Watch: ACU's History Of Texas Ranger Film Needs New Ending After World Series Title
ARLINGTON — A documentary film dedicated to the history of the Texas Rangers probably needs a new ending.
Or maybe a sequel?
Abilene Christian University produced the 19-minute film "History of the Texas Rangers" for its Baseball History and Culture course, which was developed in partnership with the club earlier this year.
ACU Online posted the film on Youtube.com on Oct. 27. It has been viewed more than 23,000 times.
The Rangers, of course, clinched their first World Series championship on Nov. 1 when they beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 5-0 in Game 5.
The film stars John Blake, the Rangers' executive vice president of public affairs and longtime media relations director. Blake walks viewers through the history of the organization, its move from Washington D.C. to Arlington in 1972, the Nolan Ryan era, the managers over the years, the playoff seasons, and up through the move to Globe Life Field and the hiring of general manager Chris Young.
"The team has shown signs of starting to come back," Blake says. "I think the team is starting to go in the right direction."
You can say that again.
ACU launched an educational partnership with the Rangers called RangersU powered by ACU in 2022. It's aimed at offering online academic courses for players, coaches, and staff interested in enhancing their leadership development, professional skills, and baseball knowledge. This past summer, RangersU expanded to offer academic content to the general public through RangersU Public Courses.
“It really started more on a business partnership side, more of a sponsorship opportunity for the university,” Rangers director of leadership, development, and mental performance Ben Baroody said at a press conference.
According to ACU, RangersU consists of two Player Pathway blocks of fully online seven-week courses. Player Pathway Block 1 courses included leadership development and mental performance and Player Pathway Block 2 includes courses on the history of baseball and multicultural communication. Each course is worth three hours of academic credit.
You can follow Stefan Stevenson on Twitter @StefanVersusTex.
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