<\/p>\n
Fans walk by the 12-foot-tall bronze statue ‘One Riot, One Ranger’ on the left field plaza of Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX, during opening day on Friday, April 3, 2026.<\/p>\n
Juan Figueroa\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
ARLINGTON \u2014 Walk through the north entrance of Globe Life Field, and the statue is nearly impossible to miss.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Rising a dozen feet high, the bronze \u201cOne Riot, One Ranger\u201d<\/a> depicts a member of the Texas Rangers law enforcement agency, the baseball team\u2019s namesake. On Friday, the statue gained a sort of celebrity status at the Texas Rangers<\/a>‘ home opener.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Fans stop to look at the 12-foot-tall bronze statue ‘One Riot, One Ranger’ on the left field plaza of Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX, during opening day on Friday, April 3, 2026.<\/p>\n Juan Figueroa\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Dozens of fans stopped to take photos, study the controversial piece and read the inscription: \u201cTexas Ranger of 1960.\u201d Most said they were pleased to see the statue, which stood for decades at Dallas Love Field until its removal during the racially charged summer of 2020<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis is the perfect place for it,\u201d said John Cornette, 58, who lives in Mansfield and works in construction. \u201cI wasn\u2019t happy it was taken down in the first place, but it belongs here.\u201d<\/p>\n Ashley Fowler, a 38-year-old from Joshua and lifelong Rangers fan, said she did not understand why the statue was installed at the ballpark.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Make Dallas News a preferred source so your search results prioritize writing by actual people, not AI.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Add Preferred Source<\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIf it hurts and offends people,\u201d she said, \u201cthen it seems to be doing more harm than good.\u201d<\/p>\n Fans walk by the 12-foot-tall bronze statue ‘One Riot, One Ranger’ on the left field plaza of Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX, during opening day on Friday, April 3, 2026.<\/p>\n Juan Figueroa\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n The Texas Rangers unveiled the statue in March, nearly six years after it was removed following the publication of the book \u201cCult of Glory: The Bold and Brutal History of the Texas Rangers.\u201d<\/a> The book, by Doug Swanson, a former Dallas Morning News reporter, detailed multiple incidents of brutality and racism.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Around the same time, the killing of George Floyd<\/a> by police in Minneapolis sparked a reckoning over racism and police brutality nationwide.<\/p>\n Whom the statute commemorates has driven much of the backlash over the statue. Swanson said the statue depicts Capt. Jay Banks, who in the 1950s led an effort to bar Black students from enrolling at a high school in Mansfield and a community college in Texarkana.<\/p>\n Some, including Russell Molina, board member of the Texas Ranger Association Foundation, say the statue is meant to depict the organization, not a single individual.\u00a0<\/p>\n Baseball fans said they were not interested in the back-and-forth. For them, the statue simply commemorates a piece of shared history. The Rangers, the storied law enforcement agency, dates back to 1823, when Stephen F. Austin hired 10 men to protect settlements from Native Americans.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThis is our history,\u201d said David Hatcher, 71, a retired high school history teacher and baseball coach in Fort Worth, who stopped to take photos of the statue with his grandchildren. \u201cWe should be learning our American history, all of it, the good and the bad.\u201d<\/p>\n Beth Wiggs and Erin Beck look up at the 12-foot-tall bronze statue ‘One Riot, One Ranger’ on the left field plaza of Globe Life Field in Arlington, TX, Friday, April 3, 2026.<\/p>\n Juan Figueroa\/The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n Scott Rutherford, a sommelier who works in commercial real estate in Dallas, admired the piece with his father-in-law. Rutherford, 54, said he hopes the statue will spur people to learn more about history.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Texas Rangers has always had this sort of mystique to it,\u201d he said. \u201cThere\u2019s good and bad in everything in history, and we could use this controversy and conflict to educate ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n U.S. Rep. Marc Veasey<\/a>, a Fort Worth Democrat and self-described lifelong Rangers fan, said he was disappointed the club installed the statue, which until recently had been in storage at Alliance Airport in Fort Worth. He said he raised concerns with Major League Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred and Rangers representatives.\u00a0<\/p>\n The City of Dallas public art collection agreed to loan the statue to the Texas Ranger Association Foundation with the intent it would be displayed at a new museum in Waco. When the museum did not come to fruition, the foundation initiated conversations with the baseball team to display the statue at the ballpark.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTeams like the Rangers are woven into the fabric of our community,\u201d Veasey said. \u201cThat comes with an opportunity and a responsibility to make sure that legacy is one people feel proud of.\u201d<\/p>\n Molina, with the Texas Ranger Association Foundation, previously said in a statement that history \u201cmust be confronted honestly.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n By signing up, you agree to our Terms Of Use<\/a> and acknowledge that your information will be used as described in our Privacy Policy<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile not everyone who has served across more than two centuries lived up to the ideal, most did \u2014 and they deserve to be remembered for their service, sacrifice and commitment to the people of Texas,\u201d he wrote.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
![\"image\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1775016909_917_rawImage.jpg\" "\\"#\\"")
<\/p>\n