The Texas Rangers started out as one of the baseball teams called the Washington Senators. In short, what happened was that the previous Washington Senators had moved over to the state of Minnesota in 1960 to become what are now the Minnesota Twins. As a result, the MLB decided that it needed an earlier expansion to fend off a perceived threat from the proposed Continental League, thus resulting in the formations of both the Los Angeles Angels and a new version of the Washington Senators for the 1961 season.
On the whole, the performance of the new Washington Senators was poor, so much so that it had a single winning season from 1961 to 1971. This wasn’t helped by its succession of owners, who managed to make matters worse and worse with a succession of bad choices. Eventually, the last owner Bob Short issued an ultimatum in 1970 that he would move the baseball team somewhere else unless someone was willing to pay $12 million for it. For context, it should be mentioned that the New York Yankees were sold for $8.8 million in 1973, which should make Short’s thinking on the matter very clear. Unsurprisingly, no one was willing to pay such a sum, thus resulting in Short moving to Arlington, TX because of the incentives offered to him. Even more unsurprisingly, baseball fans in Washington, D.C. took this very, very poorly, as shown by the fact that the baseball team had to forfeit its last game when the fans rushed the field with no one to stop them because the security had already left.
Regardless, when the Washington Senators moved over to Arlington, TX, the baseball was renamed the Texas Rangers. Certainly, the Texas Rangers have seen their share of both ups and downs since that time, but there can be no doubt about the fact that the baseball team has seen more heights as well as greater heights in its current incarnation.
How Has the Texas Rangers Logo Changed Over Time?
The Washington Senators had a single logo over the entire course of their existence. In short, it consisted of a pitcher about to throw the baseball situated in front of the Capitol Building. Above this, there was “The Senators,” though in truth, the result was recognizable enough that it needed no such label.
Once the Washington Senators became the Texas Rangers, their logo was turned into a less detailed but no less recognizable logo. This time, the logo had “Texas” situated over “Rangers,” with the second rendered in bigger letters than the first. Behind this, there was a baseball with a cowboy hat meant to reference the state’s association with the profession as well as the concept of the frontier that has become entwined with it. There was a very minor change that happened in 1981, but otherwise, this is the logo that saw use from 1972 to 1981.
In 1982, the Texas Rangers went with a new logo that featured a “T” and a “R” in the place of prominence. The baseball is still in the logo, but it is now situated below the two letters to their left. Moreover, the logo as a whole has a new background, which is the shape of the state of Texas rendered in blue. Besides these characteristics, it is interesting to note that there is now a white star embedded in the redness of the “R,” which provides it with something that stands out. Later in 1984, the “T” and the “R” were replaced with “Rangers” while the baseball recovered some but not all of its former prominence.
From 1994 to 2002, the Texas Rangers launched a new logo. The star representing the Lone Star State is the most prominent element. However, the star is enclosed in a red circle with the words “Texas Rangers Baseball Club” as well as a pair of baseballs separating “Texas Rangers” and “Baseball Club.” Furthermore, there is a blue diamond for the background, which bears silver pinstripes running through it.
Currently, the Texas Rangers are using a symbol that saw its debut in 2003. This version consists of a very prominent “T” over a baseball, which is enclosed in a half-red, half-blue circle that bears the words “Texas Rangers.” So far, it has been in use for more than a decade, but it remains to be seen whether it will be replaced at some point in the future.
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