Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers

For seven seasons beginning in 1958, a high-level minor league baseball team called the Dallas Rangers—and, from 1960 through 1963, the Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers—called Burnett Field home. The club bounced between leagues: it spent 1958 in the Double-A Texas League, moved to the Triple-A American Association from 1959 to 1962, and finished its run in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for 1963 and 1964. The name reverted to simply the Dallas Rangers in 1964, and the franchise relocated to Vancouver the following year.

Storied Texas League franchises

Both Dallas and Fort Worth had deep roots in the Texas League. Dallas fielded teams under a dozen nicknames from 1902 onward—Griffins, Giants, Submarines, Marines, Steers, Rebels, Eagles, and finally Rangers in 1958.

Fort Worth’s clubs were called the Panthers (1902–1935) and the Cats (1936–1942, 1946–1958, 1964). Dallas won the Dixie Series, a postseason championship between the Southern Association and Texas League winners, in 1926, 1946, and 1953. A 1950 Opening Day promotion at the Cotton Bowl featured nine retired major league stars—including Dizzy Dean, Mickey Cochrane, and Ty Cobb—and drew 54,151 fans, a Minor League Baseball record.

Admission to Triple-A baseball

In 1959, the American Association expanded and admitted Dallas as an unaffiliated club while Fort Worth became a Chicago Cubs affiliate. Dallas outdrew Fort Worth 130,000 to 97,000, and the two teams merged in 1960 as the top farm team of the Kansas City Athletics. That same year, Clint Murchison, planning an NFL franchise, originally intended to call his team the “Dallas Rangers” after being told the baseball club was disbanding; when the owners reversed course, Murchison volunteered to rename his team to avoid confusion.

The merged Rangers struggled in 1960, finishing last and drawing only 113,000 fans. In 1961, the club affiliated with the expansion Los Angeles Angels, and in 1962 the Angels split the working agreement with the Philadelphia Phillies. Future major leaguers Jim Fregosi and Dean Chance played for the team during this period, but attendance remained low.

When the American Association folded after 1962, the Rangers joined the Pacific Coast League and affiliated with the Minnesota Twins, inheriting the players of the defunct Vancouver Mounties. The 1963 club, managed by Jack McKeon and featuring Triple-A rookie Tony Oliva (.304, 23 home runs), finally reached .500. But the Minnesota partnership lasted only one season. In 1964, the lowly Kansas City A’s returned as parent club, and the Texas League placed a Cubs affiliate in Fort Worth, prompting the Rangers to revert to a Dallas-only identity.

Final season and relocation to Canada

The last Dallas Rangers team, managed by John McNamara, won just 53 of 157 PCL games; starters Lew Krausse Jr. and Bill Landis lost 19 and 17 games, respectively. The club drew only 39,000 fans all season. The franchise then moved to Vancouver in 1965. The Dallas-Fort Worth regional name was later applied to a Texas League club in Arlington, the Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs (through 1971), and the Rangers nickname was revived for the major league Texas Rangers, who moved to Turnpike (later Arlington) Stadium in 1972.