Rangers History Today: Greenberg & Ryan Purchase The Franchise
On this date in Texas Rangers history, Chuck Greenberg and Nolan Ryan rode to the rescue of the bankrupt baseball franchise.
On August 5, 2010, the Rangers went up for auction. The previous owner, Tom Hicks, was in financial trouble, as he owned the Rangers, the Stars and Liverpool FC in the English Premier League. Apparently, that was too much to keep up with, and in 2010 it all caught up with Hicks. He tried selling the team to Greenberg and Ryan, but Hicks’ lenders were reportedly unhappy with the fact that Hicks had turned down what they considered to be a better offer from Houston Astros owner Jim Crane.
On May 24, 2010, Hicks had no choice but to put Hicks Sports Group in bankruptcy. Afterward, more evidence came out that the Crane offer had been better than the Greenberg/Ryan offer, and that Major League Baseball may have been barring Hicks from negotiating with anyone else but Greenberg/Ryan. So, after all that drama, the bankruptcy court ordered that the Rangers be auctioned off.
So Ryan and Greenberg squared off with Crane and … Mark Cuban? Yep, once the Rangers went to auction, the Dallas Mavericks owner decided to get involved. The auction went well into the night, starting on Aug. 4 and spilling into the early morning of Aug. 5. Cuban’s presence drove up the price. But, ultimately, Ryan and Greenberg won the bid with $385 million in cash. Greenberg and Ryan also had the backing of two silent partners, Ray Davis and Bob R. Simpson, who were named co-chairmen.
That year, of course, was a big one for the Rangers. Not only did they finally get new ownership, but they also captured their first American League pennant, stamping their ticket to the World Series for the first time.
ALSO ... This was not the first time Greenberg played a key role in saving a professional sports franchise. Greenberg was also instrumental in aiding a group led by NHL Hall of Famer Mario Lemieux, securing a deal that saved the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins from bankruptcy and relocation.
Greenberg is also the chairman and founder of the Greenberg Sports Group, which owns three minor league baseball teams, including the Rangers Double-A affiliate Frisco RoughRiders.
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