Which baseball team sold Frank Liberto's modified nachos at games in 1976?

The Texas Rangers sold Frank Liberto’s modified nachos at games in 1976.

Liberto, owner of Ricos Products, adapted the original nacho format for stadium service. Instead of requiring individual preparation with freshly melted cheese, his ballpark version used prepared tortilla chips and a pourable cheese sauce, making it faster and easier to serve large crowds. The product was marketed during Texas Rangers games at Arlington Stadium.

This change helped turn nachos from a restaurant or border-region specialty into a major stadium concession. The Rangers are therefore associated with the early commercial rise of “ballpark nachos,” although they did not invent the dish itself. Nachos originated in 1940 at the Victory Club in Piedras Negras, Mexico, where Ignacio “Nacho” Anaya prepared a quick snack for visiting customers.

A later broadcast also accelerated the snack’s popularity. During a 1978 Monday Night Football game, sportscaster Howard Cosell mentioned nachos repeatedly while discussing the Dallas Cowboys and Baltimore Colts. That event is sometimes confused with the 1976 baseball connection, but the earlier stadium commercialization involved the Texas Rangers.