The Hamilton Football Club was formed in 1869 and soon became known as the Tigers. Most organized football was played under the umbrella of the Ontario Rugby Football Union (ORFU), which allowed teams to come and go willy-nilly.

Four of the ORFU's teams, including the Tigers and the Toronto Argonauts, left the ORFU in 1907 and formed their own league. Formally called the Interprovincial Rugby Football Union (IRFU), the new league was better known as "The Big Four," the reference being that the teams operated out of the four largest markets in Canada.

Toronto Balmy Beach and Sarnia Imperials were the mainstays of the ORFU, with a Hamilton team often in the picture as well. During World War II, the IRFU (Big Four) ceased operations. A handful of Armed Services teams, most of which contained several Big Four players, were formed and joined the ORFU. One of those teams was the Hamilton Flying Wildcats. The "Flying" reference came about because most of the players were in the Air Force, training just outside of Hamilton. The Flying Wildcats played in two Grey Cup games during the War, winning one of them.

After the War, the Hamilton Wildcats remained in the ORFU. The Tigers and the Big Four resumed operations.

In 1947 the Tigers signed a player from the National Football League, Frank Filchock. Filchock, a quarterback, was one of the highest paid NFL players. He had been suspended by the NFL and unfairly accused of being part of a betting scandal. The Hamilton Tigers signed Filchock to a contract which promised more than the Tigers could comfortably afford to pay. Because the presence of Filchock attracted large crowds in the other Big Four cities, the Tigers argued that the other three teams should chip-in and pay part of Filchock's salary.

"No dice," said the other Big Four teams. "Nuts to you then," replied the Tigers, who promptly packed up their Big Four bags and applied for a franchise in the ORFU. The Wildcats jumped at the opportunity and grabbed the Hamilton Big Four franchise that the Tigers had just abandoned.

Ever since the formation of the IRFU, the ORFU had played at a level that was at least a notch below the IRFU. By the late 'forties the gap between the Big Four and the ORFU was widening quickly. The ORFU was slipping into minor league status while the IRFU was definitely major league and professional. By 1947, almost all Big Four players were being paid to play football, but Filchock was one of the few exceptions in the so-called "amateur" ORFU.

The Tigers were the best team in a second-rate league. The Wildcats were a second-rate team in the professional league. Although each team had its strong supporters, neither could attract enough of a crowd to turn a profit. The Hamilton Tiger-Cat Wikipedia website says, "the Tigers and the newly formed Flying Wildcats competed for fans, talent and bragging rights so vehemently that neither team could operate on a sound financial level."

The Tigers could no longer afford Filchock. They had to let him go to the Montreal Alouettes in 1948, where he promptly led the Als to a Grey Cup victory. The Big Four refused to let the Tigers rejoin their league, saying that one Hamilton team (the Wildcats) was plenty.

Neither the Tigers nor the Wildcats were very competitive on the field. Both saw their crowds continue to dwindle. Both were losing money. Sanity finally prevailed in 1950 when several community leaders got together and forced the Tigers and the Wildcats to merge into the Tiger-Cats of the Big Four.

Three years later, the Hamilton Tiger-Cats won the Grey Cup.

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