Dallas Rangers
Dallas Rangers | |
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Major league affiliations | |
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Minor league titles | |
Dixie Series titles(3) |
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League titles(12) |
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First-half titles(3) |
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Second-half titles(3) |
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Team data | |
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Previous parks | Burnett Field |
TheDallas Rangerswere a high-levelminor league baseballteam located inDallas, Texas,from 1958 to 1964. The team was known by the Dallas Rangers name in 1958, 1959, and 1964 and as theDallas-Fort Worth Rangersfrom 1960 to 1963. It played in theDouble-ATexas Leaguein 1958, theTriple-AAmerican Associationfrom 1959 to 1962 and the Triple-APacific Coast Leaguein 1963 and 1964. Its home stadium wasBurnett Field.
Storied Texas League franchises
[edit]Both Dallas andFort Worthhad long and storied histories in the Texas League.
Dallas was a mainstay in the Texas League from1902to1958.Over the years, it was known by many nicknames—theGriffins(1902),Giants(1903–1916),Submarines(1917–1918),Marines(1919–1922),Steers(1923–1938),Rebels(1939–1942, 1946–1948) andEagles(1949–1957), before it was dubbed the Rangers[1]in its final TL campaign.
The Fort Worth team was called thePanthers(1902–1935) and theCats(1936–1942, 1946–1958, 1964).
Dallas won theDixie Series,a postseason interleague championship between the champions of the Southern Association and theTexas League,in 1926,[2]1946,[3]and 1953.[4]
ForOpening Dayin 1950, the Eagles opened the season with nine retired major league stars in the field:pitcherDizzy Dean,catcherMickey Cochrane,first basemanCharlie Grimm,second basemanCharlie Gehringer,shortstopTravis Jackson,third basemanHome Run Baker,and anoutfieldofTy Cobb,Duffy Lewis,andTris Speaker.Dean allowed awalkto the only batter he faced, and then the Eagles team replaced the retired stars on the field. The promotion drew 54,151 fans th theCotton Bowl,setting aMinor League Baseballrecord.[5]
Admission to Triple-A baseball
[edit]In 1959, the American Association expanded and admitted Dallas as an unaffiliated club and Fort Worth as an affiliate of theChicago Cubs.Dallas' Rangers outdrew Fort Worth's Cats, 130,000 to 97,000, and the two teams were merged in 1960 as the topfarm teamof theKansas City Athletics.TheDallas Cowboys,Clint Murchison'snew NFL franchise, were originally to be called the "Dallas Rangers" because the baseball team's owners had told him in 1959 that they were disbanding. When the owners reversed course the following year, Murchison volunteered to rename his new team to avoid confusion.[6]
The Rangers struggled on the field and at the gate in 1960, finishing last and drawing only 113,000 fans. In 1961, the team was affiliated with the expansionLos Angeles Angels,and then in 1962 the Angels split the working agreement with thePhiladelphia Phillies.During this two-year period, the Rangers featured future MLB stars such as the Angels'Jim FregosiandDean Chance.But they continued to lag behind other Association members in attendance.
When the American Association itself folded after the1962season, the Rangers joined the Pacific Coast League and affiliated with theMinnesota Twins,inheriting the players of the defunctVancouver Mounties.The1963Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers, managed byJack McKeonand led by Triple-ArookieTony Oliva,whohit.304 with 23home runs,finally reached the.500 level. But the Minnesota affiliation lasted only that one season.
Final season and relocation to Canada
[edit]The lowly Kansas City A's returned as the team's parent in1964.Moreover, that season the Texas League placed a team (another Cubs' affiliate) in Fort Worth, and the Rangers reverted to their Dallas-only identity.
The last Dallas Rangers club, managed byJohn McNamara,won only 53 of 157 PCL games.Starting pitchersLew Krausse Jr.andBill Landislost 19 and 17 games, respectively. The team drew only 39,000 fans all season. The franchise then moved in1965to, coincidentally,Vancouver.The Dallas-Fort Worth regional name was then applied to the Texas League club, which played inArlingtonand became known as theDallas-Fort Worth Spursthrough 1971. The old nickname Rangers was revived for the major leagueTexas Rangers,who moved toTurnpike (renamed Arlington) Stadiumin 1972.
Yearly record
[edit]Year | Record | Finish Full Season |
League | Attendance | Manager | Postseason |
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1958 | 76–77 | Fifth | Texas League | 116,085 | Davey Williams George Schepps Fred Martin |
DNQ |
1959 | 75–87 | Fourth (Western Division) |
American Association | 130,334 | Fred Martin Jim Fanning |
DNQ |
1960 | 64–90 | Eighth | 113,849 | Jim Fanning | DNQ | |
1961 | 72–77 | Fifth | 105,933 | Walker Cooper | DNQ | |
1962 | 59–90 | Sixth | 86,034 | Dick Littlefield Ray Murray |
DNQ | |
1963 | 79–79 | Third (South Division) |
Pacific Coast League | 118,350 | Jack McKeon | DNQ |
1964 | 53–104 | Sixth (East Division) |
39,391 | John McNamara | DNQ |
Notable alumni
[edit]- Jack Aker
- Dean Chance
- Pat Corrales
- Jim Fregosi
- Ken Harrelson
- Jim Hickman
- Rod Kanehl
- Lew Krausse Jr.
- Fred Newman
- Tony Oliva
- Howie Reed
- Buck Rodgers
- Cookie Rojas
- Lee Stange
- César Tovar
- John Wyatt
- Ray Jablonski
- Tom Burgess
- Leo Burke
- Chuck Tanner
- Mickey Harrington
- Chet Boak
- Don Larsen
- Chuck Hartenstein
- Jack Spring
- Charlie Shoemaker
- Joe Nossek
- George Banks
- Marty Martínez
- Jay Ward
- Joe McCabe
- Sandy Valdespino
- Don Kessinger
References
[edit]- ^"Dallas TL Club Named Rangers".Dallas Morning News.1958-03-18. Archived fromthe originalon 2011-07-13.Retrieved2011-01-08.
- ^"Dixie Series Is Won by Dallas".Victoria Advocate.Victoria. October 1, 1926. p. 1 – via Newspapers.
- ^"Dallas Sweeps Dixie Series, 9-7".Tyler Morning Telegraph.Tyler. October 8, 1946. p. 3 – via Newspapers.
- ^"Dallas Rally Defeats Nashville to Become Dixie Series Champs".The Jackson Sun.Jackson. October 1, 1953. p. 10 – via Newspapers.
- ^"Ty Cobb Retains Master's Touch".Long Beach Press-Telegram.12 April 1950. p. 21.
- ^"Dallas Eleven Changes Made".New York Times.1960-03-20. p. S4.
Further reading
[edit]- Lloyd Johnson and Miles Wolff, editors.The Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball,1997 edition. Durham, North Carolina:Baseball America.
- Holaday, Chris; Presswood, Mark (2004).Baseball in Dallas.Charleston, South Carolina:Arcadia Publishing.ISBN0-7385-3282-7.
- Kayser, Tom; King, David (2005).Baseball in the Lone Star State: Texas League's Greatest Hits.Trinity University Press.ISBN978-1-59534-012-2.
- Baseball teams established in 1958
- Baseball teams disestablished in 1964
- Defunct American Association (1902–1997) teams
- Defunct Pacific Coast League teams
- Defunct Texas League teams
- Kansas City Athletics minor league affiliates
- Minnesota Twins minor league affiliates
- Philadelphia Phillies minor league affiliates
- Los Angeles Angels minor league affiliates
- Baseball teams in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex
- Defunct baseball teams in Texas
- 1958 establishments in Texas
- 1964 disestablishments in Texas