The Team That Couldn’t Hit: The 1972 Texas Rangers

The 1972 Texas Rangers were a culmination of decades of trying to get a major-league team in Dallas-Fort Worth. The area has a long history with baseball, going back to the 1800s, and minor-league teams played in both cities right up until the Rangers arrived with Ted Williams at the helm.High expectations were quickly dashed. Just how bad were those early Rangers teams? When reporter Mike Shropshire wrote a book about covering the Rangers from 1973 to ’75, he titled it Seasons In Hell. Twenty years later, the Rangers still hadn’t made the playoffs. Counting the decade when the franchise was known as the Washington Senators, the team did not go to the playoffs for the first 35 years of its existence. So why write a book about the 1972 Texas Rangers, perhaps the worst team in club history? Because they’re the start of that history. Articles in this book cover the effort to bring a team to North Texas and the story of Tom Vandergriff, the man now known as “the father of the Rangers.” Biographies of every man to play–or coach–for the 1972 team are presented, including Frank Howard, Larry Bittner, Horacio Pina and Tom Grieve, and broadcasters Don Drysdale and Bill Mercer. Owner Bob Short and Arlington Stadium itself are given full write-ups as well. This book is the collaborative work of 46 members of SABR-the Society for American Baseball Research. CONTENTSPrologue: The Washington Senators: 1961-71 by Joseph WanchoMajor-League Baseball Comes to Arlington by Greg ChandlerPLAYERSLarry Biittner by David E. SkeltonRich Billings by Steve WestDick Bosman by Dale VoissPete Broberg by Gregory H. WolfJeff Burroughs by by David E. SkeltonCasey Cox by Alan CohenJim Driscoll by Charlie GrasslJan Dukes by Clayton TrutorBill Fahey by Steve WestTed Ford by Chris HoladayBill Gogolewski by Gregory H. WolfTom Grieve by Steve WestRich Hand by Raymond RossiToby Harrah by Frederick C. BushVic Harris by Paul HofmannRich Hinton by Mark SternmanFrank Howard by Mark ArmourGerry Janeski by David E. SkeltonDalton Jones by Maurice BouchardHal King by Chris HoladayTed Kubiak by Rory CostelloSteve Lawson by Chris HoladayPaul Lindblad by Paul HofmannJoe Lovitto by Charlie GrasslElliott Maddox by Gordon JanisMarty Martinez by Joseph GerardJim Mason by Steve WestDon Mincher by Marc Z. AaronDave Nelson by Rick SchabowskiJim Panther by Chad MoodyMike Paul by Wayne StrumpferHoracio Pina by Rory Costello & Francisco Rodriguez LozanoTom Ragland by Bob LeMoineLenny Randle by Charlie GrasslJim Roland by Gregory H. WolfJim Shellenback by Paul GeislerDon Stanhouse by Maxwell KatesKen Suarez by Bo CarterMANAGER Ted Williams by Bill NowlinCOACHESJoe Camacho by Charlie GrasslNellie Fox by Robert W. Bigelow & Don ZmindaSid Hudson by John BennettGeorge Susce by David E. SkeltonWayne Terwilliger by C. Paul Rogers IIIOWNERBob Short by Bob WhelanBALLPARKArlington Stadium by Will OsgoodPlayers who Homered at Arlington Stadium as Both Minor and Major Leaguers by Alan CohenMEDIADallas-Fort Worth Baseball Media in 1972 by Steve WestBill Mercer by Bo CarterDon Drysdale by Joseph WanchoRandy Galloway by Norm KingOTHERSTom Vandergriff (“father of Rangers”) by Greg ChandlerJoe Burke (general manager) by Steve WestHal Keller (dir. player development) by Chip GreeneBill Zeigler (trainer) by Charlie Grasslalong with recaps of ten significant games from the 1972 season, season recap “by the numbers,” articles on the media and on minor league ball in the DFW area.