This presented signed baseball comes directly from the personal collection of Tom Vandergriff, the “Father of the Rangers,” who was instrumental in wooing the Washington Senators away from Washington, D.C. to Arlington, Texas in 1972. Vandergriff, who served as mayor of Arlington, Texas for 26 years, from 1951 to 1977, persuaded Senators owner Bob Short to move the team to the Dallas/Fort Worth area, making a home for the team in Arlington, Texas. The Rangers opened The Ball Park in Arlington” during the 1994 strike-shortened MLB season, and this baseball was signed by 14 politicians who were instrumental in the opening of the brand-new baseball park. The Official American League Bobby Brown baseball features “RAWLINGS” stamped in blue on the east panel. “CUSHIONED CORK CENTER RO-A” appears stamped in blue on the west panel. 14 signatures in black and blue ink appear on the baseball, with key signatures from then-managing general partner and future President of the United States, George W. Bush. Other key signatures include those of Tom Schieffer, Team President and Ambassador to Japan, Gib Lewis, then-speaker of the Texas House, State Senator Chris Harris, State Representative Kim Brimer, Tarrant County Judge Roy English, County Commissioners J.D. Johnson, and Bob Hampton, Arlington Council members Dottie Lynn, Dick Malek, Bill Snider, Paula Hightower, Jim Brown, and Theron Brooks. The signatures are bold, and the baseball is in beautiful condition and comes with an LOA from PSA/DNA (H42627) and comes with an LOA from Tom Vandergriff and comes from his personal collection.

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