For many Texas Rangers fans, the 2023 World Series championship is the high point in their fandom. And it should be.

But for Rangers fans of a certain vintage, what happened in 1996 rings just as true.

On Saturday, the Rangers honored their 1996 AL West champions, the first team in franchise history to win a division championship and to win a playoff game. Most of the members of the team and coaching staff were a Globe Life Field to be honored before the game with the Los Angeles Angels.

They held autograph sessions on Friday and Saturday and participated in a luncheon on Friday afternoon at Texas Live! next door.

The ace of that staff, Ken Hill, threw out the ceremonial first pitch with his battery mate, Baseball Hall of Fame member Ivan “Pudge” Rodriguez catching the baseball. Gloria Oates, the widow of manager Johnny Oates, accompanied Hill to the mound.

The 1996 Texas Rangers

The Rangers moved to Arlington in 1972 after spending more than a decade as the Washington Senators. Texas came close to winning the AL West a couple of times but never got over the hump until 1996 when they claimed the title by 4.5 games over the Seattle Mariners.

The Rangers faced the New York Yankees in the AL Division Series and won the first game in Yankee Stadium before falling in the next three games to lose the series. The Rangers won the division twice more in 1998 and 1999 but didn’t win a playoff game. Texas didn’t win its second playoff game until 2010, a season that led to its first trip to the World Series.

The 1996 team laid the groundwork for the next four seasons and included some of the best players in franchise history, including Rodriguez, two-time AL MVP Juan Gonzalez and Rusty Greer. All three are in the Rangers Hall of Fame.

Members of the organization that were expected to attend included team president Tom Schieffer, general manager Doug Melvin, Gloria Oates, wife of manager Johnny Oates, coaches Dick Bosman, Bucky Dent, Larry Hardy and Jerry Narron, along with head trainer Danny Wheat, assistant trainer Ray Ramirez.

Players expected to attend included Hill, Rodriguez, Greer, OF Damon Buford, RHP John Burkett, LHP Dennis Cook, INF Rene Gonzales, OF Rusty Greer, RHP Kevin Gross, RHP Mike Henneman, RHP Gil Heredia, 2B Mark McLemore, OF Warren Newson, LHP Darren Oliver, 3B Dean Palmer, RHP Jeff Russell, LHP Mike Stanton, DH Mickey Tettleton, C Dave Valle, LHP Ed Vosberg and RHP Bobby Witt.

In addition, two display cases of artifacts and photos highlighting the players and events of the 1996 Texas Rangers is located at the Southeast Entrance lobby of Globe Life Field.