 (5–13) and 2006 (4–14), resulted in an overhaul of the coaching staff for 2007. The moves still did not immediately help, as the team continued to lag in last place in 2007 and 2008 despite numerous apparent upgrades. In 2009, their fortunes turned around when they finished in second place in the East, qualifying for the playoffs for the first time in several years. However, they failed to win the Grey Cup, marking the 2000s as the first decade since the 1890s that Hamilton failed to win a national championship.
On August 31, 2011, the Tiger-Cats announced plans to close Ivor Wynne Stadium at the end of the 2012 season and begin play in the long planned
Tim Hortons Field opened in time for the 2014 Labour Day Classic, which coincided with the Tiger-Cats going on a long run that propelled the team from 1–6 prior to that game to 9–9 (in a year when the East was particularly weak, this was enough to win the division) and two further playoff wins, propelling the team to its second straight Grey Cup appearance, which was also its second straight Grey Cup loss, as the Calgary Stampeders held off a late comeback effort from the Tiger-Cats to win 20–16. The team went undefeated at Tim Hortons Field in its inaugural season at the stadium.
Stadium
The Tiger-Cats have played home games at Tim Hortons Field since 2014. The stadium is located in downtown Hamilton at the former site of Ivor Wynne Stadium. The team played at Civic Stadium from 1950 until 1970. Renovations were done and in 1971 the stadium was renamed Ivor Wynne. The team played there till 2012. During construction of Tim Hortons Field in 2013, the Tiger-Cats played at Alumni Stadium in Guelph, Ontario.
Logo
The artwork for the original "leaping tiger" was designed by Jake Gaudaur,[28] a former Tiger-Cat player, President, and CFL Commissioner. The Princeton University Tigers athletic logo for many years was a mirror image of the Hamilton logo, except in orange. Both logos have since been revised or replaced. The colours of the logo are the clubs traditional colours for well over 100 years: black, yellow, and white. The red tongue is the last remaining nod to the upstart red-clad Hamilton Wildcats.
Rivals
Since 1873, the arch-rivals of the Tiger-Cats have been the Toronto Argonauts. The first meeting took place on October 18, 1873 at the University of Toronto where the Argonauts defeated the Hamilton Football Club by a Goal and a Try to Nil.[16] The biggest event of the rivalry is the annual Labour Day Classic, first held in 1948, with Hamilton holding a 31-15 lead. Hamilton has hosted the match almost continuously since 1996, with a rematch held the following week in Toronto. There have been 17 playoff match-ups between the two teams, with Toronto holding a 10-7 edge. Hamilton and Toronto are merely 51 km apart along the Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW) highway and, for relatively brief periods of time, were the only CFL teams in Ontario as there was no Ottawa team from 1997-2002, and again from 2006-2013.
Other Tiger-Cats rivals include the Montreal Alouettes, the Ottawa Redblacks, and recently the Winnipeg Blue Bombers after a pair of Grey Cup matchups.
Broadcasters
Corus Radio Hamilton was the official radio broadcast rights holder for the Tiger-Cats and had been the official voice for CFL football in the Greater Hamilton Area for over 40 years. AM900
In May 2015, the Tiger-Cats left CHML for CKOC, where the team operates a joint venture with TSN Radio.[31] Through the 2015 season, former McMaster Marauders quarterback Marshall Ferguson offered sideline analysis of all Tiger-Cats games, along with a post-game show on TSN 1150 Hamilton. Ferguson was promoted to lead play-by-play announcer in 2016. Select Tiger-Cats games are simulcast on CKTB in St. Catharines (also owned by Bell Media) to extend the Tiger-Cats radio network listenership towards the Niagara region (CHML's coverage pattern already covered Niagara, whereas CKOC's is pointed more toward Toronto and does not cover Niagara as well). Bell Media announced it was dropping TSN Radio from CKOC on February 9, 2021, and the Tiger-Cats responded that it was ending the partnership with Bell shortly thereafter and had begun working on alternate ways to distribute the broadcasts.[32] It announced the launch of the "Ticats Audio Network" on August 3, 2021, with game broadcasts returning to CHML and other audio content moving to a podcast format.[33]
Tiger-Cats radio announcers
Years | Flagship station | Play-by-play | Colour commentator |
---|---|---|---|
1950–59 | CHML | Norm Marshall | |
1960–66 | CHML | Norm Marshall | Perc Allen |
1967–77 | CHML | Perc Allen | John Michaluk |
1978 | CJJD
|
John Badham | John Barrow |
1979–83 | CHAM
|
Norm Marshall | Bobby Dawson |
1984–87 | CHML | Perc Allen | John Michaluk |
1988–92 | CHML | Bob Bratina | John Michaluk |
1993 | CHML | Bob Bratina | John Salavantis and Bob Hooper |
1994 | CHML | Bob Bratina | John Bonk |
1995 | CHML | Bob Bratina | Bob Hooper |
1996 | CHML | Bob Bratina | Russ Jackson |
1997–2001 | CHML | Bob Hooper | Russ Jackson |
2002 | CHML | Bob Bratina | Guest Analysts |
2003 | CHML | Bob Bratina | John Salavantis |
2004–06 | CHML | Tim Micallef | John Salavantis |
2007 | CHML | Rick Zamperin | John Salavantis |
2008 | CHML/CJXY-FM | Rick Zamperin | Ron Lancaster |
2009–13 | CHML | Rick Zamperin | John Salavantis |
2014 | CKOC | Andy J. McNamara | John Salavantis |
2015–2017 | CKOC/CKTB | Marshall Ferguson | John Salavantis |
2018–2019 | CKOC/CKTB | Marshall Ferguson | Mike Morreale |
2021-2022 | CHML | RJ Broadhead | Luke Tasker |
Players and coaches of note
Current roster
Current front office and coaching staff
Front Office
Head Coach
Offensive Coaches
|
Defensive Coaches
Special Teams Coaches
Strength and Conditioning
|
Retired numbers
The Tiger-Cats have retired two jersey numbers in their franchise history, Bernie Faloney in 1999 and Angelo Mosca in 2015.[34][35]
Hamilton Tiger-Cats retired numbers[35] | ||||
No. | Player | Position | Tenure | Championships |
---|---|---|---|---|
10 | Bernie Faloney | QB | 1957–1964 | 1957, 1963 |
68 | Angelo Mosca | DT | 1958–1959 1963–1972 |
1963, 1965, 1967, 1972 |
Canadian Football Hall of Famers
- Damon Allen
- Harold Ballard
- John Barrow
- Paul Bennett
- John Bonk
- Dieter Brock
- Less Browne
- Tom Clements
- Bernie Custis
- Tommy Joe Coffey
- Grover Covington
- Rocky DiPietro
- Matt Dunigan
- Terry Evanshen
- Bernie Faloney
- Darren Flutie
- Tony Gabriel
- Jake Gaudaur
- Ed George
- Tommy Grant
- Garney Henley
- Jerry Keeling
- Ellison Kelly
- Ron Lancaster
- Danny McManus
- Joe Montford
- Angelo Mosca
- Ray Nettles
- Peter Neumann
- Hal Patterson
- Ralph Sazio
- Vince Scott
- Don Sutherin
- Terry Vaughn
- Ben Zambiasi
Head coaches
- Carl Voyles(1950–1955)
- Jim Trimble (1956–1962)
- Ralph Sazio (1963–1967)
- Joe Restic (1968–1970)
- Al Dorow (1971)
- Jerry Williams (1972–1975)
- George Dickson (1976)
- Bob Shaw (1976–1977)
- Tom Dimitroff, Sr.(1978)
- John Payne (1978–1980)
- Frank Kush (1981)
- Bud Riley (1982–1983)
- Al Bruno (1983–1987, 1987–1990)
- Ted Schmitz (interim) (1987)
- David Beckman (1990–1991)
- John Gregory(1991–1994)
- Don Sutherin (1994–1997)
- Urban Bowman (interim) (1997)
- Ron Lancaster (1998–2003)
- Greg Marshall (2004–2006)
- Ron Lancaster (interim) (2006)
- Charlie Taaffe (2007–2008)
- Marcel Bellefeuille (2008–2011)
- George Cortez (2012)
- Kent Austin (2013–2017)
- June Jones (2017–2018)
- Orlondo Steinauer (2019–2023)
- Scott Milanovich (2024–present)
General managers
- Carl M. Voyles (1950–1955)
- Jake Gaudaur (1956–1967)
- Ralph Sazio (1968–1975, 1979–1981)
- Bob Shaw (1976–1979)
- Joe Zuger (1981–1992)
- John Gregory (1993–1994)
- Don Sutherin (1994–1996)
- Neil Lumsden (1997–2000)
- Ron Lancaster (2001–2003) – Director of Football Operations
- Alan Ford (2003) – Interim GM From 23 August 2003 – End of 2003 CFL Season
- Ron Lancaster (2004–2005)
- Rob Katz (interim) (2005–2006)
- Marcel Desjardins (2006–2007)
- Bob O'Billovich (2008–2012)
- Kent Austin (2013–2015)
- Eric Tillman (2016–2018)
- Drew Allemang and Shawn Burke (2019–2021)
- Orlondo Steinauer (2022–2023) (defacto)
- Ed Hervey (2024–present)
Mascots
T.C. and Stripes are the mascots for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats. The Tiger-Cats also have employed an official hype man, named Pigskin Pete, since the 1920s. Pigskin Pete leads the Tiger-Cats fans in the traditional Oskee Wee Wee chant while wearing a custom number 6 Tiger-Cats jersey and a bowler hat. Pigskin Pete has been portrayed by creator Vince Wirtz (1926–67), Bill Wirtz (1967–76), Paul Weiler (1977–2006), Dan Black (2007–2018), and Geoff Connor (2019–present).[36][37][38]
Awards
- Grey Cup
- East Division
- Champions (22): (1953, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1972, 1980, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1998, 1999, 2013, 2014, 2019, 2021)
- Regular season titles (23): (1950, 1952, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1970, 1972, 1980, 1981, 1984, 1985, 1986, 1989, 1998, 1999, 2014, 2019)
See also
References
- ^ TiCats Staff (May 1, 2012). "Tiger-Cats Unveil Reengineered Reebok Uniforms". TiCats.ca. CFL Enterprises, LP. Retrieved June 23, 2018.
Following a thorough two-year design process, the Black and Yellow returns to a classic appearance with the return of multiple stripes to the sleeves and a cleaner, traditional look on the jerseys and pants.
- ^ "Hamilton Tiger-Cats Club Profile & History" (PDF). 2017 CFL Guide & Record Book (PDF). CFL Enterprises, LP. Archived (PDF) from the original on October 29, 2017. Retrieved December 1, 2017.
- ^ "Goodbye Ivor Wynne, hello Tim Hortons Field". The Hamilton Spectator. TheSpec.com. July 12, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
- ^ "Construction of Hamilton Pan Am Soccer Stadium for TORONTO 2015 Games Already 10% Complete". Toronto 2015 Pan American/Parapan American Games. May 24, 2013. Archived from the original on October 20, 2013. Retrieved July 16, 2013.
- ^ "History | CFL.ca | Official Site of the Canadian Football League". CFL.ca. Archived from the original on 2010-05-01. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
- ^ "History | CFL.ca | Official Site of the Canadian Football League". CFL.ca. Archived from the original on 2013-09-21. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
- ^ "HISTORY – Grey Cup | Hamilton Tiger-Cats". Ticats.ca. Archived from the original on 2011-08-15. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
- ^ a b "Grey Cup Record Book 2011" (PDF). Cfl.ca. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-04-19. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
- ^ "CFL Regular Season Team Records" (PDF). Cfl.ca. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-26. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
- ^ "Bob Young | Hamilton Tiger-Cats". Ticats.ca. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
- ^ "BUSINESS OPERATIONS STAFF LIST". Ticats.ca. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ Naylor, Dave (January 2, 2022). "Tiger-Cats to announce new ownership structure". tsn.ca. Retrieved January 2, 2022.
- ^ a b c "Hamilton Tiger-Cats". Cflapedia.com. Archived from the original on 2012-03-10. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
- ^ "Tiger-Cats History". Archived from the original on 2012-06-05. Retrieved 2008-09-14.
- ^ a b c "Soudog's CFL History Fan Site: Hamilton Tiger-Cats". Archived from the original on 2009-10-27. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
- ^ ISBN 978-0-9739425-4-5, p.293
- ^ "TIGER-CATS HISTORY | Hamilton Tiger-Cats". Ticats.ca. Archived from the original on 2012-06-05. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
- ^ Derek Draper. "Hamilton Tiger-Cats". The Canadian Encyclopedia. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
- ^ "NFL International historical results". National Football League. 2002-05-08. Archived from the original on 2005-02-07. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
- ^ "Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs. Buffalo Bills, August 8, 1961". Mark Bolding. Archived from the original on January 19, 2008. Retrieved 2008-01-05.
- ^ ISBN 0-470-83552-4
- ^ "Not-so-friendly persuasion selling tickets in Canada". The Baltimore Sun. July 23, 1995. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
- ^ "The Hamilton Tiger-Cats' 2001 Season". CFLdb Stats. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ "The Hamilton Tiger-Cats' 2002 Season". CFLdb Stats. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ "The Hamilton Tiger-Cats' 2003 Season". CFLdb Stats. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ "New Stadium Announcement: Caretaker's Commitment".
- ^ "Grey Cup 2013: Tom Hanks makes surprise appearance, delights Saskatchewan Roughriders fans at friend Martin Short's expense". National Post. 25 November 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2019.
- ^ "Gaudaur ensured CFL thrived". The Hamilton Spectator. 2007-12-06. Archived from the original on 2018-10-15. Retrieved 2017-04-14.
- ^ "(CHML AM) AM 900". 900chml.com. 2013-09-18. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
- ^ "Corus Radio Hamilton Is The 2009 Home To The Hamilton Tiger-Cats | Hamilton Tiger-Cats". Ticats.ca. 2009-05-12. Retrieved 2013-10-24.
- ^ "Tiger-Cats Bell Media Announce New Partnership with Launch of TSN Radio 1150 Hamilton".
- ^ @Ticats (February 9, 2021). "A statement from the Tiger-Cats regarding today's news about TSN 1150 Hamilton:" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ TIGER-CATS LAUNCH ‘TICATS AUDIO NETWORK’, DELIVERING LIVE GAME BROADCASTS & ON-DEMAND CONTENT TO FANS. Press release, retrieved August 3, 2021.
- ^ "Ti-Cats retire Faloney's No. 10". Canadian Football League. June 8, 1999. Archived from the original on March 7, 2003.
- ^ a b "Angelo Mosca, Canadian Football Hall of Famer, to have No. 68 retired by Ticats". cbc.ca. cbc. Retrieved August 26, 2015.
- ^ @Ticats (April 30, 2019). "The fans have spoken! Meet your NEW..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
- ^ Radley, Scott (11 September 2014). "Opinion – So long, Pigskin Pete: 'He made the game fun'" – via www.thespec.com.
- ^ Tiger-Cats launch search for new Pigskin Pete. Ticats.ca. Retrieved January 28, 2019.