Tombstone
Born: 1975 – Affiliation change from Lynchburg Twins
Affiliation Change: August 1975 (Lynchburg Mets)
First Game:
Last Game:
Carolina League Championships: None
Stadium
Ownership & Affiliation
Owners: Lynchburg Baseball Corporation (Calvin Falwell, et al.)
Major League Affiliation: Texas Rangers
Attendance
Background
The Lynchburg Rangers were a One-Year Wonder in the Class A Carolina League during the summer of 1975. The Virginia city has been a fixture in the Carolina League since 1966 and played host to nine different Major League parent clubs during that time. It’s likely that no Major League sponsor had a less consequential tenure than the Texas Rangers, who set up shop for one last-place campaign and blew town one day after the 1975 season ended.
The Carolina League was in rough shape in 1975, reduced to just four active teams. The league played an inter-locking 140-game schedule that summer with the similarly distressed Class A Western Carolinas League, who also featured just four teams. The Lynchburg Rangers finished last among the four Carolina League members with a 60-78 record.
Six members of the Lynchburg Rangers eventually made it to the Major Leagues. Only two – pitcher Larry Bradford and first baseman Pat Putnam – ever lasted a full season in The Show. Putnam was also the last active ballplayer from the 1975 Lynchburg squad, finishing his pro career with Japan’s Nippon Ham Fighters in 1987.
One day after the 1975 season ended on August 28th, 1975, Lynchburg’s local owners announced that the Texas Rangers would cancel their Player Development Contract with the team. Later that same weekend, the New York Mets agreed to take over as Lynchburg’s parent club. The Mets stayed for the next twelve years through 1987.
Lynchburg Rangers Shop
Downloads
“Who Owns the Lynchburg Rangers?” – About Lynchburg Baseball Corp. from 1975 Game Program
Lynchburg Baseball Corp - From 1975 Program
August 1975 Rangers vs. Winston-Salem Red Sox Game Notes
Links
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