Over the years, it was known by many nicknames—the Griffins (1902), Giants (1903–1916), Submarines (1917–1918), Marines (1919–1922), Steers (1923–1938), Rebels (1939–1942, 1946–1948) and Eagles (1949–1957), before it was dubbed the Rangers [1] in its final TL campaign.
Dallas won the Dixie Series, a postseason interleague championship between the champions of the Southern Association and the Texas League, in 1926,[2] 1946,[3] and 1953.
[5] In 1959, the American Association expanded and admitted Dallas as an unaffiliated club and Fort Worth as an affiliate of the Chicago Cubs.
When the American Association itself folded after the 1962 season, the Rangers joined the Pacific Coast League and affiliated with the Minnesota Twins, inheriting the players of the defunct Vancouver Mounties.
The 1963 Dallas-Fort Worth Rangers, managed by Jack McKeon and led by Triple-A rookie Tony Oliva, who hit .304 with 23 home runs, finally reached the .500 level.
Moreover, that season the Texas League placed a team (another Cubs' affiliate) in Fort Worth, and the Rangers reverted to their Dallas-only identity.