Dallas Rangers
Triple-A affiliate that moved to Vancouver in 1965.
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The Dallas Rangers were a minor league baseball franchise that operated in Dallas, Texas, between 1958 and 1964. For the 1958, 1959, and 1964 seasons, the club was simply called the Dallas Rangers; from 1960 through 1963, it was known as the Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers. The team competed at the Double-A level in the Texas League in 1958, then moved up to Triple-A in the American Association from 1959 to 1962, and finished its run in the Triple-A Pacific Coast League for the 1963 and 1964 seasons. Its home games were played at Burnett Field.
Admission to Triple-A baseball
In 1959, the American Association admitted Dallas as an unaffiliated club and Fort Worth as a Chicago Cubs affiliate. Dallas outdrew Fort Worth, and the two teams merged in 1960 as the top farm team of the Kansas City Athletics. The Dallas Cowboys were originally to be called the Dallas Rangers because the baseball team's owners said they were disbanding, but when they reversed course, owner Clint Murchison renamed his NFL team. The Rangers finished last in 1960 with 113,000 fans.
In 1961, they affiliated with the expansion Los Angeles Angels, and in 1962 the Angels split the working agreement with the Philadelphia Phillies. Future MLB stars Jim Fregosi and Dean Chance played for the Rangers.
After the American Association folded, the Rangers joined the Pacific Coast League in 1963, affiliated with the Minnesota Twins, and inherited players from the Vancouver Mounties. Managed by Jack McKeon, the 1963 club reached .500, led by Triple-A rookie Tony Oliva (.304, 23 home runs). The Minnesota affiliation lasted only one season.
Final season and relocation to Canada
The Kansas City A's returned as the parent club in 1964. That year, the Texas League placed a Cubs affiliate in Fort Worth, and the Rangers reverted to a Dallas-only identity.
The 1964 team, managed by John McNamara, won 53 of 157 games; pitchers Lew Krausse Jr. and Bill Landis lost 19 and 17 games, respectively. Attendance was 39,000. The franchise moved to Vancouver in 1965. The Dallas-Fort Worth regional name was later used by the Texas League club in Arlington, the Spurs, and the Rangers nickname was revived for the major league Texas Rangers in 1972.
Did You Know?
- The Dallas Cowboys were originally to be called the 'Dallas Rangers' because the baseball team's owners told Clint Murchison in 1959 they were disbanding; when they reversed course, Murchison volunteered to rename his NFL team.
- For Opening Day in 1950, the Dallas Eagles (predecessor to the Rangers) opened with nine retired major league stars on the field, including Dizzy Dean, Ty Cobb, and Tris Speaker, drawing 54,151 fans to the Cotton Bowl—a Minor League Baseball record.
- In 1964, the last Dallas Rangers club won only 53 of 157 games and drew just 39,000 fans all season.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Dallas Rangers (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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