Hagerstown Flying Boxcars: New team, stadium pay tribute to Maryland aviation history

Neal Augenstein | naugenstein@wtop.com

July 25, 2023, 9:32 AM

The road to a career in Major League Baseball often takes young ballplayers on a life-changing journey — some will be making a stop, and learning a bit about military aviation history, in Hagerstown, Maryland.

Construction began last October for a new ballpark in downtown Hagerstown for a new Atlantic League team that will play its first season in 2024.

The team name was announced last week by Downtown Baseball Hagerstown as the Hagerstown Flying Boxcars in tribute to the military plane that was built in Hagerstown in the 1940s and 1950s.

Made by Fairchild Engine and Airplane Corporation, which was located in Hagerstown, the C-119, and its predecessor, the C-82, became the military’s cargo and transport workhorses. By the early 1950s, Fairchild’s payroll reached 10,000 employees.

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The city of Hagerstown has installed an round-the-clock livestream webcam to document construction of the new stadium. ... Hagerstown has a long history as home to baseball teams. In 2019, Major League Baseball dissolved 42 minor league teams, including the Hagerstown Suns, who were the single-A affiliate of the Washington Nationals.

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Neal Augenstein has been a reporter at WTOP since 1997. Through the years, Neal has covered many of the crimes and trials that have gripped the region. Neal's been pleased to receive awards over the years for hard news, feature reporting, use of sound and sports.

naugenstein@wtop.com
@AugensteinWTOP