Los Angeles Angels

**History** edit The Los Angeles Angels name originates from the first Los Angeles–based sports team, the Los Angeles Angels of the California League, who took the name from the English translation of Los Angeles, which means 'The Angels' in Spanish. The team name started in 1892. In 1903, the team name continued through the Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League. The current Angels franchise was established by MLB in 1961 after original owner Gene Autry bought the rights to the franchise name from Walter O'Malley, the former Los Angeles Dodgers owner, who had acquired the franchise from Phil Wrigley, the owner of the Chicago Cubs at the time. As stated in the book Under the Halo: The Official History of Angels Baseball, "Autry agreed to buy the franchise name for $350,000, and continue the history of the previously popular Pacific Coast League team as his own expansion team in the MLB." After the Angels joined the MLB, some players from the Angels' PCL team joined the MLB Angels in 1961. As an expansion franchise, the club continued in Los Angeles and played their home games at Los Angeles' Wrigley Field (not to be confused with Chicago's ballpark of the same name), which had formerly been the home of the PCL Angels. The Angels were one of two expansion teams established as a result of the 1961 Major League Baseball expansion, along with the second incarnation of the Washington Senators (now Texas Rangers). The team then moved in 1962 to newly built Dodger Stadium, which the Angels referred to as Chavez Ravine, where they were tenants of the Dodgers through 1965. Angel Stadium (enclosed), 1991 The team's founder, entertainer Gene Autry, owned the franchise for its first 36 years. During Autry's ownership, the team made the postseason three times, but never won the pennant. The team has gone through several name changes in their history, first changing their name from Los Angeles Angels to California Angels on September 2, 1965, with a month still left in the season, in recognition of their upcoming move to the newly constructed Anaheim Stadium in Anaheim at the start of the 1966 season. In 1997, The Walt Disney Company (already the owner of the then Mighty Ducks of Anaheim of the NHL) took control of the team in preparation for a plan to establish a rival cable channel that would've been called "ESPN West." The team extensively renovated Anaheim Stadium, which was then renamed Edison International Field of Anaheim. The City of Anaheim contributed $30 million to the $118 million renovation with a renegotiated lease providing that the names of both the stadium and team contain the word Anaheim. The team was renamed the Anaheim Angels and became a subsidiary of Disney Sports, Inc. (later renamed Anaheim Sports, Inc.). In 1998, the ESPN West plan fell through. On September 26, 2002, the Angels clinched their first playoff spot in 16 years and it was also reported that Disney hired Lehman Brothers, an investment bank, in preparation to sell the team. With just one All-Star (Garret Anderson, named as a reserve) under leadership of manager Mike Scioscia, the Angels won their first pennant and World Series championship in 2002. In 2005, new owner Arte Moreno added Los Angeles to the team's name. In compliance with the terms of its lease with the city of Anaheim, which required Anaheim be a part of the team's name, the team was officially renamed the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Fans, residents, and the municipal governments of both Anaheim and Los Angeles objected to the change, with the City of Anaheim pursuing litigation; nevertheless, the change was eventually upheld in court and the city dropped its lawsuit in 2009. The team usually refers to itself as the Angels or Angels Baseball in its home media market, and the name Los Angeles never appears in the stadium, on the Angels' uniforms, nor on official team merchandise. However, throughout the team's history in Anaheim, the uniforms have traditionally said "Angels" instead of the city or state name, depending on the team's geographic identifier at the time. Local media in Southern California tend to omit a geographic identifier and refer to the team as the Angels or the Halos. Due to this agreement, Topps baseball cards have also omitted the geographic identifier from any of the team’s official trading cards. The Associated Press, the most prominent news service in the U.S., refers to the team as the Los Angeles Angels, the Angels, or Los Angeles. In 2013, the team officially planned to drop of Anaheim from its name and restore its original name Los Angeles Angels, as part of a new Angel Stadium lease negotiated with the Anaheim city government. Although the deal was never finalized, as of 2020, most official sources omit the of Anaheim suffix. On December 20, 2019, the city of Anaheim voted to sell Angel Stadium and the land around it to a group led by the team owner Arte Moreno for $325 million. The deal would have included a new or refurbished stadium, 5,175 apartments and condominiums, 2.7 million square feet (251,000 square meters) of office space, and 1.1 million square feet (102,000 square meters) of retail stores, restaurants and hotels. The deal was later canceled by the city council due to bribery and corruption allegations by the FBI on the deal between an Angels Baseball employee and Anaheim mayor Harry Sidhu, allegedly in exchange for a $1 million campaign contribution toward the mayor's reelection. Mayor Sidhu resigned on May 24, 2022. In 2023 the Angels scored a franchise record 25 runs against the Rockies, scoring 13 runs in the third inning alone. - ^ Donovan, Pete (2012). Under the Halo: The Official History of Angels Baseball. San Rafael, California: INSIGHT EDITIONS. pp. 35, 36. ISBN 978-1-60887-019-6. - ^ The Sporting News, The Complete Baseball Record Book (St. Louis: The Sporting News, 1994), 223. Also see the American League standings printed in the New York Times on September 4, 1965. - ^ Shaikin, Bill (June 21, 2022). "Still the Angels' finest hour: A look back at their 2002 World Series win". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 15, 2025. - ^ Kasindorf, Martin (January 30, 2006). "Angels' name prompts devil of a lawsuit". USA Today. Archived from the original on June 29, 2012. Retrieved December 25, 2020. - ^ Shaikin, Bill (July 15, 1998). "Disney Deals With the Devil, Kills Regional Cable Channel". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 15, 2025. - ^ Shaikin, Bill (September 26, 2002). "Disney Hires Bank for Attempted Sale". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 15, 2025. - ^ Shaikin, Bill (October 28, 2022). "Fantasyland!". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved May 15, 2025. - ^ "Angels Baseball announces official name change". Angels.com (Press release). MLB Advanced Media. January 3, 2005. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved May 19, 2020. - ^ Gonzalez, Alden (August 31, 2013). "Report: After vote, Halos may drop 'of Anaheim'". MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved May 27, 2018. - ^ Benne, Jon (September 4, 2013). "Angels dropping Anaheim from name". SB Nation. Archived from the original on August 18, 2017. Retrieved May 30, 2017. - ^ Schoch, Josh (September 4, 2013). "Angels Will Finally Be Allowed to Drop Anaheim from Their Team Name". Bleacher Report. Archived from the original on June 6, 2017. Retrieved June 1, 2017. - ^ Shaikin, Bill (August 30, 2013). "'Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim' could be no more". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on May 5, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2020. - ^ "Los Angeles Angels History". Angels.com. MLB Advanced Media. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2020. - ^ Marroquin, Art; Tully, Sarah (January 7, 2015). "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim: 10 years later, how big of a deal was the name change". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on June 14, 2017. Retrieved June 18, 2017. In 2013, the City Council initially approved a memorandum of understanding that would allow the team to strip the of Anaheim from its name, as well as other financial arrangements. Follow-up negotiations, however, haven't happened – and the Angels have threatened to leave Anaheim. - ^ Shaikin, Bill (September 27, 2016). "Move into a new stadium? Renovate the old one? Angels could just play out their lease in Anaheim". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on July 2, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2020. - ^ Moura, Pedro (February 18, 2017). "Angels to stay in Anaheim through at least 2029". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on May 6, 2017. Retrieved December 25, 2020. - ^ Park, Jeong; Robinson, Alicia (December 21, 2019). "Anaheim votes to sell Angel Stadium and the land around it for $325 million". Orange County Register. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved December 25, 2020. - ^ "Angels owner agrees to cancel Angel Stadium land deal". Spectrumnews1.com. May 28, 2022. Retrieved July 14, 2022.