The Team That Couldn't Hit: The 1972 Texas Rangers(63 The Sabr Baseball Library)

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. CONTENTS Prologue: The Washington Senators: 1961-71 by Joseph Wancho Major-League Baseball Comes to Arlington by Greg Chandler PLAYERS Larry Biittner by David E. Skelton Rich Billings by Steve West Dick Bosman by Dale Voiss Pete Broberg by Gregory H. Wolf Jeff Burroughs by by David E. Skelton Casey Cox by Alan Cohen Jim Driscoll by Charlie Grassl Jan Dukes by Clayton Trutor Bill Fahey by Steve West Ted Ford by Chris Holaday Bill Gogolewski by Gregory H. Wolf Tom Grieve by Steve West Rich Hand by Raymond Rossi Toby Harrah by Frederick C. Bush Vic Harris by Paul Hofmann Rich Hinton by Mark Sternman Frank Howard by Mark Armour Gerry Janeski by David E. Skelton Dalton Jones by Maurice Bouchard Hal King by Chris Holaday Ted Kubiak by Rory Costello Steve Lawson by Chris Holaday Paul Lindblad by Paul Hofmann Joe Lovitto by Charlie Grassl Elliott Maddox by Gordon Janis Marty Martinez by Joseph Gerard Jim Mason by Steve West Don Mincher by Marc Z. Aaron Dave Nelson by Rick Schabowski Jim Panther by Chad Moody Mike Paul by Wayne Strumpfer Horacio Pina by Rory Costello & Francisco Rodriguez Lozano Tom Ragland by Bob LeMoine Lenny Randle by Charlie Grassl Jim Roland by Gregory H. Wolf Jim Shellenback by Paul Geisler Don Stanhouse by Maxwell Kates Ken Suarez by Bo Carter MANAGER Ted Williams by Bill Nowlin COACHES Joe Camacho by Charlie Grassl Nellie Fox by Robert W. Bigelow & Don Zminda Sid Hudson by John Bennett George Susce by David E. Skelton Wayne Terwilliger by C. Paul Rogers III OWNER Bob Short by Bob Whelan BALLPARK Arlington Stadium by Will Osgood Players who Homered at Arlington Stadium as Both Minor and Major Leaguers by Alan Cohen MEDIA Dallas-Fort Worth Baseball Media in 1972 by Steve West Bill Mercer by Bo Carter Don Drysdale by Joseph Wancho Randy Galloway by Norm King OTHERS Tom Vandergriff ("father of Rangers") by Greg Chandler Joe Burke (general manager) by Steve West Hal Keller (dir. player development) by Chip Greene Bill Zeigler (trainer) by Charlie Grassl along with recaps of ten significant games from the 1972 season