texas rangers: ok with the name?

[freedougsisk]

kind of an offbeat question here, but i've been wondering about this for a while and was hoping some of you could give me a few thoughts on this matter:

do you guys (rangers fans) ever wish that the team were named the "dallas rangers" rather than the texas rangers? has there ever been a groundswell of support or a grassroots campaign in the DFW metroplex to officially rebrand the franchise as being from dallas, given that it's the core city of the region?

the reason i ask is because unlike colorado, arizona, or minnesota, the state of texas has multiple large, major league-caliber cities (dallas, houston, san antonio), each with its own distinct identity and culture. and every major league (mlb, nfl, nba, nhl) franchise currently playing in the state identifies with one of the big three cities - except for the rangers.

for whatever reason, i've always found that to be odd. in fact, when i first started following baseball as a little kid in the early '80s, it took me several years to figure out that the rangers represented the dallas area, whereas there was no such problem with the astros. and knowing they were from houston, i always associated them with the oilers, the rockets, the astrodome, and that bad news bears movie. but i could never "place" the rangers in any specific location because the "texas" moniker wasn't specific enough. even after learning that they're a dallas-area team, i still had trouble associating them with the cowboys, the mavericks, or (later) the stars.

for me, having a team identified with a specific city is much more meaningful than simply saying it's from texas; after all, texas is a huge state. besides, dallas is a well-known city with a reputation for being upscale, so why not capitalize on the cachet of being a dallas team? the cowboys have long been one of the nfl's glamour franchises, which IMO is at least partly due to the dallas name.

and yet, the cowboys don't even play in the city of dallas; as with the giants, jets, and redskins, they've played in a suburb outside of the city proper for years while retaining the core city/metropolitan area designation in their moniker. even after they move into their new stadium in arlington, the cowboys won't be dropping the "dallas" part of their name, despite being closer to fort worth than dallas. so proximity to one city over the other isn't an issue.

if the 'boys can do this, why don't the rangers consider it as well, considering that they'll be playing next door? would they genuinely offend a large part of their arlington and fort worth fanbase by doing so? because i feel that the benefits of identifying as a dallas team would outweigh the potentially hurt feelings of a few suburban and fort worth residents - but then again, i don't live in texas so i could be totally wrong on this. just my opinion as an outsider.

if the florida marlins can rebrand themselves as the miami marlins, why not the dallas rangers? the dallas area won't be getting a second mlb franchise (a la ny, chicago, la, sf/oakland, or dc/baltimore), so it seems to me that the one baseball team in the region should identify with its largest and most famous city. and don't forget, there was a minor league team called the dallas rangers back in the day before the senators moved to town from d.c., so the name has a precedent.

thanks for any responses!

[randy]

Simple answer to your question. It comes from Texas History-the Texas Rangers, the law enforcement group dating back to the Republic of Texas.

kind of an offbeat question here, but i've been wondering about this for a while and was hoping some of you could give me a few thoughts on this matter:

do you guys (rangers fans) ever wish that the team were named the "dallas rangers" rather than the texas rangers? has there ever been a groundswell of support or a grassroots campaign in the DFW metroplex to officially rebrand the franchise as being from dallas, given that it's the core city of the region?

the reason i ask is because unlike colorado, arizona, or minnesota, the state of texas has multiple large, major league-caliber cities (dallas, houston, san antonio), each with its own distinct identity and culture. and every major league (mlb, nfl, nba, nhl) franchise currently playing in the state identifies with one of the big three cities - except for the rangers.

for whatever reason, i've always found that to be odd. in fact, when i first started following baseball as a little kid in the early '80s, it took me several years to figure out that the rangers represented the dallas area, whereas there was no such problem with the astros. and knowing they were from houston, i always associated them with the oilers, the rockets, the astrodome, and that bad news bears movie. but i could never "place" the rangers in any specific location because the "texas" moniker wasn't specific enough. even after learning that they're a dallas-area team, i still had trouble associating them with the cowboys, the mavericks, or (later) the stars.

for me, having a team identified with a specific city is much more meaningful than simply saying it's from texas; after all, texas is a huge state. besides, dallas is a well-known city with a reputation for being upscale, so why not capitalize on the cachet of being a dallas team? the cowboys have long been one of the nfl's glamour franchises, which IMO is at least partly due to the dallas name.

and yet, the cowboys don't even play in the city of dallas; as with the giants, jets, and redskins, they've played in a suburb outside of the city proper for years while retaining the core city/metropolitan area designation in their moniker. even after they move into their new stadium in arlington, the cowboys won't be dropping the "dallas" part of their name, despite being closer to fort worth than dallas. so proximity to one city over the other isn't an issue.

if the 'boys can do this, why don't the rangers consider it as well, considering that they'll be playing next door? would they genuinely offend a large part of their arlington and fort worth fanbase by doing so? because i feel that the benefits of identifying as a dallas team would outweigh the potentially hurt feelings of a few suburban and fort worth residents - but then again, i don't live in texas so i could be totally wrong on this. just my opinion as an outsider.

if the florida marlins can rebrand themselves as the miami marlins, why not the dallas rangers? the dallas area won't be getting a second mlb franchise (a la ny, chicago, la, sf/oakland, or dc/baltimore), so it seems to me that the one baseball team in the region should identify with its largest and most famous city. and don't forget, there was a minor league team called the dallas rangers back in the day before the senators moved to town from d.c., so the name has a precedent.

thanks for any responses!

[freedougsisk]

Simple answer to your question. It comes from Texas History-the Texas Rangers, the law enforcement group dating back to the Republic of Texas.

yup, i'm aware of where the name comes from.
and i know that the name "texas rangers" works, in that it's a direct homage to that law enforcement group.

but i was wondering if fans of the team and/or residents of the region ever wanted the team name to specifically reference the city of dallas, as with the cowboys, mavs, and stars. because as i mentioned, there once was a minor league baseball team with the name "dallas rangers" - so there's precedent for that name. heck, even the new york nhl team is called the rangers, which in a roundabout way is a reference to the texas rangers law enforcement group as well: because the original owner was named tex rickard, the ny media referred to his team as "tex's rangers", pun intended.

so if a team in the northeast can be called the new york rangers, why can't a team in the dallas metropolitan area be called the dallas rangers? i just like the idea of teams - especially teams in a big state like texas with a number of large cities - identifying themselves with their anchor city rather than the entire state. to me, it just makes sense and gives the team more of an identity. because even though the name "texas rangers" works as a reference to the law enforcement group, it doesn't convey that the team is based in big D, which i feel would be much more powerful.

but of course you guys may feel very differently, so i wanted to see what you guys thought.

[Imgran]

Ask an Angels fan whether changing the name is worth the time.

[freedougsisk]

Ask an Angels fan whether changing the name is worth the time.

i dunno man, i know some people out in orange county and more than a few of them are cool with it. but of course that's a small sample size.

it seems like the people who root for the angels mainly out of civic pride for orange county are the most upset with the name change, whereas hardcore fans of the team and of baseball in general are indifferent at best.

the guys i know out there support the name change because of the cachet that comes with being identified as an LA team - possible increases in the fan base, potential gains in revenue, and perhaps more sex appeal for big ticket free agents. b/c after all, anaheim is not nearly as big or glamorous a name as los angeles (with all due respect to residents of orange county).

although i do agree that the whole "la angels of anaheim" is a bit convoluted, in the long run it might be beneficial to the team's image and finances - esp. if they can gradually erase their identity as the LA/OC region's "other" team.

i dunno...i just wondered why the rangers, as the only team in the dallas region, would choose not to identify themselves with their core city. if they were the only baseball team in the state and if dallas were texas' only major city (as with minnesota, colorado and arizona), it might make more sense to me. but as there's another mlb team in houston and franchises in other sports that identify with dallas, houston, or san antonio, it just seems that by aligning themselves with big D, the rangers could really distinguish themselves and create a more concrete identity.

[KCGHOST]

Texas Rangers is a great name. You aren't going to change it to anything better.

[PJ-34]

Texas Rangers is one of the best names ever. It's original, and it fits well, that's what naming a team is all about and they nailed it.

[TheJourneyman]

Texas Rangers is a great name. You aren't going to change it to anything better.

exactly all they would do is ruin it like the parks name

[Imgran]

The Texas Rangers is a uniquely Texas symbol that recalls history and is something to take pride in if you are a Texan. Sacrificing that just to pick up the name of the town in which the team plays makes absolutely no sense to me.

I've always thought of the Rangers as one of the better named teams in baseball.

[PJ-34]

The only good names in sports are names made before the 80's. Names like Lazers, Destroyers, lightning, and all the other tacky **** names like that don't belong in sports.

[TheJourneyman]

The only good names in sports are names made before the 80's. Names like Lazers, Destroyers, lightning, and all the other tacky **** names like that don't belong in sports.

Sounds like the American Gladiators lineup...... And now Lazer, Blazer, Destroyer, & Lightning!!!!

[deftones999us]

Dallas Rangers? If they changed it to dallas they would have to also change the name of Rangers.. Why would name it to a city where alot of it's fans don't live? I'm from between fort worth and waco, and am a die hard fan for 20 years.. if anything Arlington Rangers sounds better than dallas..
No i have never thought of a name change until you mentioned it..
and no it would be a waste, the only change we are interested in is winning..

[Steven Tyler]

Minor Leagues in Dallas before MLB

DALLAS-FORT WORTH MINOR-LEAGUE BASEBALL. Dallas entered a professional team named the Hams in the Texas League when it was formed in 1888. The team won the pennant that year, and minor-league baseball was tentatively established in Dallas. As was the case with many minor leagues in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the Texas League's early years were chaotic. Teams appeared and disappeared with great frequency. The Texas League failed to function in 1891, 1893, and 1894 and suspended play in 1898, at the outbreak of the Spanish-American War. In 1899 Dallas did not join the poorly reorganized Texas League when it resumed play. The league again faltered and did not reappear until 1902, when Dallas joined it and struggled to survive as the league warred with the newly formed South Texas League. Finally, in 1907, the stronger franchises of the Texas League and the South Texas League cooperated in forming a reorganized Texas League.

Throughout these years of difficulty, the Dallas franchise underwent a series of name changes. Fans cheered the Dallas Hams, the Dallas Submarines, or the Dallas Steers. Then, as the Texas League matured in the years immediately after World War I, the Dallas franchise became a bulwark in one of the stronger minor leagues in the United States. In 1922 a group of Dallas businessmen, including George and Julius Schepps, purchased the team. The 1920s were the golden age of baseball, and the Steers enjoyed enthusiastic fan support in a highly competitive league. In 1938, during the depths of the Great Depression, George Schepps bought controlling interest in the Steers for $150,000 and renamed them the Rebels. The Rebels did poorly at the ticket window but moderately well in the standings during Schepps ownership, and in 1948 he sold the team to Richard Wesley Burnett for $550,000. Burnett, who also purchased the Steers' ballpark in Oak Cliff for an additional $265,000, promptly renamed the team the Eagles and the park Burnett Field. Under his brief leadership (he died in 1955), the Eagles flourished. They won three pennants and the Dixie Series, a best-of-seven-games contest between the champions of the Texas League and the Southern Association, in 1953. Burnett also integrated the Texas League in 1952, when he brought David Hoskins to the team and, using the Cotton Bowl as a baseball park, engineered an all-time attendance record of 53,578 for a Texas League game in 1950. Burnett upgraded Burnett Field into one of the best minor-league ballparks in the United States as he sought to bring major-league baseball to Dallas. After his death, his wife and daughters operated the team until 1959, when they sold it to J. W. Bateson and Amon G. Carter, Jr. The new owners transferred the team to the AAA American Association.

In 1960 the Dallas Eagles and their old arch rival, the Fort Worth Cats, were combined into one team as the Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers and competed in the American Association. During its years in the association, the team split its home games between Burnett Field and LaGrave Field in Fort Worth. Then, when the American Association disbanded in 1962, the Rangers joined the Pacific Coast League. The Dallas-Fort Worth team competed in the Pacific Coast League in 1963. Fort Worth businessman Tommy Mercer bought the franchise and returned Fort Worth to the Texas League in 1964; Dallas remained in the Pacific Coast League.

During this time when the Dallas and Fort Worth clubs were switching from one league to another, major-league teams were moving to nearly all sections of the country, and expansion franchises were becoming an alternative to a third major league, the Continental League. Throughout this period minor-league baseball remained in the Dallas area, but it was apparent that it was stricken, as local leaders constantly maneuvered to bring major-league ball to the area. In 1965 the Dallas and Fort Worth teams were reunited into the Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs and competed in the Texas League. The Spurs played their games at the newly completed Turnpike Stadium in Arlington, with only mixed success but with good fan support. In 1971 the Spurs joined the AA Dixie Association, and when the Washington Senators moved to Arlington in 1972 to become the Texas Rangers, the Spurs were disbanded.

Minor league baseball thus began for Dallas and Fort Worth in 1888 and ended in 1972. The Dallas team won or shared twelve Texas League pennants, competed in the Dixie Series five times, and won it three times.

[Steven Tyler]

Since New York is made up of the five Burroughs and the Yankees play in The Bronx, they should be called The Bronx Yankees. We could also have the Queens Mets......

[SamtheBravesFan]

The only good names in sports are names made before the 80's. Names like Lazers, Destroyers, lightning, and all the other tacky **** names like that don't belong in sports.

Heeeeeeeey, I like Lightning.

I'm in the camp that says the Texas Rangers nickname is a unique and original one and, quite frankly, I think the logo they used from 1984-93 is one of the best logos ever.