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    Brad Corbett’s tumultuous six-year run as Rangers owner can be defined by one game.

    On July 4, 1977, the Rangers lost, 1-0, to Kansas City at Arlington Stadium. After the game, a tearful Corbett stormed into the Rangers’ clubhouse and loudly proclaimed, “I’m selling this team because it’s killing me. They’re dogs on the field, and they’re dogs off the field.”

    Corbett kept the team for nearly three more years. The mercurial owner never changed.

    The impulsive Corbett constantly made moves, trading away young talent such as left-hander Dave Righetti and third baseman Bill Madlock for fading veterans. Corbett spent wildly on free-agent busts such as shortstop Bert Campaneris and outfielder Richie Zisk.

    The approach never brought Corbett a champion. The Rangers had their first brush with legitimacy during the Corbett era (1974-80) by finishing second three times in the American League West but never reached the postseason.

    Corbett, 75, died in his sleep Monday, his daughter Pamela Corbett Murrin told The Associated Press.

    Corbett moved from Long Island, N.Y., to Fort Worth in 1968. He quickly parlayed a $300,000 loan from the Small Business Administration into a fortune in the plastic-piping and chemical-tubing businesses.

    Corbett realized his dream of owning a major league team by putting together a collection of local investors that purchased the Rangers from Bob Short two days before the 1974 season. The group paid $9.6 million and assumed $1 million in debt.

    The brash Corbett took the spotlight. Others held the title, but Corbett served as his own general manager. He reveled in making trades on a whim.

    Corbett once famously pulled off a trade during a men’s room conversation with Cleveland executive Gabe Paul. The Rangers in 1978 sent outfielder Bobby Bonds and young right-hander Len Barker to the Indians for infielder Larvell “Sugar Bear” Blanks and right-hander Jim Kern.

    The club took on the air of a circus. In 1977, the Rangers employed four managers in a span of eight games. In 1978, Sports Illustrated revealed Corbett consulted his son, Brad Jr., on trades
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