History of the Club

The Hamilton Wildcats was founded by Bill Frampton who took a keen interest in Australian Football and was inspired by the rapid growth of other OAFL teams throughout the GTA in the late 1980s. Following local promotion and recruiting, the Wildcats established a team of keen ground-roots players who played their OAFL inauguration match in the 1990 summer season.

In response to enormous efforts made by the club's governing body, the Wildcats grew in strength during the early 1990s and hit new peaks in the seasons of 1995 and 1996. In July of 1995, the Wildcats demonstrated the game of Australian Rules Football in front of a crowd of 21,000 during a half-time break of a CFL match; following this, they established a deal to broadcast home games for the 1995 season on a local cable TV channel. Local support and tangible success was carried through to the 1996 season, where the energized team went on to become runner up in the league's premiership season.

Since this time, the OAFL has grown in scope and depth; in the face of increasingly tough competition from teams in the GTA, the Hamilton Wildcats has proved its mettle. Hamilton has seen local players such as Charles Thompson, Rueben Sculthorp and Nick Dirago go on to be nationally selected for the Canadian Football team, Northwind, and play in many widely attended international series at home and abroad. Furthermore, the team again reached the final series in 2007 after a remarkable season of success.

The Wildcats continue to foster new local talents in this burgeoning game. Club members relish the opportunity to teach game skills to newcomers and are strong proponents of Canadian players of Australian Rules. As a club that values community and team spirit, the Wildcats hold several annual events including the Sponsor's and Family Appreciation Day, the Welcome Social, and the Final Presentation Night, and it is an active contributor to local food-banks.

To become a part of this growing and exciting club please visit the website for up to date details!