Glory Days D uring the 1950s and 1960s Major League Baseball moved west for the first time In 1958 the Giants and Dodgers of the National League NL moved from New York to California Three years later the American League AL also added a new team in California the Los Angeles Angels They shared a ballpark with the Dodgers for four seasons In 1965 the team changed its name to the California Angels A year later they moved south to the city of Anaheim During the 1960s the Angels did a good job finding young talent They amazed the experts when they finished third in the AL in 1962 Their leading hitters during this decade included Jim Fregosi Buck Rodgers Bobby Knoop Jose Cardenal Jay Johnstone and Rick Reichardt Among their top pitchers were Dean Chance Jim McGlothlin and Bob Lee 6
In the years that followed the Angels relied more and more on pitching Andy Messersmith Clyde Wright Nolan Ryan and Frank Tanana were all big winners in the 1970s But the team needed better hitting before it could compete for a championship To strengthen their offense the Angels turned to veterans such as Rod Carew Bobby Grich and Don Baylor They helped the team reach the top of the AL West in 1979 The Angels won the AL West crown again in 1982 Their roster included several more experienced players including Reggie Jackson LEFT This trading card shows the 1961 Angels ABOVE Fans mob the Angels after the team’s AL West championship in 1982 7
Bob Boone Doug DeCinces and Tommy John In 1986 the Angels took the AL West for the third time A young first baseman named Wally Joyner was the star of the club That October the Angels came within one out of reaching the World Series Unfortunately they suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Boston Red Sox Many years passed before the Angels and their fans recovered from this defeat They had some good players in the 1990s including Tim Salmon Jim Edmonds J T Snow Chuck Finley and Troy Percival However it was not until Mike Scioscia took over as manager of the Angels that they became contenders again In 2002 the team won the AL West for the first time in 16 seasons Salmon and Percival were now the leaders of the club They LEFT Nolan Ryan won 138 games for the Angels in the 1970s ABOVE Mike Scioscia watches the action from the dugout He helped turn the Angels into one of baseball’s best teams 9
