Texas Tidbits : Arlington

Home of Champions

Texas is chock full of cities that as little as forty years ago were big towns on the verge of becoming major cities - Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin and Arlington. Arlington? That sleepy little town that in the 1950's had just 8000 residents? That Arlington? Yup. That Arlington. That Arlington is now home to over 365,000 people and some of the most famous entertainment venues in the world - the new $1.2 billion sports palace that is Cowboys Stadium, the beautiful Rangers Ballpark in Arlington, Six Flags Over Texas (extra credit if you can those six flags) and more. There is also the University of Texas at Arlington in the city. Go Mavs! The Official City of Arlington web site sums up nicely the history of tis little big city halfway between Dallas and Fort Worth : "Arlington’s history is complex, its identity evolving over more than 150 years. It has been a frontier outpost, an agricultural center, a site of Indian battles and a mecca for horse racing and gambling." Include on that list auto manufacturer. Government General Motors has a large assembly plant in Arlington (which was named for Arlington, VA, the hometown of Robert E. Lee). The history of the Big A (I just made that part up...Big A...hahahahaha) is really pretty cool, so you might give it a read. Oh! I can not end this post about Arlington without mentioning one of the most important figures in the annals of the city - Judge Tom Vandergriff, who was instrumental in bringing both Six Flags and Major League Baseball to Arlington. I'll do a separate post on the Judge one day. He's a great man responsible for much of the growth and prosperity we see in Arlington today. The only thing half-way about Arlington is its central location in the Metroplex, for truly it is a Major League city.