Hamilton Tiger-Cats
759971
225359821
2008-07-13T07:48:12Z
Rickyharder
393766
/* Logo */
{{current sport-related|image=AmericanFootball current event.svg|mini=1|2008 Hamilton Tiger-Cats season}}{{CFL team
| name = Hamilton Tiger-Cats
| fontcolour=D4AF37
| bgcolour = black
| helmet = HamiltonCFLHelmet.png
| logo = HamiltonTigerCats.png
| founded = [[1950 in sports|1950]]<ref name="merger">The Tiger-Cats where founded in 1950 as a merger of the Hamilton Tigers (founded 1869 as the Hamilton Foot Ball Club,[http://www.footballcanada.com/history_timeline.asp] later merged with the [[Hamilton Alerts]]) and the Hamilton Flying Wildcats.</ref>
| location = {{flagicon|Canada}} [[Hamilton, Ontario|Hamilton]], [[Ontario]], [[Canada]]
| field = [[Ivor Wynne Stadium]]
| division = [[CFL East Division|East Division]]
| colours = Black and gold
| nickname = Ti-Cats, Tigers, Tabbies
| coach = [[Charlie Taaffe]]
| manager = [[Bob O'Billovich]]
| owner = [[Bob Young]]
| championships = [[41st Grey Cup|1953]], [[45th Grey Cup|1957]], [[51st Grey Cup|1963]], [[53rd Grey Cup|1965]]<br/>[[55th Grey Cup|1967]], [[60th Grey Cup|1972]], [[74th Grey Cup|1986]], [[87th Grey Cup|1999]]<ref name="cupswon">There is some contention regarding the number of times that this franchise has won the [[Grey Cup]]. Many people include all the teams that merged to form the team: Hamilton Tigers (5 championships), Hamilton Flying Wildcats (1 championship) and the Hamilton Alerts (1 championship) in addition to the 8 as the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, while others do not agree and only count the wins since the 1950 merger.</ref>
| mascot = TC & Stripes
| website = [http://www.ticats.ca www.ticats.ca]
}}
The '''Hamilton Tiger-Cats''' are a [[Canadian Football League]] team based in [[Hamilton, Ontario]], founded in 1950 with the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the [[Hamilton Flying Wildcats]].<ref name="merger"/> The Tiger-Cats play their home games at [[Ivor Wynne Stadium]]. Since the 1950 merger, the team has won the [[Grey Cup]] championship eight times, most recently in [[1999 Grey Cup|1999]].<ref name="cupswon"/>
Including their historical lineage, Hamilton football clubs won league championships in every decade of the 20th century, a feat matched by only one other Canadian franchise in professional sports, the [[Montreal Canadiens]] of the NHL.
==Team facts==
:'''Founded:''' [[1950 in Canadian football|1950]], a merger of the Hamilton Tigers (merged with the [[Hamilton Alerts]]) and the Hamilton Flying Wildcats.<ref name="merger"/>
:'''Formerly known as:''' The Hamilton Tigers and [[Hamilton Flying Wildcats]].
:'''Helmet design:''' Black background with a leaping tiger
:'''Uniform colours:''' Black, Gold and White.
:'''Home stadium:''' [[Ivor Wynne Stadium]] (1950–present), [[Hamilton Amateur Athletic Association Grounds]] (1872–1949)
:'''Current Owner:''' [[Bob Young]]
:'''Eastern regular season championships:''' 21—[[1950]], [[1952]], [[1957]], [[1958]], [[1959]], [[1961]], [[1962]], [[1963]], [[1964]], [[1965]], [[1967]], [[1970]], [[1972]], [[1980]], [[1981]], [[1984]],[[1985]], [[1986]], [[1989]], [[1998]], [[1999]]
:'''[[Grey Cup]] final appearances:''': 29—[[1910]]—Tigers (lost), [[1912]]—Alerts (won), [[1912]]—Tigers (won), [[1915]]—Tigers (won), [[1927]]—Tigers (lost), [[1928]]—Tigers (won), [[1929]]—Tigers (won), [[1932]]—Tigers (won), [[1935]]—Tigers (lost), [[1943]]—Wildcats (won), [[1944]]—Wildcats (lost), [[1953]] (won), [[1957]] (won), [[1958]] (lost), [[1959]] (lost), [[1961]] (lost), [[1962]] (lost), [[1963]] (won), [[1964]] (lost), [[1965]] (won), [[1967]] (won), [[1972]] (won), [[1980]] (lost), [[1984]] (lost), [[1985]] (lost), [[1986]] (won), [[1989]] (lost), [[1998]] (lost), [[1999]] (won)<ref name="cupswon"/>
:'''[[Grey Cup]] wins:''': 15 (Alerts—1, Tigers—5, Wildcats—1, Tiger-Cats—8)
:''' Main Rivals:''' [[Toronto Argonauts]] (see [[Labour Day Classic]]).
:'''[[2007 CFL season|2007 Regular Season]] Record:''' 3 wins, 15 losses, 0 ties.
[[Image:The Tigers of Hamilton football team.jpg|thumb|250px|The "Tigers" of [[Hamilton, Ontario]] circa 1906. Founded 1869 as the Hamilton Foot Ball Club, they eventually merged with the Hamilton Flying Wildcats to form the '''Hamilton Tiger-Cats''', in the [[Canadian Football League]].<ref name="Football Canada timeline">{{Cite web|url=http://www.footballcanada.com/history_timeline.asp|title=Canadian Football Timelines (1860 – present)|accessdate=2006-12-23|publisher=[[Football Canada]]}}</ref>]]
[[Image:Ottawa and Hamilton Tigers football game 5.jpg|thumb|The Hamilton Tigers playing an unknown Ottawa team, 1910]]
[[Image:Toronto Argonauts vs. Hamilton Tiger-Cats at Rogers Centre, October 27 2005.jpg|thumb|right|Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs. [[Toronto Argonauts]], [[October 27]], [[2005]] at [[Rogers Centre]]]]
[[Image:IvorWynneStadium Hamilton.jpg|thumb|[[Ivor Wynne Stadium]], home of the Tiger-Cats]]
== Franchise history ==
===Early Years===
The history of Hamilton Tiger-Cats can be traced back to [[November 3]], [[1869]] in a room above Nick Lawrence's Sausage Factory when the Hamilton Football Club was formed.<ref>{{cite web|title=Tiger-Cats History|url=http://www.ticats.ca/index.php?module=page&id=4014|accessdate=2007-09-24}}</ref> Known as the Tigers, they joined the '''[[Interprovincial Rugby Football Union]]''' in 1907. They also faced local competition with the Alerts, in which they won the first [[Grey Cup]] for Hamilton in [[1912]], beating the [[Toronto Argonauts]] 11–4. This was followed by the Tigers the following season (1913) when they beat the Parkdale Canoe Club by the lopsided margin of 44–2. Later, in [[1914]], both teams would merge under the moniker of Tigers. After World War II, the Tigers and the newly-formed Wildcats competed for fans, talent and bragging rights so great that neither team could operate on a sound financial level.
Under the guidance of prominent local leaders such as Ralph Cooper and F.M. Gibson, it was decided that the two teams should merge as one that would represent Hamilton. The Tiger-Cats were born in [[1950 in Canadian football|1950]] with Cooper as team president and [[Carl Voyles]] serve as head coach and general manager.
===A Steel Town Dynasty (1950–1972)===
The Ti-Cats had great success throughout the 1950s and 1960s, they finished first in the East thirteen times from 1950 to 1972. During that same timespan, they also 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. Their 1972 Grey Cup win, 13–10 over the [[Saskatchewan Roughriders]], were 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.
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]]).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nfl.com/international/story/6699961 |title=NFL International historical results |accessdate=2008-01-05 |date=2002-05-08 |publisher=National Football League |archiveurl=http://web.archive.org/web/20050207165524/http://www.nfl.com/international/story/6699961 |archivedate=2005-02-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mmbolding.com/BSR/CFL-NFL_Hamilton_Tiger-Cats_vs_Buffalo_Bills_1961.htm |title=Hamilton Tiger-Cats vs. Buffalo Bills, August 8, 1961 |accessdate=2008-01-05 |publisher=Mark Bolding}}</ref>
===Later Years===
In 1978, Toronto Maple Leafs owner, Harold Ballard assumed ownership of the Tiger Cats. Ballard claimed to be losing a million dollars a year. <ref name=p124> All Work and All Play: A Life in the Outrageous Sport, p.124, John Wiley and Sons Canada Ltd., Mississauga, ON, 2005, ISBN 0-470-83552-4 </ref> The Tiger-Cats contended on and off during the rest of the 1970s and 1980s, reaching the Grey Cup final in [[1980]] and winning the East Division by a mile in [[1981 CFL season|1981]] with an 11–4–1 record under head coach [[Frank Kush]], but were stunned by the [[Ottawa Rough Riders]], who finished a distant second at 5–11, in the East final. The Tabbies' defense was very stout, talented and hungry that decade, led by standouts [[Grover Covington]], [[Ben Zambiasi]], [[Howard Fields]] and [[Mitchell Price]]. They were complemented very well on offense with quarterbacks [[Tom Clements]] and [[Mike Kerrigan]] throwing to [[Rocky DiPietro]] and [[Tony Champion]] leading to three straight trips to the Grey Cup in 1984, 1985 and 1986, the latter resulting in winning the title over the [[Edmonton Eskimos]] by a score of 39–15. In 1986, Ballard publicly called the Tiger Cats a bunch of overpaid losers. <ref name=p124/> After the Tiger Cats beat the Toronto Argonauts in the 1986 Eastern Final, Ballard said “You guys may still be overpaid, but after today, no one can call you losers.” <ref name=p124/> A few days later, the Tiger Cats won the 1986 Grey Cup by beating the Edmonton Eskimos 39–15 and Ballard said it was worth every penny. Hamilton returned to the Grey Cup in [[1989 CFL season|1989]], but were on the losing end of a 43–40 thriller to [[Saskatchewan Roughriders|Saskatchewan]].
The 1990s were marked by financial instability, and constant struggles on the field. Quarterback was a weak spot for the Ti-Cats, as in 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 CFL season|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 [[1999 CFL season|year]].
Native Hamiltonian [[Bob Young]] has owned the Tiger-Cats since 2004, and although the team has had a resurgence in home attendance, corporate sponsorship plus a brand new "Tiger Vision" scoreboard at Ivor Wynne, it has struggled with its on field performance. Last place finishes both in 2005 (5–13) and 2006 (4–14), have resulted in an overhaul of the coaching staff for 2007.
===Logo===
[[Image:CFLE-Uniform-HAM.PNG|thumb|left|150px|Hamilton Tiger-Cats uniform: 2005-present]]
The Tiger-Cats logo for many decades was an exact mirror-image of the Princeton University Tigers athletic logo. The artwork for the original "leaping tiger" is claimed by Hamilton. Both logos have since been revised or replaced.
== Players and coaches of note ==
===[[Canadian Football Hall of Fame]]rs===
* [[John Barrow (football player)|John Barrow]]
* [[Tommy Joe Coffey]]
* [[Grover Covington]]
* [[Rocky DiPietro]]
* [[Matt Dunigan]]
* [[Bernie Faloney]]
* [[Tony Gabriel]]
* [[Garney Henley]]
* [[Ellison Kelly]]
* [[Angelo Mosca]]
* [[Peter Neumann (football player)|Peter Neumann]]
* [[Hal Patterson]]
* [[Ralph Sazio]] (inducted 1988 in Builders category)
* [[Vince Scott]]
* [[Don Sutherin]]
* [[Brian Timmins]]
* [[Ben Zambiasi]]
===Current Squad===
{|
|valign="top"|
'''Active roster'''
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 0-[[Kori Dickerson]], FB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 1-[[Casey Printers]], QB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 2-[[Tony Miles (football player)|Tony Miles]], WR
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 3-[[Geoff Tisdale]], DB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 4-[[Jermaine Mays]], DB
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 5-[[Pat Woodcock]], WR
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 7—[[Timmy Chang]], QB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 8-[[Ryan Glasper]], DB
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 9—[[Nautyn McKay-Loescher]], DL
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 12-[[Quinton Porter]], QB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 13—[[Nick Setta]], K
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 15—[[Jason French]], WR
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 16—[[Zeke Moreno]], LB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 17—[[Richie Williams (football player)|Richie Williams]], QB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 18-[[Rontarius Robinson]], DB
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 19—[[Sandy Beveridge]], S
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 20-[[Dylan Barker]], S
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 21—[[Dennis Mitchell]], DB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 22—[[Alan Zemaitis]], DB
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 23-[[John Williams]], RB
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 24—[[Jason Nedd]], DB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 25-[[Markeith Knowlton]], DB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 26-[[Chris Thompson]], DB
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 27—[[Michael Roberts (football player)|Michael Roberts]], DB
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 28—[[Jesse Lumsden]], RB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 29—[[Lawrence Gordon (football player)|Lawrence Gordon]], DB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 30-[[Terry Caulley]], RB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 31-[[Jykine Bradley]], DB
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 33-[[Mike Giffin]], FB
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 34-[[Jeff Piercy]], FB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 35-[[Mike Maciejewski]], WR
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 36-[[James Kinney]], LB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 37-[[Bo Smith]], DB
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 38—[[Matt Robichaud]], LB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 40—[[Cameron Siskowic]], LB
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 41-[[Nick Kordic]], DB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 43-[[Tyrone Sanders]], DB
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 44—[[Ray Mariuz]], LB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 45-[[Jacoby Watkins]], DB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 46-[[Calvin Carlyle]], DB
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 47—[[Sasha Glavic]], DB
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 49-[[Robert Pavlovic]], FB
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 52-[[George Hudson]], OL
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 53—[[Cedric Gagne-Marcoux]], C
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 54-[[Michael Botterill]], LB
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 55-[[Charlton Keith]], DE
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 56-[[Matt King]], DE
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 57-[[Eric Ince]], OL
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 58-[[Jonathan Alston]], OL
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 60-[[Marko Cavka]], OL
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 61-[[Jordan Rempel]], OL
*[[Image:Flag of Lebanon.svg|20px]] 62—[[Marwan Hage]], C
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 63-[[Gerald Davis]], OL
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 65—[[Charles Thomas]], OL
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 67—[[Peter Dyakowski]], OL
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 69—[[Jonta Woodard]], T
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 75—[[Adam Kania]], DE
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 77—[[Jo Jo Walker]], WR
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 80-[[Willie Ponder]], WR
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 81-[[Kelvin Kight]], WR
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 82-[[Rashaun Woods]], WR
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 83—[[Eddie Cohen]], WR
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 84-[[Earnest Jackson]], WR
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 85-[[Prechae Rodriguez]], WR
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 86-[[Laurent Lavigne-Masse]], WR
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 87—[[Chris Bauman]], WR
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 88-[[Jonathan Carter]], WR
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 89-[[Scott Mitchell]], WR
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 90—[[Clinton Wayne]], DT
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 91-[[Dominic Lewis]], DL
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 94-[[Byron Tinker]], DL
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 95-[[Marcus Thomas (defensive tackle)|Marcus Thomas]], DT
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 96—[[Alex Guerrero]], DT
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 97-[[Darrell Adams]], DT
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 99-[[Jermaine Reid]], DE
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 6—[[Jamacia Jackson]], LB
|width="50"|
|valign="top"|
'''Injured roster'''
*[[Image:Flag_of_Canada.svg|20px]] 52—[[Roger Dunbrack (football player)|Roger Dunbrack]], DT
'''Developmental roster'''
*[[Image:Flag of the United States.svg|20px|American]] 25—[[Shannon Fitzhugh]], DB
|}
===Head coaches===
*[[Carl Voyles]] (1950–1955)
*[[Jim Trimble]] (1956–1962)
*[[Ralph Sazio]] (1963–1967)
*[[Joe Restic]] (1968–1970)
*[[Al Dorow]] (1971)
*[[Matthew Daley]](interim)(1971)
*[[Jerry Williams]] (1972–1975)
*[[George Dickson (football)|George Dickson]] (1976)
*[[Bob Shaw (football)|Bob Shaw]] (1976–1977)
*[[Tom Dimitroff]] (1978)
*[[John Payne (football)|John Payne]] (1978–1980)
*[[Frank Kush]] (1981)
*[[Bud Riley]] (1982–1983)
*[[Al Bruno]] (1983–1987)
*[[Ted Schnitz]] (interim) (1987)
*[[Al Bruno]] (1987–1990)
*[[David Beckman]] (1990–1991)
*[[John Gregory (coach)|John Gregory]] (1991–1994)
*[[Don Sutherin]] (1994–1997)
*[[Urban Bowman]] (interim) (1997)
*[[Ron Lancaster]] (1998–2003)
*[[Greg_Marshall_%28running_back%29| Greg Marshall]] (2004–2006)
*[[Ron Lancaster]] (interim) (2006)
*[[Charlie Taaffe]] (2007–present)
==See also==
*[[Canadian Football Hall of Fame]]
*[[Canadian football]]
*[[Comparison of Canadian and American football]]
*[[List of CFL seasons]]
*[[The Oski Yell]]
*[[Oldest football club]]
==References==
{{reflist}}
== External links ==
*[http://www.ticats.ca Hamilton Tiger-Cats Official Site]
*[http://www.ticats.ca/index.php?module=page&id=4014 Complete Tiger-Cats History]
*[http://www.ticats.ca/index.php?name=PNphpBB2&file=viewtopic&t=14332 All-time Ticat Coaches Record List]
{{CFL}}
{{Ontario Sports}}
{{Hamilton Tiger Cats seasons}}
[[Category:Canadian Football League teams]]
[[Category:Hamilton Tiger-Cats|*]]
[[Category:Sports clubs established in 1950]]
[[de:Hamilton Tiger-Cats]]
[[fr:Tiger-Cats de Hamilton]]
[[ja:ハミルトン・タイガーキャッツ]]
[[ru:Гамильтон Тайгер-Кэтс]]
[[uk:Гемілтон Тайґеркетс]]