{{Infobox baseball team |name = London Rippers |founded = 2007 |disbanded = 2012 |city = London, Ontario |ballpark = Labatt Park |logo = Rippers baseball.png |cap_logo = Rippers cap.png |league = Frontier League |division = |former_leagues = |former_names = {{plainlist| * London Rippers (2012) * Oakland County Cruisers (2010) * Midwest Sliders of Ypsilanti (2009) * Midwest Sliders (2008) * Slippery Rock Sliders (2007) }} |nicknames = |uniform = |retired_numbers = |colours = Black, red, silver, white <br>{{color box|black}} {{color box|#CE2029}} {{color box|silver}} {{color box|white}} |former_ballparks = {{plainlist| * Oestrike Stadium * Jack Critchfield Park }} |league_champs = 0 |division_champs = 0 |owner = Summit Professional Baseball |gm = |manager = |media = |website = {{URL|http://www.londonprobaseball.com/|londonprobaseball.com}} }} The '''London Rippers''' were a professional baseball team based in London, Ontario, in Canada. The Rippers were a member of the Frontier League, which is not affiliated with Major League Baseball. They played their home games at Labatt Park, and were the second Frontier League team to play their home games in London, following the London Werewolves, which played from 1999 (when they won the Frontier League Championship) until folding in 2001.
The franchise was founded as the original Slippery Rock Sliders in 2007. (The name "Slippery Rock Sliders" was later used by a summer collegiate baseball team of the Prospect League.) The team was renamed Midwest Sliders in 2008 and played as a traveling team for that season. It was renamed again to Midwest Sliders of Ypsilanti in 2009 and relocated to Ypsilanti, Michigan. The team was renamed again to Oakland County Cruisers in 2010. The franchise was resurrected in 2012 and became the "Rippers".
On July 24, 2012, it was announced that the Rippers would cease all operations as of midnight July 25, 2012.<ref name="fold">{{cite news|title=RIP London Rippers|url=http://www.londoncommunitynews.com/2012/07/rippers-days-in-london-are-over/|accessdate=July 24, 2012|date=July 24, 2012|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120728011949/http://www.londoncommunitynews.com/2012/07/rippers-days-in-london-are-over/|archivedate=July 28, 2012}}</ref>
==Controversy== The choice of the name and mascot proved controversial with some, as it was felt to represent Jack the Ripper. Megan Walker, director of a local London Abused Women's Center stated that "People are outraged. I think it's appalling. It's insulting and stupid and they better rethink their entire marketing strategy".<ref>{{cite news|title=Canadian team draws heat for 'Jack the Ripper' nickname|url=https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Canadian-team-draws-heat-for-8216-Jack-the-Rip?urn=mlb-wp27055|accessdate=February 13, 2012|date=November 16, 2011}}</ref> Mayor Joe Fontana seemed uneasy about the team name but stated there is little the council can do to prevent the team from playing in Labatt Park, which is city owned.<ref>{{cite news|last=Maloney |first=Patrick|title=The plot thickens on logo|url=https://lfpress.com/news/london/2011/11/22/19006451.html|accessdate=February 13, 2012|newspaper=The London Free Press|date=November 23, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Foul ball? London Rippers team name under fire|url=https://www.ctvnews.ca/foul-ball-london-rippers-team-name-under-fire-1.728256|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111119005138/http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/TopStories/20111118/london-rippers-name-under-fire-111118/|url-status=dead|archive-date=November 19, 2011|access-date=February 13, 2012|newspaper=CTV|date=November 18, 2011}}</ref>
The name choice was defended by Rush Limbaugh, Rick Chandler of NBC Sports, Ryan Mahan of the ''State Journal-Register '' and comedian Adam Buckley, briefly the team's PA announcer in 2012, who supported the logo as well as the name.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zdsixCf9_fk |title=London Rippers - A Dose of Buckley |publisher=YouTube |date=2011-11-17 |accessdate=2016-09-13}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Black|first=Debra|title=London Rippers' baseball team name and logo buzzing in U.S.|url=https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/article/1089083--london-rippers-baseball-team-name-and-logo-buzzing-in-u-s|accessdate=February 13, 2012|newspaper=The Canadian Press|date=November 18, 2011}}</ref>
==2012 season==
The London Rippers opened their season against the Southern Illinois Miners. After a 1–5 start on their first road trip, London played their first game at Labatt Memorial Park on May 25, 2012 against the Gateway Grizzlies, winning 4–3.
==Eviction and folding==
On July 18, 2012, an eviction notice was posted on the door of the London Rippers' Team Store in Market Tower, which was later attributed to their failure to pay rent.<ref>{{cite news|last=Mullins|first=Angela|title=London Rippers' team store gets eviction notice|url=http://metronews.ca/news/london/303103/london-rippers-team-store-gets-eviction-notice/|accessdate=July 24, 2012|date=July 19, 2012}}</ref> This led to the Frontier League stepping in to work with owner Othman Kadry and widespread speculation that the team's future was in jeopardy.<ref>{{cite news|last=Green|first=Steve|title=Rippers' future in London looks bleak|url=https://lfpress.com/sports/baseball/2012/07/19/20004486.html|accessdate=July 24, 2012|date=July 20, 2012}}</ref> Six days later, on July 24, 2012, it was first announced that the team would play the remainder of their season on the road,<ref>{{cite news|last=Green|first=Steve|title=Flighty Rippers strike out|url=https://lfpress.com/sports/baseball/2012/07/24/20023916.html|accessdate=July 24, 2012|date=July 24, 2012}}</ref> but was announced later in the day that the team would be folding altogether.<ref name="fold" />
The Frontier League later announced on July 25, 2012 that the franchise will be replaced by a traveling team called the "Road Warriors"; the name was previously used by the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. Teams originally scheduled to play in London instead hosted the Road Warriors.<ref>{{cite news|title=Rippers strike out in London|url=http://www.am980.ca/channels/news/local/Story.aspx?ID=1744530|date=July 25, 2012|accessdate=July 25, 2012}}</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20120904034247/http://londonprobaseball.com/ London Rippers] at Internet Archive * [http://www.frontierleague.com/ Frontier League]
{{London, Ontario}}
Category:Former Frontier League teams Category:Baseball teams in London, Ontario Category:Baseball teams established in 2011 Category:Baseball teams disestablished in 2012 Category:2011 establishments in Ontario Category:Defunct baseball teams in Canada Category:Baseball teams in Ontario Category:Defunct Frontier League teams Category:2012 disestablishments in Ontario Category:Defunct independent baseball league teams