2010-12-30 15:44:00 PST Dallas, , United States — (12-30) 15:44 PST DALLAS (AP) --
Tom Vandergriff, the former Dallas-area mayor who lured the Texas Rangers out of Washington nearly 40 years ago, has died. He was 84.
The former Arlington mayor's son, Victor Vandergriff, said his father died of natural causes at a Fort Worth hospital Thursday. Tom Vandergriff had Alzheimer's disease in recent years.
Vandergriff brought the Rangers to the city halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth in 1972. It took the Rangers almost 25 years to reach the playoffs, and another 14 to win a postseason series.
