Rangers lose valued member in Wangner ARLINGTON -- Charles F. Wangner, who was one of the longest serving and most dedicated members of the Rangers' organization and family, passed away Wednesday evening after a long illness. He was 77. Wangner was one of the first members of the organization going back to 1960 when the American League granted an expansion franchise to Washington D.C. after the original Senators moved to Minnesota. He was with the organization in an official capacity up until 1996 but never lost his passion for the game and the franchise. He moved with the franchise to Texas in 1972 and served in a number of crucial front-office positions for a struggling franchise, most notably chief financial officer. The Rangers issued the following statement on Thursday afternoon: "Charles Wangner served the Washington/Texas franchise with distinction for the first 36 years of its existence. He was one of the first employees of the expansion Senators in 1961 and was the organization's Chief Financial Officer for almost three decades. Charlie made the move to Arlington in 1972 and was instrumental in the franchise's transition from the Nation's Capital to the Great Southwest. "The Wangners have been a big part of the Texas Rangers family for many years, and the organization expresses its deepest sympathies to Charlie's wife Nancy, children Chuck, Judy, Jeannie, and Robert, and their 11 grandchildren. He will be missed." Wangner retired from the Rangers in 1996 but remained close to the franchise. Tom Grieve, who may be the only person to ever be employed longer by the Rangers, and his wife Kathy remained close to the Wangner family long after he retired. "I pretty much knew Charlie from the time I signed with the Senators," said Grieve, who has been a Rangers player, general manager and now a broadcaster. "When I was the general manager, I watched just about every game from my booth with Charlie, his wife Nancy and their family. I watched their children grow up and know their grandchildren. "He was a tremendous baseball fan. He loved the organization and was a very loyal and trustworthy guy. Our families have been good friends for a long time. He was the chief financial officer of the ballclub and did a great job, a real solid guy who we could count on. My thoughts go out to the family because we have been close for a long time." Wangner was a 1956 graduate of the University of Maryland who went to work for the accounting firm of Arthur Andersen & Co. in Washington D.C. In December 1960, he was selected by the firm to set up an accounting system for the expansion Senators and went to work for them as controller in February 1961. He worked with the club ever since and was promoted to vice president of finance in 1983 when the Rangers' front office underwent significant changes. "He was a great friend and a tremendous guy to work under," Rangers vice president Jay Miller said. "He helped me a great deal when I was just starting out then at the age of 23 or 24. Just a great guy." Despite his illness, Wangner was able to watch Game 4 of the World Series from a private suite at the Ballpark in Arlington. "At least his last memory of the Ballpark in Arlington was watching a World Series," Miller said. 資料來源: http://texas.rangers.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101216&content_id= 16334356&vkey=news_tex&c_id=tex R.I.P. Mr. Wangner~~ -- 2010 Texas Rangers Postseason Franchise Roster (SP)Cliff Lee (C)Benjie Molina (1B)Mitch Moreland (2B)Ian Kinsler (SS)Elvis Andrus (3B)Michael Young (LF)David Murphy (CF)Josh Hamilton (RF)Nelson Cruz (DH)Vladimir Guerrero (SP)C.J. Wilson (SP)Colby Lewis (CL)Neftali Feliz (RP)Darren O'Day (RP)Darren Oliver (SP)Derek Holland (RP)Alexi Ogando (RP)Michael Kirkman (C)Matt Treanor (OF)Julio Borbon --

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