Angels Seats That Get You a Trim

The way his customers see it, Lance Martin long ago tied the fortunes of his Fountain Valley barbershop to the Anaheim Angels.

Six years ago, he moved to Magnolia Street near Talbert Avenue and decorated the nondescript strip mall shop with baseball memorabilia. The establishment, On Deck, soon became not only a guy’s place to talk about ball but also a tribute to the Angels -- long before they were World Series champions.

Martin put a lot of work into a place that charges $8 for a cut, $6 for senior citizens.

He bought eight beige metal folding seats from the old Anaheim Stadium -- pulled out when the Big A became the Big Ed -- for $26 apiece and installed them right on the linoleum floor. Then he built a green “dugout” over them. He covered the walls with pictures of the Angels of old, a mural print of a baseball game, plus items from other teams his customers brought in, such as a 1946 Brooklyn Dodgers scorecard.

“I figured I have to be here every day, so I have to be surrounded by things I like and talk about what I like,” Martin said.

Over the years, as he clipped countless heads of hair, he would always defend the Angels, no matter how badly they had goofed up. His passionate defense always managed to make the guys look up from their sports magazines. Last month, when the Angels stumbled briefly in the World Series, he dared to stand up for his team to a paying customer.

“He was getting my blood boiling. He was really getting to me. He was saying, ‘They are going to let you down again,’ ” said the 48-year-old Fountain Valley resident.

“We live here in Orange County. I would never root for another team,” he said. “Even though they were bad, they deserved [our support]. They deserved the World Series. They never gave up.”

Most regulars appreciate that courage: “He stayed with the team at all costs,” said Andy Garcia, 44, tears welling in his eyes. “I went to the Dodgers and came back, but he stuck with them. And I should have done that. My grandfather poured concrete at the original Anaheim Stadium. My grandmother watched every [Angels] game. My mother is a fan.”

Of course, now, a World Series victory later, all the bragging rights belong to Martin and employees Michael Harvey and Doc Willis.

Martin wants to put out more Angels memorabilia, including World Series commemorative bats. He will paint his dugout red. He ponders the possibility that new customers will come because of the Angels victory. He jokes that maybe Ramon Ortiz, the Angels pitcher and trained barber, will want to work at On Deck in the off-season.

Martin recently put an ad in a weekly paper congratulating the Angels. Now he’s seeing new faces, people like Orange County firefighter Dan Hanson and his son Nic, who were curious about a baseball-themed barbershop.

Father and son were in the shop only a few minutes last week when they knew they were in the right place to talk Angels.

“I’d go to the stadium when there were only 3,000 fans. You could get in with a $3 ticket, and by the third inning you could be in one of the front rows,” said the father, suddenly enveloped in three decades of baseball memories.

That’s just what Martin hoped when he envisioned his shop after working in several others during 32 years as a barber. He joined the trade at age 16. He finished his studies at the Royal Academy of Hair Design in Anaheim, owned by his barber father, before graduating from La Quinta High School in Westminster.

About 25 regulars have stuck with him as he moved from shop to shop. Like Martin, most of them have less hair these days.

“I love his theme,” said Craig MacDonald of Huntington Beach, a customer since On Deck opened. “I learn something new about baseball every time I’m in here.”

The theme doesn’t stop at the shop’s door. Martin and son Trevor, 19, play in a local adult league after work. The game has been a lifelong pursuit for Martin, who played baseball in high school.

The shop’s decor isn’t wasted even on a Yankee fan like Rich DeFrain, 30. He says he finds the place endearing because he knows Martin lives by his convictions.

“It’s one of the last places in Orange County where you can feel at home and get our hair cut at the same time,” said DeFrain. “And I feel that way even though the Angels beat the Yankees.”