After twenty years, the Lynchburg Hillcats are no more. The club decided to rebrand into Hill City Howlers, as after twenty years, the club needed new energy.
The name howlers is represented by five “scary” mascots: Indy the Werewolf, Gilly the Creature, Victor the Vampire, Murray the Mummy, and Daisy the Bride. According to the club’s website, these creatures reawaken in the Hill City as fun-loving, community-focused characters that hope to share the sport of baseball across generations.
The werewolf will be the main logo, the other four creatures will serve as alternate logos.
“The Howlers represent an exciting time to be a fan of baseball in Lynchburg,” General Manager Matt Ramstead said. “With the upgrades coming to City Stadium and the renewed investment in the community, this forward-thinking rebrand sets the course for creating something the community can rally behind.”
How did the club get to this new name and look? The home of the Howlers has a strange reputation. Located next to Spring Hill Cemetary, some say it is haunted. Night guards quit. Lights flickered. And sometimes, on full-moon nights, you could hear a howl echo across the outfield. The cemetery was so old that tunnels ran beneath it and under the current baseball stadium! And according to folk stories, these tunnels were occupied by strange creatures (Nice PR talk).
The Howlers aren’t the first club that leaves the name of the city out of the moniker. The independent, now dormant, Spire City GhostHounds were the trend setter, followed by the Hub City Spartanburgers.
When it comes to the new look, the Howlers’ website states the following: “The Hill City Howlers branding features a traditional, classic-style script font, which embraces both the historic legacy of baseball in Lynchburg and the circus-like nature of Minor League Baseball. The secondary logos, inspired by the location of City Stadium and its connection to the cemetery across the street, bring a forward-thinking brand design to MiLB.”
The on-field cap is rather disappointing. A royal blue cap with the full name Hill City written on the front.
With the five different mascots/alternate logos, the club could have created some awesome caps for several occasions. But with the club coming up with some youth twill caps with the aforementioned alternate logos, perhaps more on-field caps will follow.
The jerseys are a whole different story.
For now, the webshop only shows an alternate one and an alternate two jersey. But these are very nice. Simple but with a traditional, classic-style script font.
On the right sleeve of the jersey, a US flag is sown. On the left sleeve there is a heart-shaped patch with the area code of Lynchburg in it (434). The patch is adorned with baseball seams on the sides.
With $80.00, I think these jerseys are reasonably priced. The caps have a rather hefty price tag, but apparently, $40.00 is a normal price nowadays.
The decision to rebrand wasn’t an easy one, according to owner and CEO Dylan Narang, who bought the club in 2025. “I had a lot of meetings and discussions about the future of baseball in Lynchburg , with MLB, with the city and with my staff. Ultimately, one of the best tactics I have to keep professional baseball in our community is to create excitement to and for our fans and to try and grow our fan base. I strongly believe the Hill City Howlers will create the jolt of energy we need and continue to add value to our community.”
The Hill City Howlers will defend the Carolina League title that the Lynchburg Hillcats won in 2025.
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