Rangers History Today: Goodbye Senators - Howdy, Texas!

Today is the day it all began for the Texas Rangers, their first home game at their original home, Arlington Stadium

On this date in Texas Rangers history, the Texas Rangers played their first regular season home game at Arlington Stadium.

The contest, played on April 21, 1972, took place in front of 20,105, at what used to be called in Turnpike Stadium.

Managed by Ted Williams and led by veteran slugger Frank Howard, the team took their introductions wearing Stetson cowboy hats and boots, with the Rangers logo on the side of the boots.

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Played on a Friday night, the Rangers ended up winning the game, 7-6, marking their first home win in Rangers history. The winning pitcher was future Rangers pitching coach Dick Bosman, who improved to 1-1 on the season. Bosman had been with the franchise since 1966, when it was in Washington. Bosman’s tenure with the Rangers would end midway through the 1973 season when left the Rangers for Cleveland. Bosman went 59-64 during his time with the Senators and the Rangers.

Two future Rangers players were integral parts of that game for the Angels. In center field was Mickey Rivers, who played with the Rangers from 1979-84. The other was Angels starting pitcher Clyde Wright, who wrapped up his Major League career with the Rangers in 1975. The 1972 season ended up being Wright’s final winning season, as he went 18-11.

It was a forgettable season for the Rangers, overall. After moving from Washington after the 1971 season, the Rangers went just 54-100 under Williams, who retired as manager at the end of the season. That made way for the start of a legendary managerial career. Whitey Herzog moved from the Mets’ front office to the manager’s role in 1973, and while he didn’t lead the Rangers to any measurable success, he ended up guiding the St. Louis Cardinals to the 1982 World Series title, won 1,281 career games and earned a place in the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Also on this date …

April 21, 1989: Eddie Chiles sold the Rangers to a partnership group led by George W. Bush and Edward W. (Rusty) Rose.

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