[5] As Mayor, he was instrumental in several projects, including a new General Motors assembly plant, moving a Major League Baseball franchise to Arlington, and the opening of Six Flags over Texas.

[6][7] In 1937, Hooker and his wife, Charles Pleasant Mayes, moved the family to nearby Arlington to open a new downtown Chevrolet dealership.

[8] By the time Vandergriff was 16 years old, he applied to work as a radio broadcaster for KFJZ in Fort Worth, which was operated by Elliot Roosevelt, the son of President Franklin D.

[13] Arlington's Sister City Following the aftermath of World War II, Allied forces divided Germany into sectors.

On February 1, 1952, hundreds of Arlington residents gathered downtown to launch the first of numerous relief shipment – 12 tons of food, clothing and supplies loaded in railroad boxcars.

[14] In honor of the long-standing friendship, Bad Königshofen named the town's only municipal park after Arlington with the city's "Flying A" logo carved into a 14-ton stone.

"[16] In the early 1960s, the 50-year relationship between Arlington State College and Texas A&M began to deteriorate over issues regarding graduate school and the construction of new facilities.

On April 23, 1965, Governor John Connally signed the bill officially transferring ASC to the University of Texas System.

[16] Six Flags Over Texas While attending the University of Southern California, Vandergriff became fascinated with the post-war growth of the greater Los Angeles area, particularly with Anaheim.

When Knott declined, he suggested Vandergriff explore the newly built marine park in San Diego, SeaWorld.

[20] Then in 1975, SeaWorld and George Millay, who initially refused to listen to Vandergriff, offered to purchase Seven Seas for the 1975 season, provided the city sell the animals to him for $125,000.

[24] The district lines were set up to favor a Republican, having been carried by President Reagan with 67.1 percent of the vote in 1980,[25] but Vandergriff ultimately chose to run as a Democrat.

[29] During his term in Congress, Vandergriff favored a decrease in congressional salaries, advocated for better military service benefits,[30] and supported Texas Instruments efforts to keep the $7 million HARM program.

[33][34] Election of 1984 and defeat In 1983, a House redistricting committee approved a bill that would incorporate roughly 50,000 more residents from Arlington in the 26th Congressional district.

Tarrant County also implemented an expanded, online tax-payment system that won an Excellence Award from the Texas Association of Governmental Information Technology Managers.

[1][6][41] Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act In 1991, newly elected County Judge Tom Vandergriff worked with the Texas Congressional delegation, Fort Worth Mayor Kay Granger, and Dallas County officials to advocate for a $151 billion transportation bill which would create roughly 900,000 jobs annually over its six-year life.

Bush hailed the bill as the most important transportation act since President Dwight D. Eisenhower launched the interstate system 35 years prior.

However, the economy began to weaken during the recession of the early 1990s, which hit General Motors hard as they struggled to compete with foreign rivals amidst a narrowing budget.

[47] Vandergriff would recall in an interview with the New York Times that the plant had been a "Rock of Gilbraltar for us [the city] that gave us confidence to do some great things.

"[45][48] Within weeks, the campaign developed into a statewide effort involving Richards, Senators Lloyd Bentsen and Phil Gramm, and the Texas Congressional delegation.

[45] After months of lobbying from the Texas contingent, General Motors elected to keep the Arlington operation open and close the Ypsilanti plant.

In 1971, Washington Senators owner Bob Short was wanting to relocate his team, managed by baseball legend Ted Williams.

When the Senators moved to Texas, the City of Arlington agreed to pay the Rangers $7.5 million over 10 years in return for the radio-TV rights.

[52] In an effort to save the city approximately $50,000 per year,[53] Tom worked without pay as the color commentator for Texas Rangers TV broadcasts from 1975–1977 alongside play-by-play announcer Dick Risenhoover.

[55] In 1989, a group of investors led by future president George W. Bush and Dallas financier Edward "Rusty" Rose purchased the team from oil man Eddie Chiles.

The group named investor Tom Schieffer as Partner-In-Charge of Ballpark development and charged him to select a site to build a new stadium.

[63] During the 1960 Presidential election, then Senator John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson traveled in a parade through Dallas–Fort Worth making a campaign stop in Arlington.

Just months before the assassination, Lee Oswald and his wife, Marina, visited the Vandergriff home to pick up a high chair for their newborn daughter.

In a statement from the organization, president and CEO Nolan Ryan said, "the passion and determined efforts of Tom Vandergriff made the Texas Rangers a reality nearly 40 years ago.

[72] In 2015, Tarrant County opened a new $74 million downtown-Fort Worth courthouse, officially named the Tom Vandergriff Civil Courts Building.