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For the Pacific Coast League franchise see: Los Angeles Angels (PCL).
The Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim are a Major League Baseball franchise based in Anaheim, California and aligned in the Western Division of the American League. They are informally referred to as the "Halos". - Founded: 1961 (American League expansion)
- Formerly known as:
- Home ballpark: Angel Stadium
- Uniform colors: Red and White
- Logo design: Red "A" with a halo on top
- Wild Card titles won (1): 2002
- Division titles won (4): 1979, 1982, 1986, 2004
- American League pennants won (1): 2002
- World Series championships won (1): 2002
Franchise history
From 1903 through 1957, the Los Angeles Angels were one of the mainstays of the Pacific Coast League, winning the PCL pennant 12 times. After the 1957 season, the Angels and their crosstown rivals, the Hollywood Stars, were forced to relocate when the National League Brooklyn Dodgers confirmed their long-rumored move to L.A. for the 1958 season.
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 A.L. 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 PCL team.
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 PCL 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.
For most of its history, the team has foundered on the field and in the marketplace. But, there have been a few bright spots. In 1961, the first year of the team’s existence, the Halos finished 70_91 for a .435 winning percentage, still the highest winning percentage ever for a first_year major league expansion team. Moreover, they not only finished 9 games ahead of their fellow expansionists, the Washington Senators (now the Texas Rangers), but also 9 games ahead of the established Kansas City Athletics. In 1962, the Angels -- amazingly -- were a contender for the American League pennant for most of the season, finishing in third place (out of 10 teams), 10 games in back of the Yankees!
The Angels won their first American League West Division championship in 1979, losing what then was a best 3-out-of-5 American League Championship Series to a superior Baltimore Orioles team, 3 games to 1. The Angels won Game 3 at home, scoring twice in the bottom of the 9th inning to shade Baltimore 4-3.
The Angels nearly reached the World Series in the 1982 postseason. After clinching first place in the AL West Division, the Angels won the first two games of the ALCS against the A.L. East champion Milwaukee Brewers -- then lost three in a row to lose the series. As Steve Bisheff wrote in Tales from the Angels Dugout, “No team in history had ever come back from an 0-2 deficit to win in a best-of-five series. Of course, no team had ever faced the Angels in that situation.”
Again, the Angels nearly reached the World Series in the 1986 post season. Again champions of the American League West, the Angels faced the Boston Red Sox in the ALCS (now best 4-out-of-7). Leading in the series 3 games to 1, the Angels were one win away from defeating Boston and going to the World Series for the first time in their franchise history. Donnie Moore came in to pitch the top of the 9th inning of Game Five with a 5_2 lead. Though twice the Halos were one strike away from winning the A.L. Pennant, Moore gave up a two_out, two_strike, two_run home run to Dave Henderson that put Boston ahead 6-5. After the Angels tied the game in the bottom of the 9th, Boston would later win the game 7-6 in 11 innings and win the remaining two games in the series to play in the 1986 World Series.
In 1995 the Angels outdid themselves. In first place by 11 games in August, the Angels collapsed during the final week of the season to finish in a tie with the Seattle Mariners for the A.L. West Division championship. Behind clutch pitching by Randy Johnson, the M's dispatched the Halos 9-1 in Seattle to win the title.
Then came 2002. Unfancied by pundits before the season, the Angels exceeded expectations, winning 99 games and edging out Seattle for the American League "wildcard" berth in the postseason. They defeated the New York Yankees 3 games to 1 in the American League Division Series and the Minnesota Twins 4 games to 1 in the ALCS to advance to the World Series for the first time in franchise history. In the World Series they defeated the San Francisco Giants in seven games, after losing three of the first five. Down 3 games to 2, the Angels found themselves behind 5_0 in Game Six with but eight outs remaining and no one on base. In the greatest comeback in World Series history by a team facing elimination, the Halos rallied to win 6_5, then won the 7th game 4_1 to win their first and only World Series. Third baseman Troy Glaus was named the MVP of the Series. Twenty-year-old rookie relief pitcher Francisco Rodríguez won five postseason games, never having won a major league game before. Angel pitcher John Lackey became the first rookie pitcher to win the 7th game of the World Series in 93 years.
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.
In a widely critized and controversial move on January 3, 2005 the club announced that it would change its formal name from Anaheim Angels. Officials of the city of Anaheim, who as part of the team's stadium lease required the team to use "Anaheim" in the team's name, filed a temporary order to stop the change which was rejected. The city is now considering appealing the decision, dropping the case, pursuing a settlement or proceeding to trial.
Players of note
Current stars
Not to be forgotten
Retired numbers
Minor league affiliates
External links - Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim official website (http://anaheim.angels.mlb.com/NASApp/mlb/ana/homepage/ana_homepage.jsp)
- Angelswin.com - A Fan Site (http://www.angelswin.com)
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