Texas Rangers Name Spring Training Stadium After Charley Pride

The Texas Rangers are set to honor a man who was a revolutionary in both baseball and country music

The Late Great Charley Pride, Charley’s life was full of hit records. But there was one precious hit that won’t show up in any charts. It’s the one he recorded while wearing a Rangers uniform off Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer. It was the highlight of Pride’s first trip to Rangers’ spring training camp in 1974 for what became an annual visit. It represented a respite from touring and a return to what might have been his first love: Baseball.

Now the Texas Rangers baseball organization is paying their respects to the country music legend and longtime baseball fan, naming their spring training stadium in Surprise, AZ, “Charley Pride Field” in his honor. Pride was a former Negro League and Minor League pitcher in the ’50s, and had been a part-owner of the Rangers for the last 10 years.

The team shared a video clip tweeting out the news. “Introducing Charley Pride Field! You are greatly missed.”