# London Rippers
> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/London_Rippers
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/London_Rippers.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Rippers
> Source revision: 1302855503
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)
{{Infobox baseball team
|name = London Rippers
|founded = [2007](/source/2007_in_baseball)
|disbanded = [2012](/source/2012_in_baseball)
|city = [London, Ontario](/source/London%2C_Ontario)
|ballpark = [Labatt Park](/source/Labatt_Park)
|logo = Rippers baseball.png
|cap_logo = Rippers cap.png
|league = [Frontier League](/source/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
{{color box|black}} {{color box|#CE2029}} {{color box|silver}} {{color box|white}}
|former_ballparks = {{plainlist|
* [Oestrike Stadium](/source/Oestrike_Stadium)
* [Jack Critchfield Park](/source/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](/source/baseball) team based in [London, Ontario](/source/London%2C_Ontario), in [Canada](/source/Canada). The Rippers were a member of the [Frontier League](/source/Frontier_League), which is not affiliated with [Major League Baseball](/source/Major_League_Baseball). They played their home games at [Labatt Park](/source/Labatt_Park), and were the second Frontier League team to play their home games in London, following the [London Werewolves](/source/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](/source/Slippery_Rock_Sliders) in 2007. (The name "Slippery Rock Sliders" was later used by a summer collegiate baseball team of the [Prospect League](/source/Prospect_League).) The team was renamed Midwest Sliders in 2008 and played as a [traveling team](/source/traveling_team) for that season. It was renamed again to Midwest Sliders of Ypsilanti in 2009 and relocated to [Ypsilanti, Michigan](/source/Ypsilanti%2C_Michigan). The team was renamed again to [Oakland County Cruisers](/source/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.[{{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}}]
==Controversy==
The choice of the name and mascot proved controversial with some, as it was felt to represent [Jack the Ripper](/source/Jack_the_Ripper). Megan Walker, director of a local [London Abused Women's Center](/source/women's_shelter) stated that "People are outraged. I think it's appalling. It's insulting and stupid and they better rethink their entire marketing strategy".[{{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}}] Mayor [Joe Fontana](/source/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](/source/Labatt_Park), which is city owned.[{{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](/source/The_London_Free_Press)|date=November 23, 2011}}][{{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](/source/CTV_Television_Network)|date=November 18, 2011}}]
The name choice was defended by [Rush Limbaugh](/source/Rush_Limbaugh), Rick Chandler of [NBC Sports](/source/NBC_Sports), Ryan Mahan of the ''[State Journal-Register](/source/State_Journal-Register) '' and comedian Adam Buckley, briefly the team's PA announcer in 2012, who supported the logo as well as the name.[{{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}}][{{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}}]
==2012 season==
The London Rippers opened their season against the [Southern Illinois Miners](/source/Southern_Illinois_Miners). After a 1–5 start on their first road trip, London played their first game at [Labatt Memorial Park](/source/Labatt_Memorial_Park) on May 25, 2012 against the [Gateway Grizzlies](/source/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.[{{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}}] 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.[{{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}}] Six days later, on July 24, 2012, it was first announced that the team would play the remainder of their season on the road,[{{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}}] but was announced later in the day that the team would be folding altogether.[{{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}}]
==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120904034247/http://londonprobaseball.com/ London Rippers] at [Internet Archive](/source/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
---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [London Rippers](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Rippers) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/London_Rippers?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.