Franchise History
Although the current Hamilton Tiger-Cats were only founded in 1950, football in Hamilton however goes back much further than that.....[Read more about franchise History by clicking link above]



Football Tigers 1929

"Bengals open season by crushing the Winged Wheelers 15 - 0 in a powerful display.
It was a lacklustre affair because the Tigers were able to stop any offensive thrusts with ease. the Montrealers were held in their own end and unable to threaten to score at all. The combination of Broadway, Welch and "Beano" Wright in the backfield performed smoothly and showed strong possibilities for future games. Neither team showed their top form in this first game, perhaps because of lack of an exhibition game. Tigers superb kicker Welch badly outplayed the Montreal punter Whitty and was responsible for pinning the Wheelers in their own end for much of the contest. This combined with the Tigers excellent line play and open field tackling spearheaded by Simpson and Fear, who appeared to be in mid-season form, contributed to the domination. So dominant was the Bengals defense, the Wheelers were unable to cross the mid-field mark throughout the entire game.
... [Read about Tigers 1929 season by clicking link above]



Football Tigers 1934
1934 Pre-Season:
The arrival of Johnny Ferraro, an American from Cornell University gave promise to an interesting season for the Tigers. The offense will feature new formations and plays including the forward pass which was approved in 1931. The preseason included a scrimmage with the ORFU team and exhibition matches against Queens and Western. The final pre-season match against Western was an impressive 32 to 2 victory. According to the Hamilton Spectator in the Sept. 29 victory. "The big difference was the presence of the head coach, in uniform, for Johnny showed the world that he can play that football game like it should be played demonstrating all round football that ranged from pivot duties to tricky combination plays, straight plunges, kicking and a forward passing attack that at once was accurate and most deadly." Two touchdowns each were score by Thornton, Jeffers and Timmis. A fine allround effort was put in by the rest of the squad. This was their final preparation for the season opener Saturday Oct. 6 in Ottawa against the Rough Riders..... [Read about Tigers 1934 season by clicking link above]



Football Tigers 1935
1935 Pre-Season:
With the arrival of a new coach Fred Veale and the excellent kicker Huck Welch from Montreal, the Bengals are poised to have a great season. Teamed with Frank Turville, the Tigers offer the top kicking duo in the country. According to the Spectator "with the adsdition of the high kicking Welch, and with Welch, Turville and Bryant as a probable backfield trio, it is doubtful if any team in the union will be able to shade the Tigers in this respect". Additionally with the return of centre Jerry Brock from Cornell "they now have ample protection in this position with "Red" Dunn to work with Brock. As a matter of fact, there isn't a pair of snaps in the country that will have an edge on this duo". At present the Bengals are hard at work in preparation for the new season. There will be no exhibiton games and the first regular season game is scheduled for September 21 against the Argonauts at varsity stadium..... [Read about Tigers 1935 season by clicking link above]



Football Tigers 1937
1937 Pre-Season:
The Spectator headline on Monday morning read "MIGHTY IMPERIALS DEFEAT REVAMPED HAMILTON SQUAD" Three thousand fans were treated to a rain-soaked exhibition game at HAAA on Saturday. It was a tough battle but the Bengals succumbed to a fourth quarter rally by Sarnia to lose a close match by the score 12 - 10. The Tigers performed admirably considering was a veteran team, while Hamilton were introducing a number of rookies. Additionally the Bengals were badly outweighed by the Sarnia team.

.... [Read about Tigers 1937 season by clicking link above]



Football Tigers 1938

"Argos lick Tigers 21 - 8 on a last-quarter rally while their strongest rivals, Ottawa Rough Riders stampeded Montreal Cubs 37 - 0"

For the first three quarters, the Bengals more than held their own against the Canadian Champions. Tigers led 6-1 after the first quarter and were even at the half at a score of 6-6. They were only two points behind at 9-7 at the end of the third quarter. But the fourth quarter was their undoing as the Argos took command as Art West raced 35 yards for one touchdown and 45 yards on an extension play to the Tigers five yard line where Teddy Morris took it in for the touchdown.

... [Read about Tigers 1938 season by clicking link above]



Football Tigers 1939

"The Spectator headline on Monday morning read "TIGERS FUMBLES, MISPLAYS AID RIDERS IN PILING UP MARGIN"
"Line Held Ottawa Huskies in game at Capital But Mistakes and Weak Defence Against Passing of Burke Reasons for Drubbing"

... [Read about Tigers 1939 season by clicking link above]





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