Written by Jason S. Sullivan

Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame—Photo Tour

In 1972, the struggling Washington Senators baseball club relocated to Arlington, Texas. They became known as the Texas Rangers and were the city’s first professional sports team. Tom Vandergriff, Arlington’s mayor from 1951 to 1977, was instrumental in bringing the team to Arlington.

Throughout the Rangers’ 50+ year tenure in Arlington, they have remained popular with the hometown crowd. Arlington hosted the MLB All-Star Game in 1995 and 2024; the Texas Rangers won their first World Series in 2023.

In 2003, the Rangers began inducting notable players and personnel into their Hall of Fame. Players such as Nolan Ryan, Ruben Sierra, Kenny Rogers, Ivan Rodriguez, Michael Young, Josh Hamilton, Adrián Beltré, and others are immortalized with plaques.

Globe Life Field – Arlington

Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame

The Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame is located outside of the northeast entrance of Globe Life Field. It has plaques for the players, managers, executives, broadcasters, mayors, and others who have been inducted into the Texas Rangers Hall of Fame. There are also a few other plaques and public art in the area.

Entrance to Globe Life Field and the outdoor Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame

Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame

Plaques for the Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame

Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame – side 1

  • Charlie Hough
  • Jim Sundberg
  • Nolan Ryan (also in the National Baseball Hall of Fame)
  • Johnny Oates
  • Tom Vandergriff
  • Ferguson Jenkins (also in the National Baseball Hall of Fame)
  • Buddy Bell
  • Mark Holtz
  • John Wetteland
  • Rusty Greer
  • Toby Harrah
  • Ruben Sierra

Texas Rangers Baseball Hall of Fame – side 2

  • Tom Grieve
  • Kenny Rogers
  • Eric Nadel
  • Ivan Rodriguez (also in the National Baseball Hall of Fame)
  • Tom Schieffer
  • Juan Gonzalez
  • Jeff Russell
  • Michael Young
  • Richard Greene
  • Josh Hamilton
  • Chuck Morgan
  • Adrián Beltré (also in the National Baseball Hall of Fame)

Recent inductees include Executive VP of Public Affairs John Blake, who joined the team in 1984 and retired earlier this month, and Ian Kinsler, a second baseman who played for the Rangers from 2006-2013. Both were inducted in 2022 and their plaques are coming soon. Although the collection of plaques is a respectable honor, I wonder how many people stop and read them—however, baseball fans do tend to like their stats and stories.

Other Plaques

Plaques honoring Tarrant County Commissioner C.H. Punch Wright, Mayor Tom Vandergriff, Mayor Richard Greene, and Mayor Jeff Williams are also in the area. Each was instrumental to the arrival or longevity of the Texas Rangers in Arlington.

Tarrant County Commissioner C.H. Punch Wright

Arlington Mayor Tom Vandergriff

Arlington Mayor Richard Greene

Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams

Public Art

There is also some public art in the area celebrating the team.

Globe Life Field – Home of the Texas Rangers

Going to the World Series

This sculpture captures Bengie Molina and Neftali Feliz celebrating the victory over the New York Yankees in Game-Six of the ALCS on October 22, 2010 in Arlington that earned the Texas Rangers their first trip, to the World Series. This picture of the pure joy of victory has become a major part of the heritage of the Rangers’ franchise and the game of baseball itself. Sculpture was commissioned by the City of Arlington and dedicated on August 7, 2018. || Sculptor, Harry Weber

Mayor Tom Vandergriff — The Father of Baseball in Arlington

Blog post & photos by Jason S. Sullivan, 11-12-24

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