Hamilton Flying Wildcats
| Founded | 1941 |
|---|---|
| Folded | 1950 (Merged with Hamilton Tigers in 1950) |
| Based in | Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
| League |
Ontario Rugby Football Union Interprovincial Rugby Football Union |
| Team history | Hamilton Wildcats (1941–1942) Hamilton Flying Wildcats (1943–1944) Hamilton Wildcats (1945–1949) |
| Team colors |
Red, White |
| Home field(s) | Civic Stadium |
Red, White
The Hamilton Wildcats were a Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario that played in the Ontario Rugby Football Union from 1941 to 1947, and in the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union from 1948 to 1949. The team was formed to play in the ORFU in 1941 to fill the void left by the Hamilton Tigers, who ceased operations that year due to a large number of players joining the army. In 1943 and 1944, the team assumed the name Hamilton Flying Wildcats to reflect the Royal Canadian Air Force personnel on the team. After struggling to compete on a sound financial level with the Hamilton Tigers, who resumed operations following World War II, the two clubs merged in 1950 to form the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
For many years, Hamilton had an unstable presence in the ORFU, with various teams folding and being renamed, as well as a more established IRFU team, the Hamilton Tigers. World War II proved to be disruptive to both leagues' operations. In 1940, as part of a wave of hastily-assembled teams brought together to fill the void of the ORFU teams that had suspended operations, the ORFU returned to Hamilton with a team informally named after the Hamilton Alerts, a short-lived and long-dormant team notable for winning the 1912 Grey Cup.
In 1941, the Tigers suspended operations due to the war, and the IRFU as a whole would do so from 1942 and 1944, leaving many talented players to join teams in the ORFU as well as a void in Hamilton football. Hamilton's ORFU franchise requested to use the Tigers name and colors but were rebuffed, opting to take on the name Hamilton Wildcats and use colors of red and white. The Wildcats' usage of numerous Tigers alumni led the Wildcats to a very successful three years in which they posted a 19-6-1 record with two appearances in the Grey Cup championship game with one win coming in 1943. In the 1943 and 1944 seasons, the team is officially recognized as the Hamilton Flying Wildcats due to the RCAF personnel playing on the team. Consequently, the team that won the 31st Grey Cup is recorded as the Hamilton Flying Wildcats.
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