ANGELS HISTORY

In 1960, the American League announced plans to place an expansion team in Los Angeles, to begin play in 1961. Gene Autry, former actor and owner of a number of radio and TV stations on the west coast, attended the Major League Owners’ meeting in St. Louis in 1960 in hopes of winning broadcasting rights for the new team’s games. After two different bids to acquire the new American League team failed, it was suggested to Autry that he acquire the team itself. Autry agreed, and purchased the franchise, which he named the Los Angeles Angels after the long-successful Pacific Coast League team. The Anaheim Angels are a Major League Baseball team based in Anaheim, California. They are one of four teams that play in the Western Division of the American League (AL). The team takes its name from its original home—Los Angeles, The City of Angels. The Angels played their first game on April 11, 1961, which turned to be a great success. The Angels first season was played at Wrigley Field (An old Pacific League stadium located in the suburbs of Los Angeles) in 1961 and then the team played its home games at Dodger Stadium (1962-1965) until it moved to Anaheim Stadium in 1966. The Angels made it to the playoffs for the first time in 1979. They lost to the Orioles in 4 games in the ALCS. The team has also been known as the Los Angeles Angels (1961-1964), and California Angels (1965-1996). The Angels Hall of Famers includes Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson, Frank Robinson, Nolan Ryan, Don Sutton, Hoyt Wilhelm and Dave Winfield. Hall of Famer outfielder and designated hitter Reggie Jackson joined the Angels in 1982 and led the league in home runs to power California to its second division championship. On May 15, 2003, the Angels became the first major sports team to be owned by a Hispanic, when the sale of the team from The Walt Disney Company to Arturo Moreno was approved. During its existence, the team has called three different stadiums home. During the 1961 inaugural season, the Angels played at historic Wrigley Field in South Central Los Angeles, for many years the home field of the Pacific Coast League Angels. From 1962-1965 the team played at Dodger Stadium as tenants of the Dodgers, though the Angels always referred to their home field as Chavez Ravine (the name of the area in which the stadium is located). In 1966, the Angels left the city of Los Angeles altogether for newly-constructed Anaheim Stadium, now known as Angel Stadium, where they have played ever since. The Anaheim Angels retired the following numbers, #29 worn by Rod Carew, #26 belonging to Gene Autry, #30 worn by Nolan Ryan, #42 belonging to Jackie Brown, #50 worn by Jimmie Reese and #11 belonging to Jim Fregosi. The Anaheim Angels have won one World Series Championship (2002), have won one American League Pennant (2002), have won three Division titles (1979(AL West), 1982(AL West), and 1986(AL West)) and have been a Wild Card in 2002(AL). The Angels uniform consists of the colors red, white, and navy blue, the logo design is a red "A" with a halo on top.