1969 WASHINGTON SENATORS Retro T-Shirt

The franchise was established in 1961 as the Washington Senators, an expansion team awarded to Washington, D.C., after the city's first American League ball club, the second Washington Senators, moved to Minnesota and became the Twins (the original Washington Senators played primarily in the National League during the 1890s). For most of their existence, the new Senators were the definition of futility, losing an average of 90 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 and still last in the American League." After the 1971 season, the new Senators moved to Arlington, and debuted as the Rangers the following spring.