The football city
FOOTBALL HAS BECOME synonymous with Hamilton, where the game’s history is divided into two eras — before and after 1950.
For many years there were two senior football teams in Hamilton. The Tigers won the Ontario Rugby Football Union championship in 1948 and 1949, but only broke even at the gate. The Wild Cats, playing in the Big Four, finished last in both years and suffered severe financial losses.
So in 1950, the Tigers and Wild Cats amalgamated into one team, the Tiger-Cats Football Club, Inc. Ralph Cooper, who directed the amalgamation, became president.
PLAYERS WERE paid for playing, a switch from years gone by when team members had actually paid dues.
A budget was fixed at $94,000 with $35,000 for players’ salaries and optimistically a gross revenue of $88,000 predicted.
Then, Carl Voyles, who had been appointed head coach and general manager, asked for and received a higher player budget, making the total operation cost $161,052.40.
It was unbelievable, but so was the gross revenue of $170,766.96.
Import stars
Football fever had hit Hamilton. To the combined player talent of the Tigers and Wild Cats that first year was added import stars such as Vince Mazza, Jack Carpenter, Stan Health, Edgar Jones, Bill Gregus and Ralph Sazio (the present coach).
The 1950 team won seven and lost five. In the eastern playoff, the Tiger-Cats lost to the Toronto Argonauts, who went on to win the Grey Cup.
Jake Gaudaur was named team captain by the players in both 1950 and 1951. In 1954 he succeeded Frank D. Bliss as president, and when Carl Voyles resigned his dual role of general manager and coach in 1956, Jake took up the duties of general manager as well. He still serves in that capacity.
Famous Colors
The Tiger-Cats have had three coaches: Voyles, Jim Trimble and Sazio.
During his six years as coach and general manager, Voyles’ teams won 48, lost 27 and tied one. There was one Big Four title and one Grey Cup.
Trimble took up where Voyles had left off and in his seven years led the Ticats to 60 wins, losing 36 and tying two. The Big Four title was brought to Hamilton five of those seven years and the players tasted Grey Cup champagne once.
When Trimble accepted the head coaching job in Montreal, Sazio, who had been an assistant under Big Jim, took over. In four years he has had three Eastern Conference championships and won the Grey Cup twice.
The Tiger-Cats have won the Grey Cup four times since 1950 and Hamilton teams have brought it home 11 times in all.
There is a photograph in the Football Hall of Fame and Museum dated 1870 which shows teams from Hamilton and Toronto. It is believed to be the start of intercity football completion.
In 1874 the Hamilton Football Club was formed with playing members required to pay 50-cent dues and the famous black and yellow colours introduced. The next year teams from Guelph, Stratford, Port Hope, St. Catharines and London entered the picture. The Ontario Rugby Football Union was formed with the Hamilton Tigers joining and in 1891 the Canadian Rugby Union came into being.
The Tigers brought Hamilton its first championship in 1906 by defeating McGill University 29-3 in the ORFU final. The Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (Big Four) was organized in 1907 and the Tigers won the senior championship by defeating University of Toronto 21-17.
Hamilton’s first Grey Cup appearance was in 1910, but the Tigers lost to the University of Toronto 16-7.
A new senior team, the Alerts, brought the Grey Cup to Hamilton in 1912 for the first time, defeating the Toronto Argos 11-4. The Tigers kept the Grey Cup in Hamilton the next year by whipping Toronto Parkdale 44-2.
The Alerts and Tigers amalgamated under the Tiger name in 1914 and won the Grey Cup again in 1915, defeating the Argos 13-7.
THE TIGERS dominated the Grey Cup with victories in 1928, 1929 and 1932, all over Regina.
The West ran wild as Winnipeg defeated the Tigers 18-12 in 1935 for the West’s first cup victory.
Dropped out
In 1943 a combined services team, the Hamilton Flying Wild Cats, playing in the ORFU, defeated Winnipeg RCAF Bombers 23-14 to win the Grey Cup, then lost it the next year as Montreal St. Hyacinths Navy team scored a 7-6 victory.
The year of the big switch in Hamilton was 1947. The Tigers were unable to induce the Big Four to participate in a gate equalization plan and dropped out of the league. The Wild Cats switched from the ORFU and took the Tigers’ place. The Tigers then joined the ORFU.
Frank D. Bliss had succeeded Ralph Cooper as club president in 1952, following the club regulations that the presidency must rotate every two years.
Disallowed
Led by quarterback Bill Macrides, the Ticats finished first with a 9-2-1 record in 1952. They lost the first playoff game by 16 points to Toronto and won the second by the same margin to set the stage for one of the most controversial playoff games in Big Four history.
A Hamilton touchdown was disallowed despite objections and the Ticats contended that Rod Smiley went offside to catch his game-winning touchdown for Toronto.
The Tiger-Cats won their first Grey Cup in 1953, defeating Winnipeg 12-6.
The Tabbies, in 1957, with newly acquired stars such as John Barrow, Bernie Faloney and Ed Macon, won their second Grey Cup. Climaxing a season in which they drew a record 126,973, the ‘Cats defeated Winnipeg 32-27.
Hamilton made it to the Grey Cup again in 1958 but lost to Winnipeg 35-28. Blue Bomber quarterback Jim Van Pelt set a Grey Cup record of 22 points in what is considered the most exciting of all Grey Cup games.
Humbled
The Tiger-Cats responded to Sazlo’s elevation to head coach with a 21-10 victory over Vancouver in the 1963 Grey Cup and the team drew a record 176,400 persons for seven league games.
AFTER WINNING the Big Four title, the Tiger-Cats were beaten 34-24 by Vancouver in the ’64 Grey Cup.
The following year, Ticats took title and the second Grey Cup in three years.
The year 1966 was a disaster year. There were only two changes from the 1965 Canadian championship team, but for the first time since 1960, the ‘Cats did not finish first. After defeating Montreal in the semifinal, they were humbled 73-17 by Ottawa Rough Riders in the two-game final.
Civic Stadium, originally built in 1930 for British Empire games, was renovated in 1959 and seating was increased to 27,000. With a temporary bleacher, total seating today is just under 29,000.