Arlington’s bond with the Rangers more than a game
For 43 years, the Texas Rangers and the city of Arlington have enjoyed a bond that reflects the team’s high regard for its host city and the community’s pride in being among the few privileged places on Earth to host Major League Baseball.
Both sides of that equation were on full view this past week with the reaction to the appearance of another city’s skyline on the division championship T-shirts that went on sale moments after David Freese was put out at first base to end one of the most storied regular seasons in the history of the team.
When the Rangers saw the shirt MLB designed, they immediately declared an end to further sales in their gift shops. Within 24 hours, MLB acknowledged its mistake and discontinued the use of the image on any Rangers merchandise anywhere.
In the meantime, social media had gone viral. That was joined by traditional local media outlets reporting fan reaction, especially from Arlington and Tarrant County, which I believe was to be totally expected.
It took some 13 years of “never ever quit” for former Arlington Mayor Tom Vandergriff to succeed in bringing the Great Game to his city, and he did it with virtually no help from any others.
No story in the history of baseball can match that feat.
When a new ballpark was needed to ensure the future of the team in Arlington, the city’s voters showed up in record numbers in 1991 to overwhelmingly support a local sales tax increase and make that happen.
Civic pride in that triumph was again on full display when the image of the city that had tried so hard to steal the team from Arlington was featured on that shirt.
Rangers’ owners knew immediately what to do — what they have always done: honor the partnership and the bond between the team and their host city.
One of the ways the commitment to do so was institutionalized was by creating the Texas Rangers Baseball Foundation when The Ballpark in Arlington opened in 1994. It was formed for the specific purpose of giving back to the community.
Between then and now, the Rangers have become one of the largest corporate benefactors addressing local needs. The total of funds invested will soon reach the $15 million mark.
The money is being put to work in seven remarkable programs sponsored by the foundation.
They include youth education, the military, youth in crisis, grant programs for community organizations, youth health, special fundraising events and youth baseball.
You can find details about all of them on the foundation page inside texas.rangers.mlb.com.
You can also help them do even more by voting for Proposition 4 on Nov. 3. That proposal will allow Texas to join the other states where major professional sports teams get to conduct raffles during their games.
Funds raised in the raffles are split 50-50 between the winning ticket holders and the teams’ charities. It was the Rangers’ foundation that asked the Legislature to let voters consider this opportunity to further the cause of helping to improve the lives of children.
Conservative estimates are that Rangers games throughout the season would produce about $500,000 for the foundation to use in expanding its community service programs.
When added to the same kind of initiatives of the other major sports teams across the state, the result is a classic win-win-win.
The Rangers’ taking the lead in this effort to raise the quality of life for us all is just another example of how well that community partnership is working.
Richard Greene is a former Arlington mayor and served as an appointee of President George W. Bush as regional administrator for the Environmental Protection Agency.
This story was originally published October 9, 2015 at 6:41 PM with the headline "Arlington’s bond with the Rangers more than a game."