Washington Senators

The Washington Senators were a major league baseball team. One of the American League's eight charter teams, the Senators were founded in Washington, DC in 1901. While the team officially changed its name to the "Washington Nationals" in 1905, the Senators name remained in use by fans and journalists, and with time, the team was known as both the Senators and the Nats interchangeably.

The team began as consistent losers, a status the maintained throughout most of its history. While the 1920s saw a golden age, with the team even winning the World Series in 1924, that was a comparatively short lived period in the team's history. Beginning in 1934, the Senators were again a losing team, a status they would hold for the next 25 years. Indeed, their streak was such that they were the butt of a number of running cultural jokes by the 1950s.

In 1960, the team relocated to Minnesota and became the Minnesota Twins. A replacement expansion team Washington Senators debuted in 1961. In 1971, this new team became the Texas Rangers.

Washington Senators in Joe Steele
The Washington Senators were having a dismal season by the Summer, 1937, despite the return of Bucky Harris to manage them. The plight of the baseball Senators paralleled the plight of the U.S. Senate, which was thoroughly cowed by President Joe Steele.