After a name-the-team contest that lasted more than four months, a new Staten Island-based franchise in the independent Atlantic League unveiled its name and logos this evening. The nickname FerryHawks was selected from seven finalists, which also included Harbor Heroes, Dragon Slayers, Responders, Front Liners, Watch Dogs, and Greenbelters.
“A FerryHawk is a fun-loving, baseball-playing superhero that combines the power, toughness and persistence of the Staten Island Ferry and the red tailed and cooper’s hawks that are seen around Staten Island,” the team said on its website. “The Staten Island Ferry is the iconic symbol of Staten Island, a tough workhorse that has served generations of Islanders and attracts millions of tourists. Red tailed and cooper’s hawks are apex predators.”
The new suite of logos was created by New Jersey-based firm Skye Design Studios, which has worked recently on projects like the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs and Tri City Chili Peppers.
The FerryHawks fill the baseball void left by the New York–Penn League’s Staten Island Yankees, a short-season Single-A team that ceased operations when it was left out of Minor League Baseball after the 2020 reorganization that reduced the number of affiliated teams from 160 to 120.
The FerryHawks will make their debut in April 2022 as one of 10 teams in the Atlantic League, including another new franchise, as-yet unnamed team in Kentucky.