SPORTS TEAM HISTORY

Sports Team HistorySports Logo History
  • Home
  • Sports History
    • Baseball History
    • Basketball History
    • College History
    • Football History
    • Hockey History
    • Soccer History
  • Greatest Player Polls
  • More…
    • STH News
    • Team History Forum
    • Sports Team History Products
STH #3 Home Header 1440x650

California Angels Team History

STH Clash of Logos MLB - Banner
STH Products Sale Banner
Sports News History Banner
California Angels




  • 1965
  • 1970's
  • California Angels 1965

    Move From Los Angeles to Anaheim

    Stymied in his attempt to get a new stadium in Los Angeles, Autry looked elsewhere. His first choice for a stadium was the site offered by the city of Long Beach. However, the city insisted the team be renamed the Long Beach Angels, a condition Autry refused to accept. He was able to strike a deal with the suburban city ...
    Read More
    See Full Story
  • Nolan Ryan

    The Ryan Express

    During the 1970s, although Angel fans endured some mediocre years on the field they also were able to enjoy the heroics of fireballer Nolan Ryan, who tossed four of his seven no-hitters as an Angel. He also set several strikeout records throughout his career, most notably a 383-strikeout mark in 1973, still a major league record. Ryan was acquired in ...
    Read More
    See Full Story

Angels Primary Logo
Angels Alternate Logo
Angels Wordmark Logo

History of the Angels

The California Angels have a long and illustrious history in Major League Baseball. Founded in 1961 as an expansion team, the Angels have become one of baseball’s most successful franchises. Over nearly sixty years, they have won six division titles and made nine trips to the playoffs. The team has also featured some of baseball’s greatest players, including Nolan Ryan, Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson, and Mike Trout.

The Angels began life as a minor league affiliate for the Los Angeles Dodgers before becoming an independent franchise during MLB's expansion era in 1961. They quickly found success under manager Bill Rigney who led them to four consecutive winning seasons from 1962-1965, including two second-place finishes behind future Hall Of Famers Sandy Koufax & Don Drysdale's Dodgers teams. During this period, they were known by their original name, “Los Angeles Angels.” Still, they changed it when owner Gene Autry moved them southward closer to Anaheim following the 1965 season, thus beginning what is now known as “the Anaheim Era."

Under manager Lefty Phillips, the Halos continued their success, making three more playoff appearances between 1967-1979, with stars like Bobby Knoop, Jim Fregosi, Nolan Ryan & Frank Tanana leading them. During this time, they also adopted their iconic logo featuring a haloed angel bearing wings holding up a bat while wearing softball cleats, which still adorns all Angel uniforms today.

In 1979 new ownership came into play with Gene Autry selling off his shares, resulting in Jackie Autry becoming majority owner, ushering forth what many fans consider "The Golden Age" of Angel baseball due largely thanks to her husband's financial commitment towards building out competitive rosters throughout her tenure until she sold off controlling interest at end 1998 season (though she remained minority partner till 2002 ). This period saw great successes come via names like Brian Downing, Wally Joyner & Chili Davis, among others culminating with a World Series appearance in 1986 against Boston Red Sox, where despite valiant efforts, could not overcome the eventual champion Red Sox dynasty led by Roger Clemens et al.; however, would return 1989 yet fall short once more losing four games straight Oakland A's infamous Bash Brothers squad headlined by Jose Canseco Mark McGwire respectively.

Despite no championships through the first forty years of existence, California/Anaheim/Los Angeles Angles finally broke in 2014 after signing superstar outfielder Mike Trout the prior year.





Established
1961

City
Los Angeles - Anaheim - Los Angeles (Anaheim)

League History
2000 – Present / Major League Baseball
1961 – 1999 / American League

Team History
2005 – Present / Los Angeles Angels
1997 – 2004 / Anaheim Angels
1965 – 1996 / California Angels
1961 – 1964 / Los Angeles Angels

Nickname
Angels – The “Los Angeles Angels” name originates from the first Los Angeles based sports team, the Los Angeles Angels, who took the name “Angels” from the English translation of “Los Angeles,” which means “The Angels” in Spanish.

Championship
World Series 0
2002

Stadium
2004 – Present / Angel Stadium of Anaheim
1998 – 2003 / Edison International Field
1965 – 1997 / Anaheim Stadium

*Los Angeles*
1962 – 1964 / Chavez Ravine
1961 / Wrigley Field

Owner
2003 – Present / Arturo Moreno
1996 – 2003 / The Walt Disney Company
1961 – 1996 / Gene Autry

Who is the greatest California Angels?
  • Add your greatest player

To qualify as the greatest player for this team, the player must have played one season for this team. If not, we will remove the player.
* verifies that player has played for this team as an added player by a fan.

Retired Number
11 / Jim Fregosi
26 / Gene Autry
29 / Rod Carew
30 / Nolan Ryan
42 / Jackie Robinson
50 / Jimmy Reese

*Blue is this team’s history

Sports News History

Sports News Worth Knowing

RSS MLB Headline News

  • Their son the talk of New York? Anthony Volpe’s parents know exactly what that means
  • MLB, minor leaguers reach first ever collective bargaining agreement; deal includes pay raises
  • 2023 MLB predictions: What our experts think
  • Opening Day FAQ: Giants vs. Yankees
  • Yoshida crushes first home run for Red Sox 

Sports Market History

Sports Team Marketplace of Champions!

MLB Logo Battle

MLB Greatest Player

STH Product Sale

MLB Teams
Menu
  • Arizona Diamondbacks
  • Atlanta Braves
    • Milwaukee Braves
    • Boston Braves
    • Boston Bees
    • Boston Rustlers
    • Boston Doves
    • Boston Beaneaters
  • Baltimore Orioles
    • St. Louis Browns
    • Milwaukee Brewers
  • Boston Red Sox
    • Boston Americans
  • Chicago Cubs
    • Chicago Orphans
  • Chicago White Sox
    • Chicago White Stockings
  • Cincinnati Reds
    • Cincinnati Redlegs
    • Cincinnati Red Stockings
  • Cleveland Guardians
    • Cleveland Indians
    • Cleveland Naps
    • Cleveland Blues
  • Colorado Rockies
  • Detroit Tigers
  • Houston Astros
    • Houston Colt 45’s
  • Kansas City Royals
  • Los Angeles Angels
    • Anaheim Angels
    • California Angels
  • Los Angeles Dodgers
    • Brooklyn Dodgers
    • Brooklyn Robins
    • Brooklyn Superbas
  • Miami Marlins
    • Florida Marlins
  • Milwaukee Brewers
    • Seattle Pilots
  • Minnesota Twins
    • Washington Senators
  • New York Mets
  • New York Yankees
    • New York Highlanders
    • Baltimore Orioles
  • Oakland Athletics
    • Kansas City Athletics
    • Philadelphia Athletics
  • Philadelphia Phillies
  • Pittsburgh Pirates
  • San Diego Padres
  • San Francisco Giants
    • New York Giants
    • New York Gothams
  • Seattle Mariners
  • St. Louis Cardinals
  • Tampa Bay Rays
    • Tampa Bay Devil Rays
  • Texas Rangers
    • Washington Senators
  • Toronto Blue Jays
  • Washington Nationals
    • Montreal Expos

STH News

Latest Sports Team History News

History Of the Oldest NBA Team: Sacramento Kings

March 21, 2023

The Historic Success of Duke’s Mike Krzyzewski

March 21, 2023

The Sponsorship History of New York Red Bulls

March 16, 2023

It’s Now Clear: Ronaldo’s Exit Was Best for Both Manchester United and Cristiano

March 14, 2023

Generic selectors
Exact matches only
Search in title
Search in content
Post Type Selectors
Search in posts
Search in pages
Sports Logo History
Sports News History
Sports Market History
  • About
  • Contact
  • Disclaimer
  • Privacy Policy

Sports Team History
© 2013 - 2023 Sports History Group LLC - All Rights Reserved
  • Arizona Hotshots
  • Atlanta Legends
  • Birmingham Iron
  • Memphis Express
  • Orlando Apollos
  • Salt Lake Stallions
  • San Antonio Commanders
  • San Diego Fleet