Anaheim Angels Baseball
Gene Autry was one of Hollywood's wealthiest stars when he bought the new American League franchise to Los Angeles in 1961. In 1964, the Los Angeles Angels finished in the American League first division (fifth place), and pitcher Dean Chance won the Major League Cy Young Award that year. Chance finished the 1964 season with a 20-9 record and a 1.65 ERA. He was the first, and only, Angel to win the award and the youngest player ever to be given the honor. He recorded 11 shutouts that season.
After the 1965 season the club moved to Anaheim and became the California Angels. The Angels stayed fairly respectable through the rest of the 1960's. In 1970, they produced their one-and-only batting champion in Alex Johnson, an outfielder they acquired the year before from the Reds. During the 1970s, although Angel fans endured some mediocre years on the field they also were able to enjoy the heroics of fireballer Nolan Ryan, who tossed four no-hit games and set several strikeout records.
Although the Walt Disney Company did not formally acquire the controlling interest in the Angels until 1999, it had held a minority interest for several years and influenced the team’s actions during that time, especially given the declining health of Gene Autry, who died in 1998. Disney promptly spruced up the ballpark, changed the logo and added some new promotions. Disney World eventually sold the team to an advertising executive named Arturo Moreno, who became the first Hispanic owner of a Major League baseball team.
The Angels have enjoyed tremendous success in Anaheim, where they claimed a World Championship in 2002. The Angels announced the team has changed its official name to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. This change became effective January 3, 2005.
Angel Stadium
In 1964 the Los Angeles Angels broke ground for Angel Stadium (then called Anaheim Stadium), a $24-million ballpark built on 140 acres. Renovations to Anaheim Stadium began Oct. 1, 1996, reverting the 30-year old structure back to a baseball-only facility. The project was completed in time for the Anaheim Angels Opening Day, April 1, 1998.
The new Angel Stadium of Anaheim has lots of unique features. There are terraced bullpens in the outfield, widened concourses, new restroom and concession areas and a spacious and modernized press box and broadcast booths. There are family-oriented seating sections (The Nestle Family Zone), state-of-the-art club-level and dugout-level suites, the Pepsi Perfect Game Pavilion (a youth-oriented interactive game area) and landscaped courtyards (with statues in remembrance of Gene Autry and Michelle Carew). The Outfield Extravaganza area is the signature piece of the ballpark. It is located behind the outfield wall in left center field. It was designed to model the rocky California coastline and comes to life with a 90-foot-high geyser, fireworks and pyrotechnics to celebrate great plays on the field.