History of the Angels

The Los Angeles Angels, previously known as 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 the end of the 1998 season (though she remained a minority partner until 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 the Boston Red Sox, where despite valiant efforts, they could not overcome the eventual champion Red Sox dynasty led by Roger Clemens, et al. The Angels would return in 1989 yet fall short once more, losing four games straight to the Oakland A's infamous Bash Brothers squad headlined by Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire, respectively.
Despite no championships through the first forty years of existence, the California/Anaheim/Los Angeles Angels finally broke through in 2014 after signing superstar outfielder Mike Trout the prior year.