So if the ranger class had no background, then what would a ranger be?
The lightly armored stealthy survivalist warrior. Backgrounds and specialties should allow creation of the following
a. A lightly armored archer leading a rebellion from the forest (Robin Hood, himself, would, probably, be a Fighter with archery style and Survival skills since he was a nobleman trained in heavy armor and served in the Crusades before returning home)
b. A lightly armored outdoorsman/tracker living on the edges of civilized society. With an animal companion, one might have something along the lines of Grizzly Adams. Without an animal companion, one might have a character along the lines of Daniel Boone, Davy Crockett or even Lewis and Clark.
c. A non-raging lightly armored tribal warrior fighting with two weapons (see the movie Last of the Mohicans)
d. A sword and shield warrior working patrolling the borderlands as part of an organization protecting civilized society from humanoids or monsters
e. A two handed sword wielding beastmaster ( Beastmaster TV series or movie with various critter companions)
f. A military scout
g. an urban based ranger (see 3.0 Masters of the Wild, 3.5 Unearthed Arcana, 3.5 Cityscape Web Enhancement 1).