The Silver Hawks, 1994–2014

1994 – 2014

The name: The club considered a new name in 1994 and settled on Silver Hawks, as a tribute to the Studebaker Silver Hawk, the automobile built across the street from the stadium in the years of the great plant. The name tied the baseball club to the city's industrial memory for twenty-one seasons — longer than any other in the modern club's life.

The cancelled final: In 2001 South Bend reached the Midwest League finals. The finals were cancelled that September with Kane County leading the series one game to none, and Kane County was declared champion; the league record carries South Bend as the finalist of a championship that was never completed.

The third title: In 2005 the Silver Hawks won the Midwest League championship under manager Mark Haley, in his first year with the organization.

The fight to stay: That same period nearly ended the franchise in South Bend: amid rumors and a live possibility of a move to Marion, Illinois, former South Bend mayor and Indiana governor Joe Kernan announced a purchase with a group of investors, and the sale was finalized on September 16, 2006 — the team would remain in South Bend. It was the first of the modern club's two rescues.

The bottom and the second rescue: By 2011 the club was drawing 112,795 fans a season and, by its buyer's later account, was close to bankruptcy. On November 11, 2011, Chicago businessman Andrew T. Berlin purchased the Silver Hawks. Attendance rose 68 percent in his first season, to 189,575 in 2012; the five-millionth fan in the stadium's history came through the gate in 2013 — the four-millionth had come in 2007 — and in 2013 Berlin announced a naming-rights agreement with the Pokagon Band of Potawatomi Indians: the park became Four Winds Field at Stanley Coveleski Stadium. The Silver Hawks drew 258,836 in their final season under the name, 2014.

Sources:

1. MiLB, "A Historical Look at the South Bend Cubs" — the Silver Hawk tribute; the Kernan purchase finalized September 16, 2006; the four-millionth fan, 2007; the Berlin purchase, November 11, 2011; the 2013 naming rights and five-millionth fan.
2. Baseball-Reference Bullpen — the 2001 finals cancelled with Kane County leading 1–0; Kane County declared champions.
3. Chicago Tribune profile of Andrew Berlin — the 2011 attendance of 112,795, the club near bankruptcy, the 2012–2014 attendance climb.