\n
\n
\n
\n
![\"OK](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/articles-arlington-archives-episode-9-sports.jpg\" "\\"OK")
<\/p>\nPublished on September 25, 2026<\/p>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
<\/p>\n
By Office of Communication\u00a0<\/p>\n
The newest episode of the “Arlington Archives<\/a>”\u00a0dives into the long and colorful history of sports in Arlington, tracing the city\u2019s athletic roots from early horse racing and high school football glory to the rise of UTA athletics and the arrival of major professional teams.<\/p>\n Veteran broadcaster and Arlington native John Nelson joins host O.K. Carter to help unpack the city\u2019s defining sports moments, legendary players and the evolution that made Arlington one of Texas\u2019 most notable sports hubs.\u00a0Nelson is the author of “The Thundering Herd,” a book detailing Arlington High School\u2019s 1951 state football championship.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen it comes to sports in Arlington, you\u2019re the guy to know,\u201d Carter noted about Nelson\u2019s deep knowledge makes him one of the city\u2019s most respected voices on Arlington athletics.<\/p>\n During the episode titled, \u201cHomegrown History: Arlington Sports Through the Years,\u201d Nelson recounted the Colts’ 7\u20110 victory over Waco La Vega led by running back Rusty Gunn, a game still remembered as one of the city\u2019s defining sports moments. Nelson and Carter also explore other major chapters in Arlington\u2019s sports timeline, including early horse racing at Arlington Downs, the development of Meadowbrook Golf Course where Ben Hogan and Byron Nelson once offered free lessons, and the rise of UTA athletics before the university ended its football program in 1985.<\/p>\n The conversation covers professional sports as well, beginning with the Dallas\u2011Fort Worth Spurs who played at Turnpike Stadium before the Texas Rangers arrived in 1972. Nelson explains how the Rangers\u2019 relocation from Washington, D.C., helped shape Arlington\u2019s identity as a sports hub and how Arlington Stadium, the Ballpark in Arlington and later Globe Life Field continued that legacy. The episode also outlines the Dallas Cowboys\u2019 move to Arlington in 2009 following voter approval for a new stadium.<\/p>\n “The importance can’t be underestimated of the impact the facility has had to the city, to the community, to the state maybe to the nation Nelson said. “It’s hosted World Cup matches, a Super Bowl, college football championships, NBA All-Star Game and Texas high school football championship games.\u00a0Just a myriad of events.”<\/p>\n Produced in celebration of Arlington\u2019s sesquicentennial in 2026, the series features voices from historians, city leaders and longtime residents. Future episodes will further explore Arlington\u2019s history, spotlighting milestones and anniversaries in the city\u2019s storied past.<\/p>\n Visit\u00a0Arlington150.com<\/a>\u00a0for more historical articles, photos and events planned throughout 2026.<\/p>\n The episode is now available on all major podcast platforms and the City\u2019s social media channels including Facebook<\/a> and YouTube<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Published on September 25, 2026
By Office of Communication\u00a0 The newest episode of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":447893,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[150,152,151],"class_list":["post-447892","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-arlington","tag-arlington","tag-arlington-headlines","tag-arlington-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447892","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=447892"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/447892\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/447893"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=447892"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=447892"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=447892"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}