Hamilton Cardinals

The Hamilton Cardinals are a Canadian baseball team based in Hamilton, Ontario and a member club of the Intercounty Baseball League. Founded in 1958,[1] the club is the second oldest sports team in the city of Hamilton. Many are former major leaguers and minor professionals, as well as current and former NCAA or U Sports players. Home games are played at Bernie Arbour Memorial Stadium.

Hamilton Cardinals
Information
League	Intercounty Baseball League
Location	Hamilton, Ontario
Ballpark	Bernie Arbour Memorial Stadium
Year founded	1958
League championships	1 1978
Former name(s)	Hamilton Cardinals (2012–present) (1975-2004) (1960-1961) Hamilton Thunderbirds (2005-2011) Hamilton Real McCoys (1973-1974) Hamilton Marlins (1970-1972) Hamilton Red Wings (1966-1969) Hamilton Beavers (1958–1959)
Colours	Red, black
Ownership	Eric Spearin, Carmen's Group and Dennis Concordia
Manager	Dean Castelli
General Manager	George Halim
Website	www.iblcardinals.ca

The team has gone through several name changes over the years, most recently returning to the Cardinals name, after eight seasons as the Hamilton Thunderbirds. They were named the Thunderbirds when Drew Brady purchased the franchise on January 1, 2005, and the club adopted a new look with revitalized facilities and new uniforms. The Hamilton Cardinals played 1,490 games with a record of 525 wins and 965 losses before becoming the Thunderbirds, and winning the Intercounty title in 1978.

At a press conference on February 1, 2012, the club announced it would again be named the Hamilton Cardinals, because of the club's relationship with the Hamilton Cardinals youth rep program.[1] In late 2013, Gary Molinaro purchased the team and appointed his son JP Molinaro the new team president while also hiring Mike Fortuna as the new general manager.

The team has gone through ownership changes in recent years, first in 2018 when a community ownership group led by Carmen's Group was formed, then again in 2022 when the ownership structure was changed to include local businessman Eric Spearin as the majority owner with Carmen's Group maintaining a minority position.[2]

On November 16, 2022, the Hamilton Cardinals unveiled a new primary logo and uniforms for the 2023 season. The new logo features a strong modernized cardinal with a bat over its shoulder featuring a “hammer”-inspired bat weight. The logo emphasizes a new black and red colour scheme. [3]

On May 21 2023, the Hamilton Cardinals retired #13 in honor of Dean Dicenzo. [4] This was the first jersey number retired in franchise history.

The 2023 season experienced significant growth for the organization as the Cardinals set new records for attendance, TV viewership, and merchandise sold. [5] On the field, Outfielder Tyler Duncan won the franchise's first-ever IBL Most Valuable Player and John Bell Memorial Trophy. Duncan recorded a .355 average with 6 doubles, 5 triples, league-leading 16 home runs, and 51 RBI while starting in all 42 regular season games [6]. Duncan also set new franchise records in HRs and RBIs.

At the conclusion of the 2023 season, long-time Manager Dean Castelli resigned and joined the Front Office as a Player Liaison Coordinator. The organization named Lenin Picota the new Field Manager for the 2024 season [7].