The Texas Rangers announced their City Connect uniforms, an homage to the creation of the team in Arlington and the history of baseball in the region.
The uniform is primarily cream-colored and features a gothic TX for the state's initials, which is influenced by the gothic lettering of the Dallas Eagles, a minor league team in the Texas League between 1949 and 1957. It also features a spur, a tribute to the Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs, a minor league team in the Texas League from 1965 through 1971.
The Rangers wanted to pay tribute to Arlington mayor Tom Vandergriff, who hoped to bridge the baseball rivalry between Dallas and Fort Worth by bringing a MLB team to Arlington, halfway in between the two cities. Vandergriff's efforts contributed to the move of the Washington Senators to Texas in 1972.
For the Metroplex. pic.twitter.com/HKB7seiqAN
— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) April 17, 2023
The sleeve features a peagle, a mythical creature that blends the mascots of the Dallas Eagles and Fort Worth Panthers while the typeface for the red number on the front of the jersey is inspired by the 1920 championship medal of the Fort Worth Panthers, who won the Texas League title six years in a row during the decade. Another mark features the outline of Texas and a spur, which pays homage to the Spurs baseball team.
On the inside of the collar is the date April 21, which the team said was included to commemorate the day Texas gained independence in 1836, the first recorded baseball game in Texas in 1968, the first home game of the Texas Rangers in 1972 and the on-field debut of the City Connect uniforms this Friday against Oakland Athletics. The date also appears on the side of the hat.
The Rangers will wear the uniforms every Friday this season.