SPORTS FRANCHISE

Three unrelated major league franchises have called themselves the Washington Senators. The first Senators were originally known as the Washington Statesmen and played in the American Association in 1891, before being renamed the Senators and joining the National League the following season. This original Senators franchise never had a winning season, and disbanded after the 1899 season as the National League contracted from twelve teams to eight.

The second Washington Senators team began play in 1894 as a minor league team, the Kansas City Blues of the Western League. After the 1899 season, the league re-named itself the American League and the Kansas City franchise was relocated to Washington DC, replacing the original NL Senators. Became a big league team in 1901, when the American League declared itself a major league in competition with the National League. Officially renamed the Washington Nationals in 1906, but the name never caught on, and with sportswriters, players, and fans still calling the team the Senators, the Nationals name was eventually deemed irrelevant and dropped. Remembered locally as the "Old Senators", this team won AL pennants in 1924, 1925, and 1933, and won the World Series in 1924. The franchise was relocated to the Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul in 1961, and renamed the Minnesota Twins.

The third Washington Senators franchise was an American League expansion team in 1961, replacing the Old Senators as they left town and known locally as the "New Senators". In 1972, this franchise was relocated to Dallas, playing in suburban Arlington as the Texas Rangers and leaving Washington DC without major league baseball until 2005, when the Montreal Expos franchise was transferred to the District of Columbia, and rechristened the Washington Nationals.

Location:
Washington, DC

Name	Occupation	Birth	Death	Known for
Tommy Byrne	Baseball	31-Dec-1919	20-Dec-2007	MLB pitcher, Mayor of Wake Forest
Joe Cronin	Baseball	12-Oct-1906	7-Sep-1984	Shortstop on 7 All-Star teams
Curt Flood	Baseball	18-Jan-1938	20-Jan-1997	Tried to topple MLB's antitrust exemption
Lefty Gomez	Baseball	26-Nov-1908	17-Feb-1989	El Goofy
Goose Goslin	Baseball	16-Oct-1900	15-May-1971	MLB Hall of Famer
Whitey Herzog	Baseball	9-Nov-1931		The White Rat
Gil Hodges	Baseball	4-Apr-1924	2-Apr-1972	Eight-time All-Star
Jackie Jensen	Baseball	9-Mar-1927	14-Jul-1982	American League MVP, 1958
Walter Johnson	Baseball	6-Nov-1887	10-Dec-1946	American League MVP in 1913 and 1924
Harmon Killebrew	Baseball	29-Jun-1936	17-May-2011	Minnesota Twins
Heinie Manush	Baseball	20-Jul-1901	12-May-1971	MLB Hall of Famer
Denny McLain	Baseball	29-Mar-1944		Cy Young Award winner, embezzler
Minnie Minoso	Baseball	29-Nov-1922	1-Mar-2015	The Cuban Comet
Johnny Pesky	Baseball	27-Sep-1919	13-Aug-2012	Boston Red Sox
Jimmy Piersall	Baseball	14-Nov-1929		Crazy center fielder
Sam Rice	Baseball	20-Feb-1890	13-Oct-1974	Washington Senators Hall-of-Famer
Al Simmons	Baseball	22-May-1902	26-May-1956	Lifetime batting average .334
George Sisler	Baseball	24-Mar-1893	26-Mar-1973	Batted .420 in 1921
Tris Speaker	Baseball	4-Apr-1888	8-Dec-1958	Exceptional centerfielder
Ted Williams	Baseball	30-Aug-1918	5-Jul-2002	Cryonically preserved .400 hitter
Early Wynn	Baseball	6-Jan-1920	4-Apr-1999	MLB Hall of Famer
Don Zimmer	Baseball	17-Jan-1931	4-Jun-2014	Red Sox, Padres, Cubs, manager

Do you know something we don't?
Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile

Copyright ©2015 Soylent Communications