The Toronto Tigers were a semi-professional

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

team that played from 1962 to 1964. The team was based in

Toronto, Ohio Toronto is a city in eastern Jefferson County, Ohio, located along the Ohio River northeast of Steubenville. The population was 5,303 at the time of the 2020 census, making it the second-largest city in Jefferson County. It is part of the Wei ...

, and played in the Midwest Football League in 1964. They were coached by

Clarke Hinkle William Clarke Hinkle (April 10, 1909 – November 9, 1988) was an American professional football fullback and linebacker for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL), also playing occasionally as a placekicker and punter. ...

in 1962 and Jack Stutz from 1963 to 1964.

History

1962 season

The Toronto Tigers were founded in August 1962, with former

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

player

as the head coach and Joseph Hollister as general manager. A semi-professional team, it was considered part of the

Weirton–Steubenville metropolitan area The Weirton–Steubenville, WV–OH Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as the Upper Ohio Valley, is a metropolitan statistical area consisting of two counties in the Northern Panhandle of West Virginia, Northern Panhandle of West Virginia an ...

. Their first game was against the

Washington Merchants Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A m ...

of the Steel Bowl Conference on September 23, 1962, (losing 21–6), and they were scheduled to play against the

Pittsburgh Colts The Pittsburgh Colts are the oldest minor-league professional football team, located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, that is still in existence. Since 2018 they have been playing an independent schedule. The team was founded in 1979 by Ed Brosky, wh ...

the following week. The Tigers lost a rematch to the Merchants on October 13, by a score of 12–6. The mayor of Toronto declared October 20, 1962, as "Toronto Tigers Day" in honor of the team's game against the Ambridge A's that day; they lost 19–12. They played against the Stark Pros on October 27 and the Ambridge A's again on November 3. In the loss against the Pros, the Tigers' starting quarterback Jim Hays suffered a season-ending injury. They had a rematch with the Pros, which were renamed the

Canton Bulldogs The Canton Bulldogs were a professional American football team, based in Canton, Ohio. They played in the Ohio League from 1903 to 1906 and 1911 to 1919, and the American Professional Football Association (later renamed the National Football Lea ...

in between matchups, on November 10, in which the Tigers won their first game of the season, 26–6. The Tigers played against the Verona Raiders on November 17.

1963 season

The Tigers were expected to join the Ohio–Pennsylvania Football League for the 1963 season. Training camp for the 1963 season began on August 1, 1963, with an exhibition game against the Canton Bulldogs scheduled for August 31, 1963. Hinkle resigned as head coach at the start of the season in a dispute over player compensation and debts. He remained vice president of the club, and Jack Stutz was subsequently named head coach. The first game of the season was a win against the Bulldogs of the Ohio–Pennsylvania Football League on September 14, 1963. They played against the

Macomb County Arrows Macomb is the name of several places in the United States of America: * Macomb, Illinois * Macomb County, Michigan * Macomb Township, Michigan * Macomb, Missouri * Macomb, New York * Macomb's Purchase, New York * Macomb, Oklahoma Macomb is a to ...

of the Midwest Football League the following two weeks, losing both games. On October 12, they beat the Millvale Indians by a score of 62–12. They won against the Hazelwood Steelers on October 19, and the Niagara Falls All Stars, on October 26. The Tigers won against the

farm team In sports, a farm team (also referred to as farm system, developmental system, feeder team, or nursery club) is generally a Team sport, team or club whose role is to provide experience and training for young players, with an agreement that any s ...

for the

Hamilton Tiger-Cats The Hamilton Tiger-Cats are a professional Canadian football team based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. They are currently members of the East Division (CFL), East Division of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The Tiger-Cats play their home game ...

of the

Canadian Football League The Canadian Football League (CFL; , LCF) is a Professional gridiron football, professional Canadian football league in Canada. It comprises nine teams divided into two divisions, with four teams in the East Division (CFL), East Division and f ...

, 52–2, on November 2. On November 9, Toronto played against the Pittsburgh Collegiates. The Tigers had an 8–2 record in 1963.

1964 season

Toronto was announced as a new team in the Midwest Football League in March 1964. Stutz was re-elected as head coach of the Tigers in August 1964, with Hinkle staying on as vice president. They played their games in 1964 at

Toronto Junior/Senior High School Toronto Junior/Senior High School is a public secondary school in Toronto, Ohio, United States. It is the only secondary school in the Toronto City School District. Athletic teams compete as the Toronto Red Knights in the Ohio High School Athle ...

. The Tigers played exhibition games against the

Wheeling Ironmen The Wheeling Ironmen were a professional American football team based in Wheeling, West Virginia, and played their home games at Wheeling Island Stadium. The team began play in 1962 as a member of the United Football League, where they played fo ...

of the United Football League on August 18, 1964, and against the McKeesport Ironmen of the

Atlantic Coast Football League The Atlantic Coast Football League (ACFL) was a professional American football Minor league football (gridiron), minor league that operated from 1962 to 1973. Until 1969, many of its franchises had working agreements with National Football Leagu ...

on August 29. Their regular season opening game was against the Dayton Colts on September 12, and their second game was against the Lansing All Stars on September 19. The team did not show up to a game against the Lansing All Stars, and were subsequently removed from the league in the middle of the season. They finished with a record of 1–9 for the season. Following the season, the Tigers folded.

Season-by-season results

References

{{Reflist Defunct American football teams in Ohio Sports in Ohio American football teams established in 1962 American football teams disestablished in 1965 1962 establishments in Ohio 1965 disestablishments in Ohio Semi-professional American football Midwest Football League (1962–1978) teams