The Atlantic League continues to re-populate following the exit of the Somerset Patriots and Sugar Land Skeeters to affiliated MiLB in 2021, the loss of the Wild Health Genomes out of Lexington, and the addition of teams in Staten Island, Gastonia, Charleston, Lexington (formerly the Legends), and Frederick between 2021 and 2023.

Arriving in time for the 2024 season will be the expansion Hagerstown Flying Boxcars; the second consecutive franchise to come out of Maryland following the 2023 admission of the Spire City Ghost Hounds out of Frederick, MD.

The franchise’s name comes on the heels of a local ‘Name the Team’ contest, which compelled owners to choose the Flying Boxcars moniker, a nod to Hagerstown’s history of the boxcar-style airplanes that were produced by Fairchild in Hagerstown from 1944-1955.

The team further elaborated on the team name’s local connection:

Both the Fairchild C-82 and its successor, the Fairchild C-119, were referred to as the “Flying Boxcar.” For the C-82, produced from 1944-1948, it became a nickname; but for the C-119, produced from 1949- 1955, the name was made official. Both airplanes were of very similar design, with a central fuselage the exact size of a railroad boxcar, a high wing, a high tail, and rear opening “clamshell” doors. The design provided the means for rapid loading and unloading of bulky and heavy cargo which could be accomplished at truck-bed level. The design also allowed for the airplane to be used for troop transport, casualty evacuation, as well as for airborne delivery operations.

With all these amenities, available in no other military aircraft of the time, Fairchild Flying Boxcars became the cargo and transport workhorses of the 1940s, 50s, and early 60s. The name “Flying Boxcar,” synonymous with Hagerstown, became known in all corners of the earth. For over ten years the design and manufacture of Fairchild’s C-82 and C119 placed Hagerstown at the center of military cargo production. By the early 1950s, Fairchild’s payroll reached 10,000 employees; and a total of 1,183 Flying Boxcars were produced by 1955.

Downtown Baseball, LLC.

The franchise’s arrival will mark a return to pro ball for Hagerstown after the loss of the MLB-affiliated Hagerstown Suns, then a Washington Nationals affiliate, after the cancelled 2020 Minor League season.

The Suns’ former ballpark, Municipal Stadium, was demolished shortly after the Suns dissolved, so a new ballpark is being constructed in downtown Hagerstown, currently given the generic name of Hagerstown Multi-Use and Events Facility.

A 24/7 live camera feed of the construction of the ballpark can be found here.

The impending addition of Hagerstown will bring the Atlantic League team count to 11, which leads one to believe that at least one more franchise could be on the way.