Washington Senators
Logo Cap insignia
Information
League	American League (1961–1971) East Division (1969–1971)
Ballpark	Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium (1962–1971)
Established	1961
Relocated	1972 (toDallas–Fort Worth; became theTexas Rangers)
Former ballpark	Griffith Stadium (1961)
Colors	Red, blue, white
Ownership	List of owners Elwood Richard Quesada (1961–1962) James Johnston (1963–1967) James Lemon (1963–1968) Bob Short (1969–1971)
General manager	List of general managers Ed Doherty (1961–1962) George Selkirk (1963–1968)
Manager	List of managers Mickey Vernon (1961–1963) Eddie Yost (1963) Gil Hodges (1963–1967) Jim Lemon (1968) Ted Williams (1969–1971)

TheWashington Senators were a professionalbaseball team based inWashington, D.C. The Senators competed inMajor League Baseball (MLB) as one of theAmerican League's first expansion franchises. The club was founded in Washington, D.C. in1961 to replace the recently departedWashington Senators who moved to Minnesota as theMinnesota Twins. Following the1971 season, the team relocated toDallas–Fort Worth, where they were renamed theTexas Rangers.

The 11-year tenure in Washington, D.C. saw the team plagued with poor performances, and were the definition of futility, losing an average of 94 games a season. The team's struggles led to a twist on a joke about the old Senators: "Washington:first in war, first in peace andstill last in the American League." Their only winning season was in1969 whenHall of FamerTed Williams managed the club to an 86–76 record, placing fourth in the AL East.^[1]

The team played theirinaugural season at oldGriffith Stadium, then moved to the newDistrict of Columbia Stadium in1962 under a ten-year lease.

The Washington Senators had an overall win–loss record of 740–1,032–1 (.418) during their 11 years in Washington, D.C.. No former Washington Senators players were elected to theNational Baseball Hall of Fame.

When the originalWashington Senators announced their move toMinnesota in 1960 to become theTwins in1961, Major League Baseball decided to expand a year earlier than planned to stave off the twin threats of competition from the proposedContinental League and loss of itsexemption from theSherman Antitrust Act. As part of the expansion, the American League added two expansion teams for the1961 season–theLos Angeles Angels and a new Washington Senators team. However, the new Senators were (and still are) considered an expansion team since the Twins retained the old Senators' records and history. The new Senators and Angels began to fill their rosters with American League players in a chaotic, last-minuteexpansion draft.

Ownership changed hands several times during the franchise's stay in Washington and was often plagued by poor decision-making and planning. OwnerElwood Richard Quesada once wondered why he needed to pay players who did not belong in the majors and later agreed to a ten-year lease at D.C. Stadium—a move that would come back to haunt the Senators. In1963, Quesada resigned and sold his stake in the club to Washington stockbrokersJames Johnston andJames Lemon.

In the inaugural season of the Senators, under general managerEd Doherty and managerMickey Vernon, the team immediately struggled. The team was over .500 for only one day, with a24–23 (.511) record on June 2, 6½ games behind theDetroit Tigers. The Senators finished the season in ninth place, with a dismal61–100 (.379) record, and 47½ games behind theWorld Series winningNew York Yankees.^[2] This was the only season the team played atGriffith Stadium, which closed following the conclusion of the season.

In the sophomore season of the Senators, the team performed worse than the previous year. The team was in last place from game 7 on April 21 through the end of the season. The Senators ended the season with a dismal60–101 (.373) record, 35½ games behind theWorld Series winningNew York Yankees.^[3] The Senators played in the brand-newDistrict of Columbia Stadium.

What turned out to be the longest ownership era of the Washington Senators was through Washington stockbrokersJames Johnston andJames Lemon, having bought the team fromElwood Richard Quesada. Over the course of six seasons, both suffered massive financial losses. Johnston died in1967 and Lemon sold the team a year later to hotel and trucking executiveBob Short, who outbid a group headed byBob Hope.

The1963 season saw a total overhaul of the team's leadership. OwnerElwood Richard Quesada sold his stake in the team, leavingJames Johnston andJames Lemon as new owners. The season also saw new general managerGeorge Selkirk. and new managerEddie Yost. Though the season did not start as bad as the previous season, from May 18 through the end of the season, the team was again in last place. Following the game on May 21, managerMickey Vernon was fired. Following the firing, third base coach Eddie Yost was acting manager for one game. The next day sawGil Hodges take over as manager. The Senators ended the season with their worst season in franchise history (including allTexas Rangers seasons), with a56–106 (.346) record, 48½ games behind theNew York Yankees.^[4]

The1964 season saw the Senators' best season to date, though still with an abysmal showing. For the entire season, the team mostly wavered between seventh and eighth place prior to June 19. From then on, the team was exclusively in ninth or last place. The Senators ended the season in ninth place with a62–100 (.383) record, 42 games behind theNew York Yankees.^[5]

The1965 season continued the trend of the Senators' having their best season to date, though the team was still well under .500. This was the first season the team had less than 100 loses. Prior to July, the team was mostly in ninth place, while from July 2 on, the team did not leave eighth place. The Senators ended the season with a70–92 (.432) record, 32 games behind the formerly Washington-based team, theMinnesota Twins.^[6]

The1966 season continued the trend of the Senators' having their best season to date, though the team was still well under .500. Aside from June 2–4, the team spent the entire season wavering between seventh and last place. The Senators ended the season in eighth place with a71–88 (.447) record, 25½ games behind theWorld Series winningBaltimore Orioles.^[7]

The1967 season continued the trend of the Senators' having their best season to date, though the team was still under .500. Though the team looked to be having another dismal season by the All-Star break (having been in last place for most of June), the team rose to sixth place by July 21 and stayed there for most of the remaining season. The Senators ended the season tied for sixth place with theBaltimore Orioles, with a76–85 (.472) record, 15½ games behind theBoston Red Sox.^[8] Co-ownerJames Johnston died in December, leaving his control of ownership to his estate.

The1968 season, under new managerJim Lemon, saw the Senators' worst season since1964. The team slowly dropped in the standings after starting as a "first division" team, having placed in the upper half of the league team in April. From June 11 through the end of the season, the team held last place. The Senators ended the season with a65–96 (.404) record, 37½ games behind theWorld Series winningDetroit Tigers.^[9] One of the few bright spots was left fielderFrank Howard leading the entire Major Leagues with 44 home runs.

The1969 season saw the Senators be placed into the newly formedAL East, following the1969 expansion of theAmerican League. The season also saw a reshuffle of the team's leadership.James Lemon and theJames Johnston estate sold the team to trucking executiveBob Short. Short named himself general manager and hiredHall of FamerTed Williams as manager. Although Williams had never coached or managed at any level of baseball, he seemed to light a spark under the once-moribund Senators. After May 16, the team spent most of the season in fourth place and from May 23, were over 10 games behind. The Senators ended the season in fourth place in the AL East with an86–76 (.531) record, 23 games behind theBaltimore Orioles.^[10] Attendance surged to over 918,000, at the time the highest in Washington baseball history.

Following their brief success in 1969, ownerBob Short was forced to make many questionable trades to lower the debt he had incurred to pay for the team in late 1968; the purchase price was reported at $9.4 million.^[11][12] Serving as his own general manager, Short was forced to make many questionable trades to service the debt and bring in much-needed revenue. As a result, the team rapidly fell back into the American League's cellar. Moreover, like their predecessors in their final few years in the nation's capital, the new Senators had to compete for an audience with theBaltimore Orioles, 45 miles (72 km) to the northeast, who by the 1960s were perennial contenders. The rise of the Orioles to regular championship contenders (winning their first World Series in1966) did not help the Senators' cause either. Fans kept their distance from the Senators while the Orioles won four American League pennants and two World Series from 1966 through 1971.

The1970 season for the Senators was a return to failure the team traditionally had. While competitive in April, the team fell to 10 games back by June. From June 6 on, the team was consistently in fifth and last place for the rest of the season. The Senators ended the season in last place in the AL East with a70–92 (.432) record, 38 games behind theWorld Series winningBaltimore Orioles.^[13]

By the end of the1970 campaign, Short had issued an ultimatum: unless someone was willing to buy the Senators for $12 million (by comparison, theNew York Yankees were sold in1973 for $8.8 million), he would not renew the stadium lease and would move the team elsewhere. At that season's end, Short dealt his best starting pitcher and the left side of his infield to theDetroit Tigers for erstwhile 30-game-winnerDenny McLain, who had spent most of the 1970 campaign suspended because of gambling allegations. The deal—alleged by onetime Senators broadcasterShelby Whitfield to have been made in order to secure the Tigers' vote in favor of the Senators' eventual move to Texas—turned Detroit back into contenders, while McLain was a monumental bust, losing a league-worst 22 games.

The1971 season continued the Senators' downward trend that followed their1969 season. While the team was once again competitive in April, the team fell to fifth place by May 9, and would waver between fifth and last place for the rest of the season. Though the team finished with a worse record than the previous year, the team ended the season in fifth place, ahead of theCleveland Indians, in the AL East with a63–96 (.396) record, 38½ games behind theOakland Athletics.^[14]

At first, it looked like a move toBuffalo, New York, was in the works as at the time, a proposed multi-use stadium was in the cards in either downtown Buffalo where the currentKeyBank Center is, or in suburbanLancaster to share with theBuffalo Bills; however, the project went over budget and the Senators started to look elsewhere while the Bills opened upRich Stadium instead.^[15] Short was especially receptive to an offer brought up byArlington, Texas, mayorTom Vandergriff, who had been trying to obtain a major league sports team to play in the Metroplex for over a decade. Years earlier,Charles O. Finley, the owner of theKansas City Athletics, sought to relocate his baseball team to Dallas, but the idea was rebuffed and ultimately declined by the other AL team owners (the A's ultimately moved toOakland, California in 1968). Arlington'shole card wasTurnpike Stadium, a 10,000-seat park built in 1965 to house theDouble-ADallas–Fort Worth Spurs of theTexas League. However, it had been built to MLB specifications, and only minor excavations would be necessary to expand the park to accommodate major league crowds.

Vandergriff's offer of a multimillion-dollar down payment prompted Short to make the move to Arlington. On September 21,1971, American League owners voted 10–2 to allow the move of the franchise to Arlington for the1972 season.^[16][17] Senators fans were livid, and enmity came to a head at the club's last game in Washington on Thursday, September 30. Thousands simply walked in without paying after the security guards left early, swelling the paid attendance of 14,460 to around 25,000, while fans unfurled a "SHORT STINKS" banner. With two outs in the top of the ninth inning and the Senators leading 7–5, several hundred youths stormed the field, raiding it for souvenirs. One man grabbedfirst base and ran off with it. With no security in sight and only three bases,umpire crew chiefJim Honochick forfeited the game to theNew York Yankees.^{[18][19][20][21]}

Following the team's departure from that the nation's capital, the city went without major league baseball for 33 years. The now-Texas Rangers franchise retained the rights to the Senators name; when the relocation of theNational League'sMontreal Expos to Washington, D.C. in 2005 occurred, the team revived another longtime name, calling themselves theWashington Nationals asWashington D.C. is not a state and thus lacks representation in Congress.^[22] However, the Rangers allowed the Nationals to use the curly W logo that originated with the expansion Senators.

As the second iteration of the Washington Senators, the team's first home uniforms featured navy pinstripes and navy-trimmed red letters. "SENATORS" was written in a style reminiscent of theBoston Red Sox's uniforms. Road gray uniforms simply featured "WASHINGTON" in navy block letters with navy numbers. Caps were all-navy with a red block "W" with white trim.

In 1963, the uniforms returned to a design similar to the final uniforms worn by the original Senators, with "Senators" in script letters and an underline tail that flowed after the second "s". However, the color scheme was reversed on the letters, with red serving as the dominant color. The cap also adopted the "curly W" insignia that was later used by the modern-dayWashington Nationals. In 1968, the cap color became all-red with the "curly W" now in white with navy trim. Pinstripes would be removed from the home uniform in 1969.

• Frank Howard, anoutfielder/first baseman on the team from 1965 until after the departure to Texas, was known for his towering home runs, and is considered the team's most accomplished player, winning two home run titles in1968 and1970.
• Minnie Miñoso, aleft fielder on the team in 1963. He played with the Senators towards the end of his career and past his prime. He was inducted into theHall of Fame in 2022.

Chuck Hinton andFrank Howard, who played for the franchise in Washington (although Howard played for the Rangers in 1972), are listed on the Washington Hall of Stars display atNationals Park in Washington. So areGil Hodges andMickey Vernon, who managed the "New Senators". Vernon also played for the "Old Senators", who became theMinnesota Twins.

TheTexas RangersHall of Fame was created in 2003 to honor the careers of former Texas Rangers players, managers, executives, and broadcasters. There are currently 2 members which were on the team while in Washington as the Washington Senators.

• List of Minnesota Twins seasons - includes seasons of the previous MLB team named the Washington Senators
• List of Texas Rangers seasons - includes seasons of this team after their relocation to Texas

• Washington Senators (1961–1971)
• History of Major League Baseball by team
• Defunct baseball teams in Washington, D.C.
• Baseball teams disestablished in 1971
• Baseball teams established in 1961
• History of Washington, D.C.

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from May 2025