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{{Infobox Minor League Baseball |
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''For the American League franchise see: [[Anaheim Angels|Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim]].'' |
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| name = Los Angeles Angels |
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| firstseason = 1892 |
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| lastseason = 1957 |
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| allyears = 1892–1893, 1895, 1899–1957 |
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| city = Los Angeles, California |
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| logo = |
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| uniformlogo = LosAngelesAngels(PCL)CapLogo.png |
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| past class level = {{plainlist| |
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*Open (1952–1957) |
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*[[Triple-A (baseball)|Triple-A]] (1946–1951) |
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*[[Double-A (baseball)|Double-A]] (1912–1945) |
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*Class A (1903–1911) |
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*Class B (1892) |
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}} |
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| league = [[Pacific Coast League]] (1903–1957) |
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| conference = |
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| division = |
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| past league = {{plainlist| |
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*[[California League]] (1901) |
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*[[Southern California League|So. California League]] (1899–1900) |
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*[[California Winter League]] (1895) |
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*[[California League]] (1892–1893) |
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}} |
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| pastmajorleague = {{plainlist| |
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*[[1957 Brooklyn Dodgers season|Brooklyn Dodgers (1957)]] |
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*[[Chicago Cubs]] (1932–1956) |
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}} |
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| pastnames = {{plainlist| |
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*Los Angeles Angels (1903–1957) |
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*Los Angeles Looloos (1901–1903) |
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*Los Angeles-Pacific (1900) |
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*Los Angeles Angelenos (1899) |
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*Los Angeles Rabbits (1895) |
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*[[Los Angeles Angels (California League)|Los Angeles Angels]] (1893) |
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*Los Angeles Seraphs (1892) |
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}} |
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| pastparks = {{plainlist| |
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*[[Wrigley Field (Los Angeles)|Wrigley Field]] (1925–1957) |
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*[[Washington Park (Los Angeles)|Washington Park]] (1911–1925) |
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*[[Chutes Park]] (1903–1910) |
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}} |
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| classchamps = |
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| leaguechamps = 1903, 1905, 1907, 1908, 1916, 1921, 1926, 1933, 1934, 1947, 1956 |
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| conferencechamps = |
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| divisionchamps = |
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}} |
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The '''Los Angeles Angels''' were a professional baseball team based in [[Los Angeles]] that played in the [[Pacific Coast League]] (PCL) from 1903 through 1957. |
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The Angels were formed in 1903 as charter members of the PCL. In 1958, they were forced to move to a smaller market as a result of the [[Brooklyn Dodgers]]' move to Los Angeles, which brought [[Major League Baseball]] competition into the PCL's territory. The franchise relocated to [[Spokane, Washington]], as the [[Spokane Indians]]. |
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[[Image:LAAngels-1956-cap-logo.PNG|right|LA Angels 1956 Cap Logo]] |
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The 1903, 1934, and 1943 Angels were recognized as being among the [[The National Baseball Association's top 100 minor league teams|100 greatest minor league teams of all time]]. The 1934 team, with a 137–50 record, was ranked as the number one minor league team.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.milb.com/milb/history/top100.jsp |title=Top 100 Teams |publisher=MiLB.com |date=2001 |access-date=May 9, 2017}}</ref> |
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From 1903 through 1957, the '''Los Angeles Angels''', a [[minor league baseball]] team, were one of the mainstays of the [[Pacific Coast League]], winning the PCL pennant 12 times. The Angels, along with the [[Portland Beavers]], [[Oakland Oaks (PCL)|Oakland Oaks]], and [[San Francisco Seals (PCL)|San Francisco Seals]], were charter members of the Pacific Coast League which was founded in 1903. From 1903 through 1925, the team played at 15,000-seat Washington Park, at Hill and Eighth Streets in downtown Los Angeles. During this time, the Angels (or “Seraphs” as they were sometimes called), won pennants in 1903, 1905, 1907, 1908, 1916, 1918, and 1921. In 1918, the team finished second in regular season play, but won the postseason series against their cross-town rivals at the time, the [[Vernon Tigers]]. |
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==Team history== |
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In 1921, the team was purchased by chewing-gum magnate [[William Wrigley|William K. Wrigley, Jr.]], the owner of the [[Chicago Cubs]] of the [[National League]]. When Wrigley could not get the city of Los Angeles to make the improvements to Washington Park he requested, he began construction of his own 21,000-seat stadium, appropriately named [[Wrigley Field (Los Angeles)|Wrigley Field]], at 42nd Place and Avalon Blvd. in what is now known as [[South Central Los Angeles]]. The Angels began play at Wrigley in 1926, and responded by winning their eighth PCL pennant, finishing 10½ games ahead of the second-place Oakland Oaks. |
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[[File:LAAngelsPCL-logohistory.png|left|thumb|Progression of LA Angels logotype.]] |
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From 1903 through 1957, the '''Los Angeles Angels''', a PCL team, were one of the mainstays of the [[Pacific Coast League]], winning the PCL pennant 12 times. The Angels, along with the [[Portland Beavers]], [[Oakland Oaks (PCL)|Oakland Oaks]], [[Sacramento Solons]], [[San Francisco Seals (baseball)|San Francisco Seals]], and [[Seattle Rainiers|Seattle Indians]] were charter members of the Pacific Coast League which was founded in 1903. |
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From 1903 through 1925, the team played at 15,000-seat [[Washington Park (Los Angeles)|Washington Park]] (also known as [[Chutes Park]]), just south of downtown Los Angeles. Both the team and the park were founded by James Furlong "Jim" Morley (1869–1940), an entrepreneur involved in bowling, prize fighting, billiards, and gemstones as well as baseball.<ref>Dennis Snelling, ''The Greatest Minor League: A History of the Pacific Coast League, 1903–1957'' (McFarland, 2012; {{ISBN|0786465247}}), p. 15.</ref> |
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The Seraphs won the pennant again in 1933. In 1934, they fielded what is regarded as the greatest team in the history of the minor leagues. The 1934 Angels finished at 137-50 (.733) -- 35½ games ahead of the [[Mission Reds]] on an annualized basis (the PCL used a split season format that year). They were so good that their opponent in the postseason series (which the Angels won) was an all-star team comprised of players from the other seven PCL teams. |
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During this time, the Angels (or '''Looloos'''<ref>Snelling, ''The Greatest Minor League'', p. 16.</ref> or '''Seraphs''' as they were sometimes called), won pennants in 1903, 1905, 1907, 1908, 1916, 1918, and 1921. In 1918, the team finished second in regular season play, but won the postseason series against their cross-town rivals at the time, the [[Vernon Tigers]]. From 1915 to 1921, the Angels were owned by John F. "Johnny" Powers, Los Angeles socialite. The 1916 team was managed by [[Frank Chance]], baseball Hall of Famer, noted as part of "[[Baseball's Sad Lexicon|Tinker to Evers to Chance]]." |
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The team won pennants in 1938, 1943, 1944, and 1947, with the 1943 team being considered among the best in minor league history. For the next eight years, however, the Angels struggled to remain mediocre at best. In 1949, the Seraphs finished in last place, for only the third time in 47 years. Then, after finishing third in 1955, the Angels won what would be their last pennant in the PCL in 1956. Led by their portly, popular first baseman [[Steve Bilko]], the Seraphs finished 101-61 (.637), 16 games in front of the runner-up [[Seattle Rainiers]]. |
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In 1921, the team was purchased by chewing-gum magnate [[William Wrigley Jr.]], the owner of the [[Chicago Cubs]] of the [[National League (baseball)|National League]]. When Wrigley could not get the city of Los Angeles to make the improvements to Washington Park he requested, he began construction of his own 21,000-seat stadium, appropriately named [[Wrigley Field (Los Angeles)|Wrigley Field]], at 42nd Place and Avalon Boulevard in what is now known as [[South Central Los Angeles]]. The Angels began play at Wrigley in 1926, and responded by winning their eighth PCL pennant, {{frac|10|1|2}} games ahead of the second-place Oakland Oaks. The stadium was best known as the venue for the [[1960 in television|1960]] TV show ''[[Home Run Derby (TV series)|Home Run Derby]]'', filmed in December 1959. |
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In 1909, the PCL added two teams to become a six-team league (in 1919 it added two more). One of the new teams was located in the nearby town of [[Vernon, California|Vernon]], and the Angels had their first cross-town rival in the Vernon Tigers. Why Vernon, a small town? Simply because Vernon was one of only two cities in Los Angeles County that was “wet” (i.e., where the sale and consumption of alcohol was legal)! With alcoholic beverages as an attraction, the Tigers attracted big crowds by the standards of the day, and won three pennants during their 17-year history. With the ratification of the [[Eighteenth Amendment]] and the criminalizing of alcohol consumption, however, crowds became sparse and the Tigers were sold to [[San Francisco, California|San Francisco]] interests and moved there for the 1926 season. |
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The Seraphs won the pennant again in 1933, and they fielded what is regarded as one of the greatest teams in the history of baseball in 1934.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.minorleaguebaseball.com/app/milb/history/top100.jsp?idx=1|title = The Official Site of Minor League Baseball}}</ref> They finished at {{winning percentage|137|50|record=y}}, {{frac|35|1|2}} games ahead of the [[Mission Reds]] on an annualized basis (the PCL used a split season format that year). They were so good that their opponent in the postseason series (which the Angels won) was an all-star team composed of players from the other seven PCL teams. |
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The move of the Tigers, though, prompted the owner of the [[Salt Lake Bees]] to move his team to Los Angeles for the 1926 season, where the team began play as the Hollywood Bees, but soon changed their name to the [[Hollywood Stars]]. This first version of the Stars, though supposedly representing [[Hollywood]], actually played their home games as tenants of the Angels at Wrigley Field. Though the Stars won pennants in 1929 and 1930, they never developed much of a fan base. They were merely a team to watch when the Angels were on the road. After the 1935 season, Angel owner Wrigley doubled the Stars’ rent, whereupon the Stars moved to [[San Diego, California|San Diego]] for the 1936 season, becoming the [[San Diego Padres (PCL)|San Diego Padres]], and Los Angeles became a one-team city once more for the 1936 and 1937 seasons. |
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The team won pennants in 1938, 1943, 1944, and 1947, with the 1943 team being considered among the best in league history. For the next eight years, however, the Angels struggled to remain mediocre at best. In 1949, the Seraphs finished in last place, for only the third time in 47 years. Then, after finishing third in 1955, the Angels won what would be their last pennant in the PCL in 1956. Led by their portly, popular first baseman [[Steve Bilko]], the Seraphs finished {{winning percentage|101|61|record=y}}, sixteen games ahead of the runner-up [[Seattle Rainiers]]. Their manager was [[Bob Scheffing]], who later managed the [[Detroit Tigers]] and [[Chicago Cubs]]. |
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In 1938, the old Vernon Tigers, who had played in San Francisco as the Mission Reds since 1926, moved back to Los Angeles, this time as the second version of the Hollywood Stars and, like their predecessors, played their 1938 home games in Wrigley Field. After one season, though, the team was sold to new owners, among them Robert H. “Bob” Cobb, owner of the [[Brown Derby]] restaurant and for whom the [[Cobb salad]] is named. They sold stock in the team to movie stars, movie moguls, and Hollywood civic leaders. Moreover, the team actually played in the Hollywood area, beginning in 1939 when Gilmore Field was opened in the Fairfax district adjacent to Hollywood. |
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==Area rivals== |
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The new Stars (or “Twinks”) caught on and became a very popular team, winning three pennants before 1958. They were genuine rivals to the Angels, and it was not uncommon for fights between the teams to break out during Angels-Stars games. In fact, on August 2, 1953, a brawl between the two teams lasted 30 minutes, broken up only when 50 riot police were sent to Gilmore Field by Chief of Police William Parker, who was at home watching the game on television when the fight started. |
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In 1909, the PCL added two teams to become a six-team league (in 1919 it added two more). One of the new teams was located in the nearby town of [[Vernon, California|Vernon]], and the Angels had their first cross-town rival in the Vernon Tigers. Vernon, a small town, was one of only two cities in Los Angeles County that had legalized the sale of alcohol—with alcoholic beverages as an attraction, the Tigers attracted big crowds by the standards of the day, and won three pennants during their 17-year history. In 1919, the Tigers were purchased by [[Roscoe Arbuckle|Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle]]. Opening day in 1919 featured a preliminary "game" which included Arbuckle, [[Tom Mix]], and [[Buster Keaton]]. With the ratification of the [[Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution|18th Amendment]] and the criminalizing of alcohol consumption, however, crowds became sparse and the Tigers were sold to [[San Francisco]] interests and moved there for the 1926 season. |
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The move of the Tigers prompted the owner of the [[Salt Lake Bees]] to move his team to Los Angeles for the 1926 season, where the team began play as the Hollywood Bees, but soon changed their name to the [[Hollywood Stars]]. This first version of the Stars, though supposedly representing [[Hollywood, Los Angeles|Hollywood]], actually played home games as tenants of the Angels at Wrigley Field. Though the Stars won pennants in 1929 and 1930, they never developed much of a fan base. They were merely a team to watch when the Angels were on the road. After the 1935 season, the Angels doubled the Stars’ rent, whereupon the Stars moved to [[San Diego, California|San Diego]] for the 1936 season, becoming the [[San Diego Padres (PCL)|San Diego Padres]], and Los Angeles became a one-team city once more for the 1936 and 1937 seasons. |
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Early in 1957, Philip Wrigley, who had inherited the team from his father, sold the Angels and Wrigley Field to [[Los Angeles Dodgers|Brooklyn Dodgers]] owner Walter F. O’Malley for the then-astronomical sum of $3,000,000 PLUS a Texas League team, the [[Fort Worth Panthers]]. O’Malley assured the PCL owners that he intended to operate the Angels as a PCL team as had the Wrigleys. He kept his promise – for one season. |
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In 1938, the old Vernon Tigers, who had played in San Francisco as the Mission Reds since 1926, moved back to Los Angeles, this time as the second version of the Hollywood Stars and, like their predecessors, played their 1938 home games in Wrigley Field. After one season, though, the team was sold to new owners, among them [[Robert H. Cobb]], owner of the [[Brown Derby]] restaurant and for whom the [[Cobb salad]] is named. They sold stock in the team to movie stars, movie moguls, and Hollywood civic leaders. Moreover, the team actually played in the Hollywood area, beginning in 1939 when Gilmore Field was opened in the [[Fairfax District, Los Angeles, California|Fairfax District]] adjacent to Hollywood. |
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After the 1957 season, the Angels and the Stars were forced to relocate when the Dodgers confirmed their long-rumored move to Los Angeles for the 1958 season. The Angels became the [[Spokane Indians]] in 1958. The Stars, in a sense, "returned" to Salt Lake City (from whence the original Stars had moved in 1926) in the same year, becoming the Salt Lake Bees once more. |
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The new Stars (or "Twinks") caught on and became a very popular team, winning three pennants before 1958. They were genuine rivals to the Angels, and it was not uncommon for fights between the teams to break out during games. In fact, on August 2, 1953, a brawl between the two teams lasted 30 minutes, broken up only when 50 riot police were sent to Gilmore Field by Chief of Police [[William H. Parker (police officer)|William Parker]], who was at home watching the game on television when the fight started. |
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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 (who had been a minority stockholder in the Stars) agreed, and purchased the franchise. He named the new team the [[Anaheim Angels|Los Angeles Angels]], after the long-successful PCL team, paying Walter O'Malley $300,000 for the rights to the name, which O'Malley still owned. The new Angels played their 1961 inaugural year -- where else? -- in Wrigley Field. |
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===The beginning of the end=== |
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[[Category:Defunct baseball teams]] |
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Early in 1957, Philip Wrigley, who had inherited the team from his father, sold the Angels and Wrigley Field to [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] owner [[Walter O'Malley]] for the then-astronomical sum of $3,000,000 (${{Inflation|US|3000000|1957|r=-2|fmt=c}} today) and ownership of the [[Fort Worth Panthers]] of the [[Texas League]]. O'Malley assured the PCL owners that he intended to operate the Angels as a PCL team, as had the Wrigleys. He kept his promise – for only one season. The ownership of the minor league team also gave O'Malley exclusive rights to major league baseball in Los Angeles, and he used this to relocate the Dodgers. |
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After the 1957 season, the Angels and the Stars were relocated when the Dodgers confirmed their long-rumored move to Los Angeles for the 1958 season. The Angels relocated to [[Spokane, Washington]], where they continued as the [[Spokane Indians]] in 1958. The Stars, in a sense, "returned" to Salt Lake City (whence the original Stars had moved in 1926), becoming the [[Salt Lake City Bees]] once more. |
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The new Los Angeles Dodgers would adopt the interlocking "LA" cap logo of the Angels, with a color change to Dodger Blue and white. |
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===After Los Angeles=== |
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After Los Angeles, the franchise had stays in [[Spokane, Washington]], ([[Spokane Indians|Indians]], 1958–1971) and [[Albuquerque, New Mexico]], (where it assumed the name [[Albuquerque Dukes|Dukes]], a venerable baseball franchise name in the "Duke City") from 1972 to 2000. The franchise was sold and became the third incarnation of the [[Portland Beavers]] {{nowrap|(2001–2010).}} |
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In 2010, the franchise was purchased by [[San Diego Padres]]' principal owner [[Jeff Moorad]], after the Portland City Council chose to renovate [[Providence Park|PGE Park]] as a soccer-only facility for the [[Portland Timbers]] of [[Major League Soccer]] rather than continue as a joint-use baseball and soccer stadium.<ref name=orgten>{{cite news |url=https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2010/02/portland_city_council_approves_1.html |title=Portland City Council approves soccer deal for PGE Park |work=The Oregonian |location=(Portland) |
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|last=Mayer |first=James |date=February 3, 2010 |access-date=February 20, 2011}}</ref> The franchise was temporarily relocated to [[Tucson, Arizona]], for the 2011 season as the [[Tucson Padres]].<ref>"Padres' Triple-A Club to play in Tucson in '11", San Diego Padres Official Website [https://web.archive.org/web/20101115225204/http://sandiego.padres.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20101104&content_id=16001978&vkey=news_sd&c_id=sd]</ref> Moorad intended to have the team play in [[Escondido, California|Escondido]], a suburb northeast of San Diego, starting in 2013; however, those plans fell through.<ref>"Council votes to Bring Baseball to Escondido", San Diego Union-Tribune, December 15, 2010. [http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/2010/dec/15/escondido-council-approves-moving-ahead-ballpark/] Retrieved 2-20-2011</ref> After three seasons in Tucson, they moved in 2014 to [[El Paso, Texas]],<ref>"Mayor decides against veto, baseball in downtown by 2014", KVIA {{cite web |url=http://www.kvia.com/news/Mayor-decides-against-veto-baseball-in-downtown-by-2014/-/391068/16678924/-/14q0kym/-/index.html |title=Mayor decides not to veto City Council's baseball stadium vote | News - Home |access-date=2013-10-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130127060421/http://www.kvia.com/news/Mayor-decides-against-veto-baseball-in-downtown-by-2014/-/391068/16678924/-/14q0kym/-/index.html |archive-date=2013-01-27 }} Retrieved 09-20-2012</ref> and became the [[El Paso Chihuahuas]].<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.milb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20131022&content_id=63238558&fext=.jsp&vkey=news_milb&sid=milb | title=Chihuahuas rule the day in El Paso | publisher=Minor League Baseball | work=MiLB.com | date=October 22, 2013 | access-date=October 22, 2013 | author=Hill, Benjamin}}</ref> |
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On May 26, 2012, the MLB [[Los Angeles Angels]] wore the PCL franchise's 1950s uniforms during a game at [[Safeco Field]] against the [[Seattle Mariners]], as part of the Mariners' turn back the clock 1950s game. |
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==Affiliations== |
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The Angels were affiliated with the following [[major league baseball|major league]] teams: |
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{| class=wikitable |
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|- |
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! Year |
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! Affiliation(s) |
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|- |
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| 1921–56 || [[Chicago Cubs]] |
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|- |
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| 1957 || [[Brooklyn Dodgers]] |
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|} |
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==Notable Angels with MLB experience== |
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{| |
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*[[Gene Baker]] |
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*[[Steve Bilko]] |
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*[[Cliff Chambers]] |
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*[[Dick Conger]] |
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*[[Chuck Connors]] |
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*[[Gavvy Cravath]] |
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| |
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*[[Sam Crawford]] |
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*[[Frank Demaree]] |
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*[[Brad Hogg (baseball)|Brad Hogg]] |
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*[[Roy Hughes (baseball)|Roy Hughes]] |
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*[[Tommy Lasorda]] |
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| |
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*[[Clarence Maddern]] |
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*[[Gene Mauch]] |
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*[[Johnny Moore (baseball)|Johnny Moore]] |
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*[[Bobo Newsom]] |
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*[[Johnny Ostrowski]] |
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| |
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*[[Andy Pafko]] |
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*[[Jimmie Reese]] |
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*[[Bill Sarni]] |
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*[[Jigger Statz]] |
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*[[Dixie Upright]] |
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|} |
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==Notes== |
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{{reflist|2}} |
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== References == |
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{{refbegin}} |
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*Richard Beverage, ''The Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League: A History, 1903–1957.'' McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina, 2011. {{ISBN|978-0-7864-6520-0}}. |
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*O'Neal, Bill. ''The Pacific Coast League 1903–1988.'' Eakin Press, Austin TX, 1990. {{ISBN|0-89015-776-6}}. |
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*Snelling, Dennis. ''The Pacific Coast League: A Statistical History, 1903–1957.'' McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina, 1995. {{ISBN|0-7864-0045-5}}. |
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{{refend}} |
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==External links== |
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{{commons category}} |
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*[https://www.baseball-reference.com/minors/team.cgi?city=Los%20Angeles&state=CA&country=US&empty=0 Baseball Reference] |
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*[http://www.ulwaf.com/LA-1900s/SpecialReports/Baseball.html Los Angeles Angels, 1900-1909] |
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[[Category:Los Angeles Angels (PCL)| ]] |
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[[Category:Baseball teams established in 1903]] |
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[[Category:Baseball teams disestablished in 1957]] |
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[[Category:Defunct Pacific Coast League teams]] |
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[[Category:Baseball teams in Los Angeles|Angels]] |
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[[Category:Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates]] |
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[[Category:Brooklyn Dodgers minor league affiliates]] |
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[[Category:Defunct baseball teams in California]] |
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[[Category:1903 establishments in California]] |
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[[Category:1957 disestablishments in California]] |
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Latest revision as of 23:34, 3 October 2024
| Los Angeles Angels | |
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CapLogo.png) | |
| Minor league affiliations | |
| Previous classes | |
| League | Pacific Coast League (1903–1957) |
Previous leagues |
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| Major league affiliations | |
| Previous teams |
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| Minor league titles | |
| League titles | 1903, 1905, 1907, 1908, 1916, 1921, 1926, 1933, 1934, 1947, 1956 |
| Team data | |
Previous names |
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Previous parks |
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The Los Angeles Angels were a professional baseball team based in Los Angeles that played in the Pacific Coast League (PCL) from 1903 through 1957.
The Angels were formed in 1903 as charter members of the PCL. In 1958, they were forced to move to a smaller market as a result of the Brooklyn Dodgers' move to Los Angeles, which brought Major League Baseball competition into the PCL's territory. The franchise relocated to Spokane, Washington, as the Spokane Indians.
The 1903, 1934, and 1943 Angels were recognized as being among the 100 greatest minor league teams of all time. The 1934 team, with a 137–50 record, was ranked as the number one minor league team.[1]
Team history
[edit]
From 1903 through 1957, the Los Angeles Angels, a PCL team, were one of the mainstays of the Pacific Coast League, winning the PCL pennant 12 times. The Angels, along with the Portland Beavers, Oakland Oaks, Sacramento Solons, San Francisco Seals, and Seattle Indians were charter members of the Pacific Coast League which was founded in 1903.
From 1903 through 1925, the team played at 15,000-seat Washington Park (also known as Chutes Park), just south of downtown Los Angeles. Both the team and the park were founded by James Furlong "Jim" Morley (1869–1940), an entrepreneur involved in bowling, prize fighting, billiards, and gemstones as well as baseball.[2]
During this time, the Angels (or Looloos[3] or Seraphs as they were sometimes called), won pennants in 1903, 1905, 1907, 1908, 1916, 1918, and 1921. In 1918, the team finished second in regular season play, but won the postseason series against their cross-town rivals at the time, the Vernon Tigers. From 1915 to 1921, the Angels were owned by John F. "Johnny" Powers, Los Angeles socialite. The 1916 team was managed by Frank Chance, baseball Hall of Famer, noted as part of "Tinker to Evers to Chance."
In 1921, the team was purchased by chewing-gum magnate William Wrigley Jr., the owner of the Chicago Cubs of the National League. When Wrigley could not get the city of Los Angeles to make the improvements to Washington Park he requested, he began construction of his own 21,000-seat stadium, appropriately named Wrigley Field, at 42nd Place and Avalon Boulevard in what is now known as South Central Los Angeles. The Angels began play at Wrigley in 1926, and responded by winning their eighth PCL pennant, 10+1⁄2 games ahead of the second-place Oakland Oaks. The stadium was best known as the venue for the 1960 TV show Home Run Derby, filmed in December 1959.
The Seraphs won the pennant again in 1933, and they fielded what is regarded as one of the greatest teams in the history of baseball in 1934.[4] They finished at 137–50 (.733), 35+1⁄2 games ahead of the Mission Reds on an annualized basis (the PCL used a split season format that year). They were so good that their opponent in the postseason series (which the Angels won) was an all-star team composed of players from the other seven PCL teams.
The team won pennants in 1938, 1943, 1944, and 1947, with the 1943 team being considered among the best in league history. For the next eight years, however, the Angels struggled to remain mediocre at best. In 1949, the Seraphs finished in last place, for only the third time in 47 years. Then, after finishing third in 1955, the Angels won what would be their last pennant in the PCL in 1956. Led by their portly, popular first baseman Steve Bilko, the Seraphs finished 101–61 (.623), sixteen games ahead of the runner-up Seattle Rainiers. Their manager was Bob Scheffing, who later managed the Detroit Tigers and Chicago Cubs.
Area rivals
[edit]In 1909, the PCL added two teams to become a six-team league (in 1919 it added two more). One of the new teams was located in the nearby town of Vernon, and the Angels had their first cross-town rival in the Vernon Tigers. Vernon, a small town, was one of only two cities in Los Angeles County that had legalized the sale of alcohol—with alcoholic beverages as an attraction, the Tigers attracted big crowds by the standards of the day, and won three pennants during their 17-year history. In 1919, the Tigers were purchased by Roscoe "Fatty" Arbuckle. Opening day in 1919 featured a preliminary "game" which included Arbuckle, Tom Mix, and Buster Keaton. With the ratification of the 18th Amendment and the criminalizing of alcohol consumption, however, crowds became sparse and the Tigers were sold to San Francisco interests and moved there for the 1926 season.
The move of the Tigers prompted the owner of the Salt Lake Bees to move his team to Los Angeles for the 1926 season, where the team began play as the Hollywood Bees, but soon changed their name to the Hollywood Stars. This first version of the Stars, though supposedly representing Hollywood, actually played home games as tenants of the Angels at Wrigley Field. Though the Stars won pennants in 1929 and 1930, they never developed much of a fan base. They were merely a team to watch when the Angels were on the road. After the 1935 season, the Angels doubled the Stars’ rent, whereupon the Stars moved to San Diego for the 1936 season, becoming the San Diego Padres, and Los Angeles became a one-team city once more for the 1936 and 1937 seasons.
In 1938, the old Vernon Tigers, who had played in San Francisco as the Mission Reds since 1926, moved back to Los Angeles, this time as the second version of the Hollywood Stars and, like their predecessors, played their 1938 home games in Wrigley Field. After one season, though, the team was sold to new owners, among them Robert H. Cobb, owner of the Brown Derby restaurant and for whom the Cobb salad is named. They sold stock in the team to movie stars, movie moguls, and Hollywood civic leaders. Moreover, the team actually played in the Hollywood area, beginning in 1939 when Gilmore Field was opened in the Fairfax District adjacent to Hollywood.
The new Stars (or "Twinks") caught on and became a very popular team, winning three pennants before 1958. They were genuine rivals to the Angels, and it was not uncommon for fights between the teams to break out during games. In fact, on August 2, 1953, a brawl between the two teams lasted 30 minutes, broken up only when 50 riot police were sent to Gilmore Field by Chief of Police William Parker, who was at home watching the game on television when the fight started.
The beginning of the end
[edit]Early in 1957, Philip Wrigley, who had inherited the team from his father, sold the Angels and Wrigley Field to Brooklyn Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley for the then-astronomical sum of $3,000,000 ($32,545,000 today) and ownership of the Fort Worth Panthers of the Texas League. O'Malley assured the PCL owners that he intended to operate the Angels as a PCL team, as had the Wrigleys. He kept his promise – for only one season. The ownership of the minor league team also gave O'Malley exclusive rights to major league baseball in Los Angeles, and he used this to relocate the Dodgers.
After the 1957 season, the Angels and the Stars were relocated when the Dodgers confirmed their long-rumored move to Los Angeles for the 1958 season. The Angels relocated to Spokane, Washington, where they continued as the Spokane Indians in 1958. The Stars, in a sense, "returned" to Salt Lake City (whence the original Stars had moved in 1926), becoming the Salt Lake City Bees once more.
The new Los Angeles Dodgers would adopt the interlocking "LA" cap logo of the Angels, with a color change to Dodger Blue and white.
After Los Angeles
[edit]After Los Angeles, the franchise had stays in Spokane, Washington, (Indians, 1958–1971) and Albuquerque, New Mexico, (where it assumed the name Dukes, a venerable baseball franchise name in the "Duke City") from 1972 to 2000. The franchise was sold and became the third incarnation of the Portland Beavers (2001–2010).
In 2010, the franchise was purchased by San Diego Padres' principal owner Jeff Moorad, after the Portland City Council chose to renovate PGE Park as a soccer-only facility for the Portland Timbers of Major League Soccer rather than continue as a joint-use baseball and soccer stadium.[5] The franchise was temporarily relocated to Tucson, Arizona, for the 2011 season as the Tucson Padres.[6] Moorad intended to have the team play in Escondido, a suburb northeast of San Diego, starting in 2013; however, those plans fell through.[7] After three seasons in Tucson, they moved in 2014 to El Paso, Texas,[8] and became the El Paso Chihuahuas.[9]
On May 26, 2012, the MLB Los Angeles Angels wore the PCL franchise's 1950s uniforms during a game at Safeco Field against the Seattle Mariners, as part of the Mariners' turn back the clock 1950s game.
Affiliations
[edit]The Angels were affiliated with the following major league teams:
| Year | Affiliation(s) |
|---|---|
| 1921–56 | Chicago Cubs |
| 1957 | Brooklyn Dodgers |
Notable Angels with MLB experience
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ "Top 100 Teams". MiLB.com. 2001. Retrieved May 9, 2017.
- ^ Dennis Snelling, The Greatest Minor League: A History of the Pacific Coast League, 1903–1957 (McFarland, 2012; ISBN 0786465247), p. 15.
- ^ Snelling, The Greatest Minor League, p. 16.
- ^ "The Official Site of Minor League Baseball".
- ^ Mayer, James (February 3, 2010). "Portland City Council approves soccer deal for PGE Park". The Oregonian. (Portland). Retrieved February 20, 2011.
- ^ "Padres' Triple-A Club to play in Tucson in '11", San Diego Padres Official Website [1]
- ^ "Council votes to Bring Baseball to Escondido", San Diego Union-Tribune, December 15, 2010. [2] Retrieved 2-20-2011
- ^ "Mayor decides against veto, baseball in downtown by 2014", KVIA "Mayor decides not to veto City Council's baseball stadium vote | News - Home". Archived from the original on 2013-01-27. Retrieved 2013-10-23. Retrieved 09-20-2012
- ^ Hill, Benjamin (October 22, 2013). "Chihuahuas rule the day in El Paso". MiLB.com. Minor League Baseball. Retrieved October 22, 2013.
References
[edit]- Richard Beverage, The Los Angeles Angels of the Pacific Coast League: A History, 1903–1957. McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina, 2011. ISBN 978-0-7864-6520-0.
- O'Neal, Bill. The Pacific Coast League 1903–1988. Eakin Press, Austin TX, 1990. ISBN 0-89015-776-6.
- Snelling, Dennis. The Pacific Coast League: A Statistical History, 1903–1957. McFarland & Company, Inc., Jefferson, North Carolina, 1995. ISBN 0-7864-0045-5.
External links
[edit]
- Los Angeles Angels (PCL)
- Baseball teams established in 1903
- Baseball teams disestablished in 1957
- Defunct Pacific Coast League teams
- Baseball teams in Los Angeles
- Chicago Cubs minor league affiliates
- Brooklyn Dodgers minor league affiliates
- Defunct baseball teams in California
- 1903 establishments in California
- 1957 disestablishments in California