After getting approval to move to Texas, the Senators change their nickname to the Rangers in honor of the famous Law Enforcement Agency. The Rangers would be playing in a converted minor league stadium in Arlington, Texas, a suburb of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metropolitan Area.

Fans waiting to see the Rangers' first game on April 6th were disappointed as a Player's Strike delayed the start of the season. The strike would relatively quickly, and the Rangers finally played their first game in Anaheim on April 15th and lost 1-0 pitcher's duel to the Angles.

The Rangers would bounce back to win the next game. Five days later, on April 21st against the same Angels, the Rangers made their Texas debut in front of 20,105 at Arlington Stadium.

The Rangers got off to a fast start as Frank Howard homered in the first inning, and would go on to win the game 7-6. The Rangers would not win much that first year, finishing last with a woeful 54-100 record.