Nestled in the Antelope Valley of California, about 70 miles from Dodger Stadium, the Lancaster JetHawks of the California League play in a ballpark labeled, quite appropriately, the Hangar.
Antelope Valley is one of the focal points for America’s aerospace industry. In October 2015, Northrop Grumman won a massive contract for building stealth bombers. Melody Petersen and W. J. Hennigan of the Los Angeles Times reported, “In the months leading up to the highly anticipated decision, Northrop had told local government officials that it planned to build much of the plane at the sprawling complex of hangars and runways in Palmdale known as Air Force Plant 42.”
According to the JetHawks web site, the Hangar—originally called Lancaster Municipal Stadium when it débuted in 1996—cost $15 million to build. Outside the Hangar, an F/A-18 Hornet symbolizes the region’s aerospace link. NASA donated the Hornet to the city of Lancaster, which installed it at the ballpark.
Proximity to Edwards Air Force Base, about 30 miles from the Hangar, gives the JetHawks another rationale for a team name connecting to the region’s culture, a common branding device for sports teams. For example, the New York Knickerbockers moniker refers to the name of the fictional narrator in Washington Irving’s novel A History of New York.
Further, the JetHawks enjoy a space affiliation with the Houston Astros team, which changed its name from Colt .45s in 1965 to reflect Houston’s status as aerospace’s epicenter; the Astros label reinforces Houston’s space connection.
Aerospace Appreciation Weekend is an annual promotion for the JetHawks, underscored by bobbleheads of aerospace icons as giveaways. Honorees include astronauts Buzz Aldrin, Fred Haise, and Jerry Ross.
In 2014, Jake Kerr and Jeff Mooney led an ownership group to buy the JetHawks. Kerr and Mooney also own the Northwest League’s Vancouver Canadians. “There is a strong foundation to build from here in Lancaster and with the experiences and success we’ve enjoyed in the Northwest, we hope to take the JetHawks brand and bring it to not only our longtime fans, but to a whole new generation,” said Kerr, as reported by milb.com.
Mooney promised, “Our journey in baseball will notice an increased effort to make this organization something they can be proud of.”
Additionally, milb.com reported on the present ownership group led by Peter A. Carfagna, who praised, “We have enjoyed our stewardship of the JetHawks franchise and, upon closing, are excited to hand the reins of the franchise to an experienced group of individuals who will build on the successes we have enjoyed in recent years.”
Abdication of the JetHawks aegis did not, in any way, mean a divorce from Minor League Baseball. Carfagna clarified that his group would keep its ownership of the Midwest League’s Lake County Captains in Eastlake, Ohio, a Cleveland suburb.
The Kerr-Moooney syndicate is the third owner of the JetHawks, which began operations in 1996. In the October 11, 1995 Times article “JetHawks Nickname Flies in Lancaster, but How Will the Mascot Walk?,” logo designer Daniel Simon explained, “They liked the concept of the hawk and concept of the jet. But if it’s a jet, that’s just a jet, and if it’s a hawk, that’s just a hawk. If you have the combination, that’s unique.”
The JetHawks team has aerospace in its DNA—the Riverside Pilots played in Riverside, California from 1993-1995, before transitioning to Lancaster. Prior to Riverside, though, no aerospace connection existed; the team played in Reno, Nevada from 1955-1992. During its tenure in the Biggest Little City in the World, the team enjoyed the label Silver Sox, except for the 1982-1987 period, when it was Padres.
A version of this article appeared on www.thesportspost.com on February 20, 2016.