By Jordan Nicewarner, Panhandle News Network Sports
HAGERSTOWN, MD — There is a new identity for baseball in the Hub City.
Yesterday, the media, front office staff, owners, and summer campers packed into the Hagerstown YMCA to witness the restart of baseball in Hagerstown. After months of community input and voting, Downtown Hagerstown Baseball GM David Blenckstone and the person who submitted the name raised the name “Flying Boxcars” under a shower of confetti. It may not be the name that jumped out of the final 5 the most, but it may be the most fitting for the City of Hagerstown and its war-time history.
The Fairchild C-119 Flying Boxcar (Navy and Marine Corps designation R4Q) was an American military transport aircraft developed from the World War II-era Fairchild C-82 Packet, designed to carry cargo, personnel, litter patients, and mechanized equipment, and to drop cargo and troops by parachute. The first C-119 made its initial flight in November 1947, and by the time production ceased in 1955, more than 1,100 C-119s had been built.
(Official U.S. Air Force)
Out of the final 5 names, I think this is the best representation for Hagerstown.
Now that the team has an identity, we just have to wait for the stadium to be completed. Flying Boxcars’ GM David Blenckstone says the progress is coming along great and the plan is still in place for baseball to return this upcoming spring.
