L.A. Angels History

For many years, there had been talk of an existing American League team relocating to Los Angeles. In 1940, the St. Louis Browns asked AL owners for permission to move to Los Angeles but were turned down. In the end it was the National League that placed a team in Los Angeles in the form of the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1958. When the National League placed a team in New York in the form of the Mets as its tenth franchise, the American League announced plans to place an expansion team in Los Angeles to begin play in 1961.

Gene Autry became the teams first Owner and named his team the Los Angeles Angels. Dodger owner Walter O’ Malley still owned rights to the Pacific Coast League Angels, even though he moved them to Spokan to make way for the Dodgers, so Autry paid O’Malley $300,000 for the rights to the name.

In 1961, the first year of the teams existence, the Angles finished 70-91 for a .435 winning percentage, still the highest winning percentage ever for a first-year major league expansion team. The Angels featured first baseman Steve Bilko and center fielder, El Monte. The Angels played their inaugural season at Wriggly Field in south Los Angeles.

In 1962, under terms of their agreement with O’Malley, the Angels moved to Dodger Stadium.

Blocked by his attempt to get a new stadium in Los Angeles, Autry looked elsewhere. His first choice for a stadium was a site in offered by the city of Long Beach. However, the city insisted the team be renamed the Long Beach Angles, a condition Autry refuse to accept. He was able to strike a deal with the suburban city of Anaheim in Orange County, and construction began on Anaheim Stadium, where the Angles moved to in 1966.

On September 2, 1965, team ownership announced the Los Angeles Angles would now be known as the California Angels. They were the second MLB team to be named after an entire state.

In 1970 the Angles finished third in the AL Western division and Alex Johnson became the first Angel to win an AL batting title. Other notable Angels during this period included, shortstop Jim Fregosi, outfielders Albie Pearson and Leon Wagner, and catcher Buck Rodgers. Fergosi and Rodgers later managed the Angels.

During the 1970′s, Angel fans endured some mediocre years, but in 1972, the Angels acquired Hall of Fame pitcher Nolan Ryan, who became arguably the best pitcher in Angel’s history. Nolan tossed four no-hit games as an Angel and set several strikeout records, most notably a 383-strikeout mark in 1973.

The Angels won their first AL West Division Championship in 1979, under manager Jim Fergosi. Don Baylor became the first designated hitter to win the A.L. MVP award. The Angels had a lineup that included Bert Campaneris, Rod Carew, Dan Ford and Bobby Grich. However, the Angels lost to the Baltimore Orioles 3 games to 1 in the playoffs.

The Angels nearly reached the World Series in 1982 behind Hall of Fame outfielder Reggie Jackson. The Angels won the first two games in the ALCS, but lost the next three in a row to the Milwaukee Braves.

In 1986, the Angels were one strike away from the World Series when closer Donnie Moore came in to shut the door on the Boston Red Sox. Moore gave up a two-strike two-out, two-run home run that put Boston up 6-5. Even though the series had one more game left, the Angles were in shock, and lost the final game 7-6 at Fenway Park. The Angels would not qualify for the playoffs for the next 16 years.

After the collapse in the 1986 ALCS, Angel fans regarded Henderson’s home run off Moore as the point when their team had been the closest to the World Series and Moore became the scapegoat for the Angels loss of the pennant. That one pitch haunted Moore for the rest of his days. He would take his own life three years later claiming he never got over that moment.

In 1995, the Angels suffered the worst collapse in franchise history. The Angels were in first place in the AL West by 11 games in August. The Angels lost key players due to injury during the final stretch and by seasons end were tied with the Seattle Mariners, prompting a one-game playoff for the division title. The Mariners beat the Angles 9-1, forcing the Angles and their fans to endure another heartbreaking season.

Given the teams inability to win a pennant thus far, the postseason disasters of 1982 and 1986, the collapse of 1995, and tragedies such as Bostocks murder (shot to death in 1978) and Moore’s Suicide, it was suggested that there must be a curse on the Angels. To some, the curse was bought on by owner Autry, others suggested it might be the stadium. The Big A, was supposedly built upon an ancient Native American burial ground.

Disney took control of the Angels in 1996. Disney had been the reason for development and growth in Orange County. In 1997, Anaheim Stadium was renamed Edison Field of Anaheim.

Before the 2002 season began, many baseball observers claimed the Angels would finish 3rd place in the AL West. The Angels, managed by Mike Scioscia, went on to win 99 games and a wild-card birth, after a miserable 6-14 start of the regular season. The Angels went on to beat the New York Yankees 3 games to 1 in the ALDS and the Minnesota Twins 4 games to 1 in the ALCS, to win their first AL pennant in franchise history.

In the 2002 World Series they met the San Francisco Giants, led by all-time home run leader Barry Bonds. The turning point of the series came in game six, in what many consider as one of the greatest World Series games ever played. The Angles trailed 5-0 and were 8 outs away from elimination before rallying for 3 runs in both the seventh and eighth innings to win 6-5. It was the biggest comeback in World Series history by a team facing elimination. The Angels won game 7, 4-1, to claim their franchises first World Series.

On May 15, 2003, Disney sold the Angels to advertising magnate Arturo Moreno. The sale made the Angles the first major American sports franchise to be owned by a Hispanic owner. In December of 2003, Edison removed its name from the stadium. On January 3, 2005, Angel’s owner announced that it would change the name of the club to Los Angeles Angles of Anaheim.

In 2004, newly acquired free-agent Vladimir Guerro won the AL MVP as he led the Angels to a fourth AL West championship, their first since 1986. The Angles lost in the ALDS to the eventual champion Boston Red Sox. In 2006 closer Francisco Rodriguez led the MLB and broke a franchise record in saves with 47, making him the youngest closer to record 100 career saves.

In 2007, the Angels finished the season with a 94-68 record winning the American League West Division. Vladimir Guerrero led the team in home runs with 27 and led the team in doubles with 45. Chone Figgins led the Angels in batting with a .330 average. Anchoring the defense were Gold Glove candidates Jeff Matthews at center, Orlando Cabrera at shortstop and Casey Kotchman at first base. Garret Anderson came back late in the season from a hip flexor tear early in the season to deliver a monster second half, his best game of the season was against the New York Yankees on August 21 when he recorded 10 RBIs. John Lackey (19-9, AL best 3.01 ERA) and Kelvin Escobar ( 18-7, 3.40 ERA) had good years, giving the club a one-two punch, while Jered Weaver provided a solid number three starter. Reliever Francisco Rodriguez saved the All-Star Game for the AL and saved 40 regular season games. In the 2007 ALDS, the Angels lost to the Boston Red Sox in a sweep.

The Angels set a club record with 100 wins in 2008 and finished 21 games ahead of the second place Texas Rangers. Francisco Rodriguez set a new Major League record with 62 saves in 69 opportunities. Guerrero joined Lou Gehrig as the only two players in history with 11 consecutive seasons batting at least .300 with 25 or more home runs. Their season however would end in frustration as they would lose again to the Red Sox in four games in the ALDS.

The 2009 season marked a year of tragedy for the Angels. After their beloved club executive Preston Gomez passed away in January, the season began with more heartbreak. Rookie pitcher Nick Adenheart was killed along with two other people when his car was hit by a drunk driver just hours after he pitched a wonderful game against the A’s. The Angels ended the season with a 97-65 record behind their offense that set club records in batting average (.285), average with runners in scoring position (.297), hits (1,604) and RBIs (841). The Angels also set a club record with their .986 fielding percentage and led the league in turning 174 double plays. Scioscia was named AL Manager of the Year and Kendrick Morales had a breakout season and finished fifth in the MVP voting. The dreams of winning a World Series in 2009 came to a halt when they were defeated by the New York Yankees in 6 games after they finally beat their rival Boston Red Sox in the ALDS.