On December 6, 1960 — The new Los Angeles American League franchise is awarded to Gene Autry, a well-known cowboy movie star who once turned down an opportunity to play in the minor leagues, and former football player Bob Reynolds for $350,000. They will begin to play in 1961 at LA’s Wrigley Field and then playing the next three years at Dodger Stadium, the team will move to Anaheim, a short distance from L.A., and will be known as the California Angels (1965-1996), the Anaheim Angels (1997-2004) and then, to better market, the team, will become known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in 2005 which is still their name. The Angels have made 10 playoff appearances to date and won the World Series in their only appearance in 2002 staging a huge comeback late in game 6.
They have had 3 owners, Autry will own the team for 36 years, Disney will own the team from 1997 to 2005, and Art Moreno has had the team from 2005 to current day as of this writing.
