Ticats.ca Staff
The Hamilton Tiger-Cats will celebrate an important part of their storied history at this Saturday’s game when players don a uniform inspired by the Hamilton Flying Wildcats. The Ticats host the BC Lions at Alumni Stadium at 4 p.m presented by Nissan.
The uniforms feature red jerseys with white numbers and black and white striped shoulders, red pants, red socks and white helmets, similar to the look sported by the 1943 Grey Cup champion Hamilton Flying Wildcats.
Beginning today, fans can purchase their Wildcats jersey online at the Tiger-Cats Online Store or at the TigerTown Store (1 Jarvis Street, Hamilton). Additional Flying Wildcats apparel, including t-shirts and hats, will be available exclusively at Alumni Stadium on Saturday and the TigerTown store next week.
The Hamilton Wildcats were founded in 1941, competing for nine seasons before merging with the Hamilton Tigers in 1950 to form the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
In 1943 and 1944, the team altered their name to the Flying Wildcats to recognize the Royal Canadian Air Force personnel playing on the team.
The 1943 Flying Wildcats squad, led by head coach Brian Timmis and Canadian Football Hall of Fame quarterback Joe Krol, defeated Winnipeg R.C.A.F. in the 31st Grey Cup championship by a score of 23-14 at Varsity Stadium in Toronto.
At halftime on Saturday, the Tiger-Cats will honour Paul Peterson, a native of Waterloo who played on both offence and defence for the Flying Wildcats in 1943.
Fans will have the opportunity to own a piece of history when game-worn helmets and jerseys from Saturday’s game are available via auction later this season. More details regarding the auction will be available on Ticats.ca in the near future.
