Dreaming the Big Dream: Texas Rangers Unveil New City Connect Uniforms

It’s important, every now and then, to pause and look back at those who came before you, those who did the work, laying the path for the future. The Texas Rangers are doing just that by way of their brand new Nike MLB City Connect uniform. Unveiled just this morning by the club, and set for its on-field debut this Friday against Oakland, the Rangers City Connect uniform pays homage to the collective pre-Major League Baseball history of Arlington, Dallas, and Fort Worth.

The Dallas-Fort Worth area was home to several minor league baseball teams prior to Major League Baseball giving the region its first shot at the big leagues in 1972. On their new set, the Texas Rangers are recognizing three of those teams — the Dallas Eagles, the Fort Worth Panthers (later Cats), and the Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs.

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Design-wise, it’s a cream jersey with a “pitch blue” coloured cap/helmet and pants — this “pitch blue” is so dark it almost appears to be black in the team-provided photos. The pitch blue cap features a gothic “TX” logo in cream with a side patch reading “4*21”, the cream jersey uses this same “TX” logo on the right chest opposite the player’s number in red, a logo depicting a hybrid panther-eagle creature is on the right sleeve. No player’s name on the back of the jersey. The pitch blue pants are accented by a cream belt, a cream stripe down the side, and a Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs logo on the upper left thigh.

“During the 1950s, Dallas and Fort Worth had a pair of professional baseball teams – the Dallas Eagles and the Fort Worth Panthers/Cats,” read the press release from the Texas Rangers. “At that time, Arlington was a relatively small city, but [Arlington Mayor Tom] Vandergriff had major league dreams. In 1964, construction began on Turnpike Stadium in Arlington. Just one year later, in 1965, Dallas and Fort Worth came together like never before with a professional baseball team in Arlington – the Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs were born. Fans attended Turnpike Stadium in record numbers, proving Vandergriff’s vision correct. Just a short while later, Turnpike Stadium was expanded to a seating capacity of over 35,000, renamed Arlington Stadium, and debuted as the new home of the Texas Rangers [following the relocation of the Washington Senators before the 1972 season].”

Let’s break down the inspirations behind each of the elements of this new uniform.

The most prominent logo used throughout this set is the gothic “TX,” worn on the front of the caps and again on the right chest of the jersey. This logo is designed in a similar style to the cap logo worn by the old Dallas Eagles, who basically wore a Detroit Tigers logo. This “TX” logo also includes a small spur, a nod to the short-lived but crucial Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs of the AA Texas League.

On the side of the cap as well as the inside back collar of the jersey is a “4*21,” this represents the date April 21 which coincides with several important moments in the history of Texas — it is the date of Texas’s independence back in 1836, it’s the date of the first recorded baseball game in the state back in 1868, it was also the date of the first home game played by the Texas Rangers in 1972. With a date so important to the history of the area, it’s only fitting that it’ll also be the date the Rangers debut their new history-rich City Connect uniform here in 2023.

***The Texas Rangers City Connect cap has a new gothic-style “TX” logo with a spur***

The right side of the cap features a “4*21” for April 21st

The right jersey sleeve features a logo that, I’m sure, many will refer to as a griffin but is instead what the team is calling “The Peagle.” It’s a winged panther, a combination of two animals, featuring the wings of an eagle (for the Dallas Eagles) and the body of a panther (for the Fort Worth Panthers), designed in a way to resemble the eagle sleeve patch worn by the Eagles.

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Tucked away in the bottom left corner of the jersey in the area known as the “jock tag” is a quote from Mayor Vandergriff: “Dream the Big Dream,” the sentiment of which, the club says, “resulted in bringing Dallas and Fort Worth together through baseball.”

***The “Peagle”, a combination panther and eagle, is worn on the sleeves***

On the pants, on the upper left thigh, is a logo showing a map of the state of Texas with a spur wrapped around the top of it — this is a slightly modified version of the Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs logo, the team that showed the world that Major League Baseball could work in the area.

Player numbers are in a heavily-serifed, red font. It’s a custom typeface that was inspired by the engraving on the championship medal presented to the 1920 Fort Worth Panthers upon winning the Texas League championship that season.

***No names on the back of the new Rangers City Connect uniform***

The Texas Rangers will wear the new City Connect uniform for the first time on Friday, April 21, against the Oakland Athletics; they’ll then be worn again one day later on the Saturday and then for each Friday home game throughout the 2023 regular season. Here’s the full schedule.

TEXAS RANGERS 2023 CITY CONNECT UNIFORM SCHEDULE

Friday, April 21 vs Oakland Athletics
Saturday, April 22 vs Oakland Athletics
Friday, April 28 vs New York Yankees
Friday, May 19 vs Colorado Rockies
Friday, June 2 vs Seattle Mariners
Friday, June 16 vs Toronto Blue Jays
Friday, June 30 vs Houston Astros
Friday, July 14 vs Cleveland Guardians
Friday, July 21 vs Los Angeles Dodgers
Friday, August 4 vs Miami Marlins
Friday, August 18 vs Milwaukee Brewers
Friday, September 1 vs Minnesota Twins
Friday, September 8 vs Oakland Athletics
Friday, September 22 vs Seattle Mariners

Caps, jerseys, and other Texas Rangers City Connect merchandise are available in person at the team’s Grand Slam Team Store, or you can grab your own online right here.

***Dallas Eagles gothic-style cap & sleeve patch were major influences of the new Rangers set***

The Dallas-Fort Worth Spurs logo (L) and the Fort Worth Panthers championship medal (R)

The Texas Rangers are the second big league club to unveil their MLB Nike City Connect uniform so far in 2023 and the 16th to do so overall since the program was launched in 2021. There will be four more clubs still to reveal their City Connect uniforms this season; the Seattle Mariners are next up.

Here’s a look at where we stand in the City Connect uniform series across the entire league right now:

You can check out our coverage of past City Connect uniform unveilings by hitting any of the links below:

2021: Boston Red Sox, Miami Marlins, Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cubs, Arizona Diamondbacks, San Francisco Giants, Los Angeles Dodgers.

2022: Washington Nationals, Houston Astros, Kansas City Royals, Colorado Rockies, Los Angeles Angels, Milwaukee Brewers, San Diego Padres

2023: Atlanta Braves, Texas Rangers

More details on the 2023 program and what’s to come here.

All player photos in this post are courtesy the Texas Rangers, all graphics explaining design elements were created by SportsLogos.Net using elements provided by the Texas Rangers.