The Hamilton Tiger-Cats were formed in 1950 by the merger of the Hamilton Tigers and the Hamilton Wildcats. Of the two teams, the Tigers were the much older and more established name, going back to the late 1800s, while the Wildcats were quite a new team. While the Tiger-Cats were only founded in 1950, football in Hamilton goes back much further than that. In fact, Hamilton has one of the oldest traditions of football of any city in the country.