Hamilton Cardinals History by Larry Robertson as published in the IBL 100th Anniversary Book
Intercounty baseball has a special meaning to many of us who have grown up with it, and especially teams like Hamilton, London, Brantford and Kitchener.
I was introduced to it when two high school friends of mine, Dave Hammond and Arden Eddie signed on with the London Pontiacs, now the London Majors, back in the early 1960’s.
The intercounty was the closest we would ever come to Major League Baseball. The Toronto Blue Jays had not even been thought of then, and Hamilton was magical because it had come from the Pennsylvania, Ontario, New York (PONY League. It did not matter to us that Hamilton had played in Class D Baseball; it, like the Toronto Maple Leafs (International League) were synonymous with big league baseball.
This was a different time and place. The players in the League were older for the most part, than they are today, and some of them were or had been major professional athletes. Players like Howie Meeker, Murray Oliver, Jean Ratelle, Marc Reaume, Frank Cosentino, Fergie Jenkins, Alam Moffat, and Damon Allen. Many of the rest had played minor pro ball. Players such as Wray Upper of the Galt Terriers, who at one time, had Willie Mays as his roommate. In Hamilton, LARRY CUNNINGHAM, who became a three-time all-star in the IBL, was in hold over from the PONY League Cardinals of 1955. When the club disbanded, Cunningham jointed the Hamilton Beavers of the Great Lakes Niagara District Baseball League before moving on to the Interdsounty in 1958. He played for the Beavers, Cardinals and Red Wings for seven seasons. In 1969, he called it a career in Galt.
Larry starred in the Hamilton outfield and was named a first team all-star in 1958 and a second team star in 1959 and 1960. About the same time, a young future National Hockey League star MURRAY OLIVER, decided to try his hand at professional baseball. Oliver had a brief stint in the PONY League with the Batavia, New York Indians in 1958. “I signed with (Cleveland) with the understanding that I could continue my hockey career,” he once said. “But something happened that winter that really ruined my baseball plans.
Olivers brocken arm prevented him from hitting with power in a September tryout with the parent Cleveland Indians in old Municipal Stadium. He did take infield practice before a game in Cleveland with Jim Hegan (catcher). Vic Wertz (first base), Bobby Aviila (second base) and Al Rosen at third. The Indians shortstop was George Strickland.
Hegan was the catcher for three 20-game winners in a season, three times, while Wertz made the American all-star team four times. Avila was the American League batting champion, with a 341 average, in 1954, and Rosen was the American League MVP in 1953.
Oliver played in 12 games for Batavia hitting three singles and two doubles in 27 at bats for a .185 batting average.
He had greater success in the intercounty with the Hamilton Beavers and Cardinals. However, mid-way through the summer of 1961, the Detroit Red Wings asked him to stop playing baseball, When he retired he was hitting .460 for the Cardinals. That summer he was named the first Team IBL all-star shortstop. Oliver passed away in 2014.
In the summer of 1956, a young pitcher came on the Hamilton baseball horizon with Hamilton’s team in the Junior Intercounty League. His name was FRANK COSENTINO. In 1956 and ‘57 he pitched for Hamilton, and in ‘57 he pitched his club to the Ontario Junior Baseball title.
“When we defeated Stratfor for the title, I believe I pitched the final game of the series, which we won,” said Cosentino. “In 1958 and 1959, I played for the Senior Intercounty team (Hamilton Beavers). While doing so, I worked as a summer student at the Steel Company of Canada.”
“I spent two years in the Blast Furnace and Open Hearth, and two in the office at the Parkdale Works. I also pitched fastball in the Woodland Park League during those first three years.”
Franks also was an up-and-coming football player with the University of Western Ontario Mustangs under the tutelage of Head Coach Johnny Metras.
“My frist year was 1956, and my last was in ‘59. During that time, we won two Yates Cups in ‘57 and ‘59 and the Canadian Intercollegiate championship in ‘59. Training camp, in those days began on the Labour Day Weekend, which was also the time the baseball season ended,” said Cosentino. “I got married August 15, 1959, so that year, it was much shorter.”
He was Hamilton Tiger-Cats first draft choice in 1960. Frank played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats, Edmonton Eskimos and Toronto Argonauts in the Canadian Football League from 1960 to ‘69 with Hamilton, he played in five Grey Cub Games between 1961 and ‘65, winning Grey Cup titles in 1963 and 1965.
In Edmonton, he was nominated as his teams top Canadian vying for the Schenley Most Outstanding Canadian Award in 1967. His year with Toronto was stifled by what Leo Cahill called “an act of God,” when Ottawa and Russ Jackson erased and eight-point Toronto lead and defeated the Argoes, and represented the East winning the 1969 Grey Cup Game.
Cosentino’s career was noteworthy in that he as one of the last Canadian quarterbacks to see significant playing time in the CFL.
“There are a couple of incidents that stand out from those times. We had some very good talent on the Beavers that had graduated from the Hamilton Police Minor Baseball Association. We (Beavers) had Danny Drake, Murray Oliver, Frank Carney, Larry Cunningham, Bob Burroughs, and Rich Jack.’
“In one game against the London Majors, Dale Creighton, our fullback at Western was playing first base for London. In the bottom of the ninth, there were two out, and we needed to rally to catch the Major. I hit a single, and at first base Creighton started up a conversation with me, and got my attention to the extent that I was picked off,” Frank said.
“The game was over, and I was embarrassed. Dale would bring up the incident at football practices, and I think that in the long run it helped me to concentrate on the moment, rather than let my mind wander.”
Another incident, Frank remembers well, but only really caught up on to what had happened recently. “I was being scouted by the Kansas City Athletics, Cleveland Indians and Milwaukee Braves; the latter by scout Dewey Griggs, who was supposed to be their top scout.”
“We were in the playoffs against the Galt Terriers. It was sudden-death , and I was to pitch. The game was in Galt, and scheduled to start around 7 p.m. or so. Griggs asked me to come early to do some pitching for him, and said that he would get the Terriers catcher Shanty Clifford to catch for me,” Cosentino said.
Frank started throwing around five o’clock, and continued until close to six that night. Griggs kept asking him to throw fast balls. Frank was young, and felt good, and was not aware that he was doing Clifford a favor.
“I pitched three strong innings, and then my arm gave out. I lasted two more innings. We lot the game but I really didn’t catch on, to my naivete, until years later that I realized that I was duped. I laugh about it now, but I guess I just had too much faith in people, who were supposedly interested in helping me develop my talent.”
“Anyway, those were great times, I had good friends and I always thank Constable Bernie Arbour, the North End Policeman, who ran the Hamilton Police Minor Baseball Association,” added Cosentino. “I really enjoyed playing in the Intercounty; it was a great league with some very good talent.”
Today, Cosentino, a 2018 Canadian Football Hall of Fame Inductee, resides in Eganville, Ontario. From 1976 to 1981, he served at Toronto’s York University as Professor and Chair of Physical Education and Athletics, and coached football for seven years. He retired from the University in 1997. During his six years of teaching and coaching at the University of Western Ontario, his teams won the Vanier Cup in 1971 and 1974. He is known for authoring 17 books, three of which are on Canadian football, and on the history of sports in Canada.
My first connection with the Hamilton Cardinals came in 1969, when I tumbled into the old Civic Stadium press box, and met for the first time, the late Joe Watkins, and the late voice of everything Hamilton, Bill Sturrup.
I was covering the London Pontiacs, the night they blanked the Hamilton Red Wings 3-0, Pitcher Trevor Madden, Cunningham, Chuck Cipolla, John McTavish and catcher Hank Romanoski were the main cogs of a club, which finished in third place that season.
Four years in 1973, DARRELL OSTROSSER broke on the scene with the Cardinals as they embarked on their quest for the club’s only Intercounty title in 1978.
“I was born and raised in Stoney Creek, and came up through the Little League Baseball system. In fact, I was the second baseman for the 1965 Little League Stoney Creek All-Star team that made it to the Little League World Series final game in Williamsport. We are the only Canadian team to ever make it that far in the Series,” said Ostrosser.
Darrell played through midget baseball in Stoney Creek, and at the age of 18, he joined the Hamilton Athletics of the Niagara District League, Ostrosser placed for them until he joined the Cardinals in 1973.
“My six seasons with the Cardinals were pretty much a mixed bag. We had several different field managers; Phil Beaudoin, Greg Higson, Rick DeMarchi, and Phil Duffy,” said Ostrosser.
“We didn’t have very good win/loss records, and we pretty much played to empty bleachers (wives, girlfriends and always my parent). With a few exceptions those teams were made up of the same core members.”
In 1978, with some key additions to the pitching staff (Larry Buist, Larry Lasswell and Skip Griese), and with Duffy as manager, the team found a way to make into the playoffs, and some might say, miraculously win the League championship.
“There were a few memorable players on our ‘78 team. Larry Mackie was our first basemen and for an infielder as I was, you couldn’t ask for better guy at that position. Basically, he could take take your throw from anywhere; in the dirt, wide, up or down the line, and make the out,” Darrell added.
“Mackie took the pressure off, Larry and I were co-captains of the team. Dean Creechan was a locker room and bench character, who could hold his own behind the plate. Larry Fischer could really fly, and was always a threat to steal when he got on base. Jim Hrach was outstanding at shortstop and Terry Urquhart was a strong catcher.”
The team ownership changed a couple of times during those years (1973-78). The 1978 ownership group got a team bus and driver for the players. Traveling together as a team really helped with the spirit of the team, and that brought victories.
“There were a number of memorable moments during the years that I played. Such as in 1974 when Denny McLain played for London Majors, I had a least one at bat against him, but can’t remember how I did. That was my only time facing Major League pitching.”
“Playing in Labatt Memorial Park at London was always great. It was and is an incredible stadium. The best in the the League with great fan support. Gueph had a first rate ballpark along with a sizable fan base. Road trips to Stratford and St. Thomas were gruesome midweek ordeals, where you’d arrived home after 1 a.m., and then had to get up for work the next morning,” added Ostrosser.
Bernie Arbor Memorial Stadium was a monster. I don’t think anyone hit one out of the park in right field. Playing in right and centre was a real challenge, and you had to cover a tremendous amount of territory.”
A number of players still stand out in Darrell’s mind. Tommy McKenzie, the all-star shortstop for Kitchener Panthers; Alf Payne, the all-star shortstop for Brantford; and Alan Moffat, the all-star first baseman for the Brantford Red Sox, who could hit the long ball. Moffat also played for the Hamilton Tiger-Cats from 1976 to 1982.
Ostrosser was a star in his own right, winning the IBL championship in 1978 after being named a First Team All-Star in 1976, and leading the League in triples and total bases, the same year.
In 1975, one of the most dynamic players ever to don a Hamilton Cardinals uniform came on the scene, LARRY FISCHER.
A product of the Burlington Legion 60 Junior baseball team joined the Cardinals in 1975. Larry was known for his speed both on the baseball diamond and as a member of the Burlington Mohawks Junior B hockey team.
“My first few years with Hamilton were not a lot of fun. We lost a lot of games, and did not make the playoffs,” said Fischer. “Then like Darrell said a new ownership group came in and a new coaching staff. Manager Phil Duffy convinced me to stay, and I’m glad I did.”
A number of good young players joined the Cardinals and the veterans played very well. Hamilton was fortunate to have a good American import pitcher, Larry Lasswell.
“The owners got us a team bus to use for away games. From that point, it was a total team effort culminating in our one and only IBL championship in 1978”, Fischer added.
“Of course the highlight was beating the London Majors in the final. Before we did that we had to defeat the Brantford Red Sox and the Toronto Maple Leafs.”
Fischer said another highlight for him was the 1978 season when his Manager Duffy and he made the IBL Allstar team, Larry’s second time, and attended the League banquet. That was just the start. They and the rest of the club were front and centre at the banquet for the championship team in Hamilton in 1978. That year, he also led the League in stolen bases.
“It was a natural progression throughout my playing days in the sports of baseball and hockey to play at the highest level possible.”
“I think that playing in the League after the Blue Jays came to Toronto created more interest for the players to play in the League; and more interest, in general, for kids in the area to play baseball.”
During his career, Fischer led the IBL in hits (1977), triples (1977) and runs scored (1977). He was the leader in doubles (1981), and let the loop three times in stolen bases (1978, 1979 and 1982).
He would be the leader in that category, two more times in 1985 and 1993, after leaving the Cardinals prior to ending his career.
As Fischer’s career with the Cardinals was winding down, DEAN DICENZO’S 16 year career was just beginning. DiCenzo was born March 18, 1961 in Hamilton, and played his minor baseball at Mahoney Park.
“When I started in the IBL, it was an older league age-wise, than it is now. There were not a lot of summer leagues in those days, and the IBLS was one of the best leagues in North America.” said DiCenzo, general manager of the Cardinals in 2017.
“When I began coaching, however, it was around the time that the elite leagues were starting up in Ontario. And that is when the League became younger, and less talented than it had been in the past, in my opinion.”
DiCenzo shared that some of the high points of his career were stealing his 100th base, and that when he retired, he was ranked second in career hits and in the top five in games played and stolen bases. He led the league in stolen bases in 1982, 1985 and again in 1993 when he was 32 years old.
“Another high point was when I got the hit that put me in second place all-time in hits, and it coming in Stratford, and then Dennis Schooley calling time during the game to acknowledge both feats,” added Dean. He was also named an IBL All-Star three times in 1984, 1985 and 1993.
DiCenzo, who also led the League in triples in 1981, says that being a life-long Chicago Cubs fan, and playing against Fergie Jenkins (London Majors) in 1984 and 1985 was a great thrill.
“As an 18-year-old, when I first came to the Cardinals, Can Finan, Greg Higson and Larry Mackie were the guys who showed me the ropes. I admired Jim Wojcik of the Toronto Maple Leafs, Kevin Aitcheson of the Stratford Hillers, Dave Byers of the London Majors, and umpire Jimmy Wilkes, formerly a player with the Brantford Red Sox.”
Born and raised in Hamilton, SCOTT GARDINER grew up at the corner of Upper Kenilworth and Mohawk Road West, a stone’s throw from Bernie Arbor Memorial Stadium.
Gardiner began playing baseball at the age of nine, and looked forward to the large midge baseball tournament that took place every year in Bernie Arbor Stadium. He was always a batboy for one of the teams and earned a few dollars, nurtured the dream of one day playing in that tournament himself.
“The night the 1978 Cardinals won the Intercounty Championship I walked to the park, and sat outside the fence and watched. By the time I was midget-age and playing in Highview Park on the East Mountain, I was being called-up to play for the Mahoney Juniors,” Scott remembers.
“I began as a catcher and was lucky enough to catch a great pitcher named Barry Graham. He was being scouted, and by the end of one game Barry was signed, and I earned a trip to Vancouver to play in the Canadian Youth Baseball programme. I returned to the programme the next year,” Scott said.
“I played for two years with the Mahoney Bears Junior team with fellow Intercounty Baseball Top 100 player Dean DiCenzo.”
Scott did not play his final year of eligibility in Junior baseball in order to play for the Cardinals in the Intercounty.
“We had a very young team, and we didn’t win many games. We were competitive, but we lacked pitching. We could hit, field and run with any team, but we couldn’t keep their runs down. Sadly, we never won more than 12 games in a season during my entire career in Hamilton,” said Gardiner.
“I did play in the playoffs during my time in Hamilton, with Cambridge Terriers, Guelph Royals and Niagara Falls Mariners. In those days, teams were allowed to pick up their players from teams that did not make the playoffs to replace college players that they lost late in the season.”
Scott began his Intercounty career in 1982 as a 19-year-old catcher, playing just nine games and batted .174. The following year he became once again the long-ball threat that he had been for Hamilton in the Niagara District League. He hit nine home runs and posted a .336 average.
In 1984, he batted .283 and hit 10 home runs, finishing second to Dave Byers of the London Majors, who led the IBL with 12 homers. Scott was a Second Team All-Star at first base that season. A hand injury in 1985 to Gardiner kept him out of the 12 games; however he rebounded with a .375 average in 1986 in 26 games. The following season he was selected as one of the IBL Players of the Week.
When he ended his career with the Cardinals in 1988, he had a batting average of .319 in 180 regular season games during seven seasons. Overall, he had 212 hits in 665 at bats and connected for 49 home runs. In this final season he hit eight home runs and batted in 21 runs, and was a definite strength for Hamilton in the field.
“I grew to six feet, one inch, and 225 pounds. They called me “The Bear”, and they still do. When I was with the Cardinals I was a shift worker at DOFASCO. I would miss about 10 games a year because of work,” mused Gardiner.
“In my younger years, I would call in sick, and have a great game, like two home runs, five RBI;s and get a lot of ink in the Hamilton Spectator or the Toronto Sun. Then, when I would go back to work later in the week, the articles would be on the office wall…..busted.”
Scott averaged 10 home runs a year even with the size of Bernie Arbour in the early 1980’s before the city brought in the fences.
“Some of the most memorable times for me during my career were that my parents attended every home game and drove to most of the away games,”
“I guess the high point was the first time I faced Fergie Jenkins in London. There were 4,000 fans in the stands. It was a true pro atmosphere. I went to the plate, and struck out on a slider from the Hall of Fame pitcher. After the game, my father asked “what the hell were you swinging at?”
“At the time, I was one of the best hitters in the IBL, and Fergie was only one year from playing with the Chicago cubs. Nobody in the Intercounty had a true wipeout slider like he did. I told my dad, “the pros can’t hit that thing; why would you think that I could?” said Gardiner. “I did get a hit later in the game.”
To assist the owners of the Cardinals, his parents billeted the club’s American imports, even though Scott was married and no longer at home. The result was that there were euchre tournaments “til dawn after the Friday night home game. A couple times a year, the visiting team would also stop by and turn the house into a 10-12 table winner-take-all euchre event.
Gardiner finished his career in Toronto with the Maple Leafs. He enjoyed the winning, but missed his roots in Hamilton.
“I can honestly say no team in the IBL had more fun than we did. Teams didn’t want to play us. We would score six or seven runs, but it was never just never enough. We would then give up seven or eight,” Scott added. He played briefly for the Niagara Falls Mariners in 1989 before signing with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1990.
He was transferred to Windsor by DOFASCO in 1992, but managed to play another season for Toronto; however, the travel became too much and he retired at 31 years of age after the 1993 season. During his career, Scott played in 259 regular season games in the IBL, and holds a lifetime batting average of .330. He hit 82 home runs, and was a Second Team All-Star third baseman in 1990 and a First Team All-Star at the same position the following season. During his time in the Intercounty he played every position multiple times.
Today, Gardiner lives just outside Blyth, Ontario and works for Bruce Power in Tiverton as a Maintenance Supervisor.
In 1993 there was another bright spot for the Cardinals with the addition of Canadian Football League quarterback, DAMON ALLEN to their roster.
It was not a publicity stunt by the team owners to put more people in the stands. It was at the request of Allen, who needed high calibre practice times and game action to prepare for his spring audition with the National League Pittsburgh Pirates.
Damon had been an outstanding football player at California State University, Fullerton, and an equally great baseball player. He helped the Titans win the 1984 World Series, and led his team to a regular season won-lost record of 66-20. Allen was selected by the 1984 World Series champion Detroit Tigers in 1984 Major League Baseball Draft; however, he did not sign with the Tigers.
On Tuesday June 22, 1993, he inked a tryout contract with the Pirates. Damon reported their Spring Training Camp at Bradenton, FL in 1994. Ultimately, Allen left the Pirates and returned to the CFL, and the Edmonton Eskimos.
In mid-May of 1993, Cardinals manager Barry Hutton said he was happy to have Allen in the Cardinals lineup even if it was only for a few games. Damon had been working out with the team, both indoors and outdoors during the past month.
The Cards were scheduled to play their next three games at home against the Kitchener Panthers, Stratford Hillers and London Majors before Allen was slated to leave the club to showcase his talents for the Pirates, and sign with them.
Allen gave up on unearned run to the Brantford Red Sox on May 17, 1993, as the Cards pounded them 13-2. Brantford scored first, but Hamilton came back to tie the score in the bottom of the first inning. The Cards built a 10-1 lead before the former Hamilton Tiger-Cats quarterback made his Intercounty mound debut in the fifth.
While his Intercounty career was short-lived, Damon posted a 1.13 Earned Run Average in two games, one of which resulted in a victory. He pitched eight innings and allowed two run, one earned, on seven hits and three walks. He struck out six batters, hit one batter, and gave up one home run. He did not bat because of the League’s use of the Designated Hitter.
On March 23, 1994, during his brief stint in Pittsburgh spring training action, Allen retired former National Basketball Association star Michael Jordan (0-for-4), and Chicago’s Double-A Birmingham club farmhand, on a second-inning strikeout. Damon, a member of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame, was the starting pitcher for the Pittsburg Double-A Carolina team in the game.
SEAN REILLY, another Burlington minor baseball product, joined the Hamilton Cardinals in the summer of 1997, and few would have guessed that he would still be playing in 2018, the IBL’s 100th season.
The six-foot, three-inch first baseman had dreams of being a Major League pitcher, however, that failed to materialize for him. Instead, he has gone on to generate an IBL career only a few could dream of.
In 1999, Sean was named the Cardinal Most Valuable Player after the 21-year old moved from the pitcher’s mound to first base that season. He quickly became a first team all-star as he earned votes.
That season, he advanced from 20th in team batting the previous year to third place in 1999. He registered a .308 batting average, and an on base percentage of .381, and was the team’s MVP.
Reily was second on the club and sixth in the Intercounty with 41 hits in 34 games. He led Hamilton with 31 RBIs in 35 games, and came fourth in the league in that category. He led Cardinal batters with nine home runs in those 35 games, and finished fourth in the IBL.
1999 was the year that Reilly established himself as one of the IBL’s premier hitters as he finished amongst the top five in hits (fifth), home runs (second) and RBIs (fourth).
For most of the season, the Hamilton native challenged Kitchener’s Randy Curran for the home run lead finishing in second spot with nine homers. Defensively, Sean was near perfect at first base. His year long performance made him a first base all-star. His improved play since 1998 was viewed as one of the key factors in the turnaround of the Hamilton Club.
Reilly distinguished himself when he hit a 404-foot home run over the centre-field fence of the main diamond at the Canadian Baseball Hall and Museum of Fame at St. Mary’s, Ontario. That home run came against the London Majors on Saturday, June 26, 1999 in the first Intercounty game ever played at that field. In 2014, the highlight of the Cardinals schedule was a road game against the Barrie Baycats on Saturday, June 21st at St. Mary’s as part of the Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Weekend. Hamilton defeated the first place Barrie Baycats 5-3 on the strength of a three-run ninth inning.
During his seven seasons with the Cardinals, Sean was a two-time all-star in 1999 and 2001, and led the league in triples in 1997.
In 2017, the now 40-year-old Kitchener Panthers Designated Hitter won the IBL Triple Crown and wasnam;ed the League’s Most Valuable Player. He led the League with 19 home runs, 56 RBIs and had a .448 batting average. The 2017 season marked the fourth time in his career that he earned League MVP honors. He also earned the top individual award in 2011, 2013 and 2015.
Since Reilly’s tenure with the club, the Cardinals have under-gone a number of ownership and name changes, and realignments. In 2005, the CArdinals were purchased by Mel Oswald and re-named the Hamilton Thunderbirds. His purchase was done in an effort to keep senior baseball in the city, and to complement his elite Hamilton teams - the Canadian Thunderbirds.
The move did not accomplish what Oswald envisioned and the club was sold to an ownership group headed by Drew Brady. In 2012, the club was renamed the Cardinals because of the club’s relationship with Hamilton Cardinals youth rep baseball pregramme.
In 2013 the team was purchased by Gary Molinaro of Stoney Creek, and the club finished sixth in 2013 and seventh in the three ensuing seasons.
In 1999, the Cardinals embarked on an ambitious project in conjunction with Hamilton’s Mohawk College and its radio station, C101.5FM, to have play-by-play broadcasts done of Hamilton Cardinals baseball games.
That year a total of 10 of their 41 IBL games were broadcast live on C101.5FM - Mohawk College radio, which at the time was the radio, which at the time was the radio voice of the American Hockey League Hamilton Bulldogs. The Cardinals game were also aired simultaneously on the World Wide Web through the College facilities.
In 2000, C101.5 FM broadcast each of the Cardinals 18 regular season home games plus most of its playoff games using Adam Constable, Phil McLaughlin, Dave Woodard, Wiy Bloye and Laura Leigh as on-air talent, all of whom were broadcast journalism students at the College.
Broadcasts of Cardinals games continued on for the most part up until 2012, and during that time several of the broadcast journalism students also acted as in-game stadium announcers.
A new community-based ownership group was formed in 2018 to take over the Hamilton Cardinals and operate the team. The new ownership group is tasked with breathing new life into the team, ensuring the team has the funding and support needed to once again become a competitive baseball club, and continue the storied history of the Hamilton Cardinals entry. Part of that group was Dean DiCenzo President of Baseball Operations, Dean Castelli, the 1993 IBL Rookie of the Year was the Field Manager, and veteran IBL Manager/Coach, Jeff Lounsbury was the General Manager.
In September 2022, local businessman Eric Spearin acquired the Hamilton Cardinals and immediately implemented changes. Introducing a brand new logo, black/red color scheme and an entire new game day experience. The community embraced the changes in the 2023 season as the organization set new records in attendance.
