Major League Baseball Comes to Arlington

The on-the-field history of the Texas Rangers began on April 15, 1972, but efforts to bring major-league baseball to the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex started more than a decade earlier. In 1953, after 50 years without expansion or relocations in either the American League or the National League, the Braves’ move from Boston to Milwaukee was the first of many changes for both leagues in the next few years. Existing teams, especially those struggling in their current market, would look to new markets to improve their financial situation. Perhaps the most surprising moves were made in 1958, with the Dodgers leaving Brooklyn for Los Angeles, and the New York Giants changing their home to San Francisco, the two clubs becoming the first on the West Coast.

At the same time, both the American and National Leagues were considering adding teams. By the fall of 1960, both leagues had formed expansion committees to explore potential locations for new teams, as many as four in each league, along with the issues in adding so many new teams. The cities of Dallas and Fort Worth came together to make a proposal to both leagues. The Bi-County Park Commission, which consisted of some of the most influential people in north Texas, had assembled a comprehensive plan for a new stadium to be built in Arlington, a small town halfway between the two cities near the turnpike that connected them. They already had approval to sell bonds to raise $9.5 million for the first domed stadium for baseball. The stadium would guarantee indoor playing conditions at 75 degrees, relieving concerns over the oppressive heat of a Texas summer. The dome would also mean no threat of rainouts that would force schedule changes. Since most teams in the league would have to travel a long distance to get to Texas, and with no other teams in the area, eliminating the possibility of having to travel back for makeup games was considered a necessity by the committee. Despite a well-organized committee with financial backing and community support from one of the largest cities without a major-league team, both leagues opted for other cities. The American League added the Los Angeles Angels and replaced the Washington Senators team that was moving to Minneapolis in 1961, and the National League added teams in New York and Houston in 1962.

Tom Vandergriff, the mayor of Arlington and the chairman of the Bi-County Park Commission, continued his efforts to bring major-league baseball to north Texas. He proposed the area to club owners who were struggling and wanting to move their teams. Charley Finley was eager to move the A’s out of Kansas City, but at a meeting of the American League on September 18, 1962, it was evident that a move was not going to be approved.

Determined to demonstrate support of baseball in Arlington, Mayor Vandergriff initiated construction of Turnpike Stadium in September 1964. The ballpark became the home field for the Texas League’s Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs in 1965. Originally, it seated 10,000 fans, large by minor-league standards, but was designed to be easily expanded to 50,000 seats in hopes of becoming home to a major-league team. Attendance at the Spurs games was very good, but Arlington was still unable to land a major-league team.

The next serious opportunity came in 1968. Both leagues were considering adding two teams, and the Kansas City A’s were now adamant about moving. Dallas-Fort Worth made a bid for a National League team but lost out to Montreal and San Diego. Roy Hofheinz, the owner of the Houston Astros, resisted a north Texas team because of the television contracts the Astros had throughout Texas, Oklahoma, and Louisiana. Vandergriff argued that an in-state rivalry would benefit Hofheinz, but it was not to be. The American League had finally approved the A’s moving to Oakland, but legal threats forced them to grant Kansas City a new expansion team to replace the A’s. The league chose Seattle over Dallas-Fort Worth for its second expansion team, although the Pilots would play in Seattle for only one year before moving to Milwaukee.

With further expansion not expected for several years, the only hope Vandergriff had of bringing a major-league team to Arlington was to get approval for an existing club to relocate. To that end, he continued to build relationships with owners. He garnered support from California Angels owner Gene Autry, and the owner of the Washington Senators, Bob Short. Short and the Senators were having financial difficulties, which some say were of his own doing so that he could move the team to Texas. During the 1971 season, Short petitioned the American League to be able to move the team to Arlington. He had tried to negotiate a lower lease on RFK Stadium, but even with the threat of moving the team to Arlington if a new deal could not be reached, the D.C. Armory Board would not alter the lease. Short also offered to sell the team to anyone willing to pay $12 million to keep the team in Washington. On September 21, 1971, the league convened a meeting in Boston to discuss the relocation request. Vandergriff led a contingent from Dallas-Fort Worth. While he was presenting, a messenger knocked on the door and gave them a note signed by President Nixon which read, “I implore you. Repeat: I implore you: Do not move the nation’s national pastime from the nation’s capital.”1 Following Vandergriff’s presentation, the league excused the Texas delegation so the owners could vote. After a lengthy debate, the move was approved despite dissenting votes from the owners of the Baltimore Orioles and Chicago White Sox.2

News of the move was met with a flood of emotions in Washington. The nation’s capital couldn’t fathom how they could be losing their team to “a dinky, nowhere town between Dallas and Fort Worth with all the big-league stature of an anthill.”3 Players who enjoyed playing and living in Washington were disappointed to be moving, too. Many of the fans were very angry with Short and it was in full display in the final game of the season when the Senators hosted the Yankees. Fans hung banners all over the ballpark expressing their feelings about Short. The game ended when several hundred fans stormed the field with two outs in the top of the ninth inning. They literally stole the bases, pulled up grass, put dirt in their pockets, and grabbed anything else they could. The Senators were leading the game, but were forced to forfeit, ending a dismal season and closing the book on baseball in Washington, D.C., for 33 years.

That fall, Turnpike Stadium was expanded to a capacity over 35,000 and renamed Arlington Stadium. The team was named the Texas Rangers. It had taken 13 years of persistence, especially by Mayor Vandergriff, but Dallas-Fort Worth finally had the baseball team they coveted.

GREG CHANDLER is a database developer and project development consultant for Solomon Associates in Dallas, Texas. He was born into a family that loved baseball, especially the Texas Rangers, and has continued that tradition with his wife and two children. Many of their summer vacations are planned around visiting ballparks around the country. Greg is active in his church and has been on several short-term mission trips. He also enjoys hiking and snorkeling. This writing is his first contribution to a SABR publication.

 

Sources

In addition to the sources in the notes, the author also consulted:

Daniel, Dan. “Finley Backs Off – Fails to Seek A.L. Approval for Shift,” The Sporting News, September 29, 1962.

Daniel, Dan. “Let’s Speed Up Expansion Plan,” The Sporting News, September 21, 1960.

Gillespie, Ray. “Dallas-Fort Worth Join Hands in Major Bid,” The Sporting News, September 21, 1960.

thisgreatgame.com.

baseball-reference.com/bullpen/Expansion_of_1961.

texas.rangers.mlb.com/tex/history/timeline.jsp.

 

Notes

1 Aaron Mathews, shutdowninning.com/boy-mayor-first-hero/.

2 “American League Owners Approve Washington Shift,” Ludington (Michigan) Daily News, September 21, 1971.

3 Timothy Dwyer, “The Season Washington Was Out,” Washington Post, August 31, 2004.