• 1979 Division Champions--California Angels.
• 1982 Division Champions--California Angels.
• 1986 Division Champions--California Angels.

STAR PLAYERS SIGNED UNDER THE COWBOY: Jim Fergosi, Nolan Ryan, Rod Carew, Reggie Jackson, Fred Lynn, Brian Downing, Frank Robinson, Don Baylor, Dan Ford, Wally Joyner, Tim Salmon, Chili Davis, Chuck Finlay, Bobby Grich, Jim Abbott, Mike Witt, Don Sutton, Lance Parrish, Dave Winfield, Gary DiSarcina, Jim Edmonds, Garrett Anderson, Darin Erstad, and Eddie Murray.

THE CURSE OF THE COWBOY:

   There has been speculations that Anaheim Stadium was built on an Indian Burial Ground. That has never been proven, but some have suggested that because the stadium rests on an Indian Burial Ground, the team had been cursed from 1966 to 2002. In 1978, an Angels' star player, Lyman Bostock, was sitting in a car at an intersection in Gary, Indiana; when a gunman pulled up along side and shot Bostock to death. The killer, Leonard Smith, was targeting someone else in the car, but he missed that person, and the bullet hit Lyman Bostock instead. Lyman Bostock died in a hospital a couple of hours later, and Leonard Smith was later found "Not Guilty" by reason of insanity. 

    Another Angels Tragedy began during the Post Season in 1986, when The Angels were only one strike away from beating the Boston Red Sox and going to their first World Series ever. Donnie Moore delivered what Angels Fan thought would be the final pitch of the game, only for Dave Henderson of the Red Sox to connect with a clutch home run which tied the game. The Red Sox later went on to win the game, and send the pennant race back to Boston. The Red Sox totally dominated The Angels during the last two games of the AL Pennant Series. After that, Donnie Moore became the scapegoat for the team's failure to advance to the World Series, and the fans booed the relief pitcher everytime he took the mound. Donnie Moore was also hard on himself, which reached a climax three years later when Moore took his own life. 

      Other events which have been attributed to the Curse of the Cowboy were the disappointing MLB Post Season of 1982, and The Angels Collapse in 1995. The curse was later put to rest when The Angels won their first World Series in 2002, against the San Francisco Giants.

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UNDER WALT DISNEY AND COMPANY:

• 2002 AL Wild Card--Anaheim Angels.
• 2002 American Pennant Winners--Anaheim Angels.
• 2002 World Series Champions--Anaheim Angels.

STAR PLAYERS SIGNED UNDER DISNEY: David Eckstein, Troy Glaus, Scott Spiezio, Cecil Fielder, Bengie Molina, John Lackey.

DISNEY MOTION PICTURES:

1) Angels in the Outfield (1994)- Christopher Lloyd & Tony Danza.

2) Angels in the Endzone (1997)- Christopher Lloyd & Paul Dooley.

3) Angels in the Infield (2000)- Patrick Warbuton & Kurt Fuller.

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UNDER ANGELS LP (Headed by Arturo Moreno):

• 2004 Division Champions--Anaheim Angels.
• 2005 Division Champions--LA Angels of Anaheim.
• 2007 Division Champions--LA Angels of Anaheim.
• 2008 Division Champions--LA Angels of Anaheim.
• 2009 Division Champions--LA Angels of Anaheim.

STAR PLAYERS SIGNED UNDER ANGELS LP: Vladimir Guerrero, Bartolo Colon, Tori Hunter,  John Garland, Gary Matthews Jr.

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     At the time The Angels made Anaheim Stadium their home, they were the only American League MLB Team to play in California, plus Anaheim was still way underdeveloped, but growing rapidly; so he came up with "California Angels." That name stuck around for 31 years until 1997, when Walt Disney and Company purchased the team. The team was renamed the Anaheim Angels and went on to win a World Series Championship in 2002.

       Even though Disney suceeded in putting a winning product out on the field, the Disney Empire didn't have the time or money to invest in the team so that it could turn a profit for the company and continue to be a winning product out on the field, with all that goes on in their vast empire. Disney, despite having  added a World Series Ring to their many acomplish- ments, sold the team to The Angels LP; headed up by Arturo Moreno in 2003. Disney did succeed at establishing Anaheim and The OC as a viable sports market by bringing  in an NHL Expansion Team (Anaheim Ducks) in 1993 and bringing a World Series Championship to The OC for the first time in 2002.

       Moreno was the first Latin Owner to become a Major League Franchise Owner. Moreno had become a billionaire through his Advertising and Billboard business which he eventually sold. When he bought the team, that basically became his sole business, so he had a lot more time and a lot more money to invest in the team. With Moreno's "Deep Wallet" and his nact for business and advertising, he kept the winning product from dying out, and has kept the momentum going ever since. But he made one bad move. 

LOS ANGELES ANGELS OF ANAHEIM:

       Moreno renamed the team the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim on January 3, 2005, a move which prompted backlashing from Orange County Residents and Fans (who do not like being associated with Los Angeles) and a lawsuit from the City of Anaheim which the city lost on February 9, 2006. The city appealed the decision in May of 2006, and the case lasted over 2 years. Just prior to Christmas Day, 2008; The Appeals Court, with a panel of Three Appeals Court Justices, also ruled in favor of The Angels (2 votes to 1). On January 13, 2009; The Anaheim City Council voted unanimously to concede from further legal actions to have Los Angeles dropped from the team's name.

AFTERMATH OF NAME CHANGE:  

     The name change prompted t-shirt campaigns from the OC Community such as "Save the Anaheim Angels" and "We are NOT L.A."  The name change  created a permanent wedge between The Angels and The Dodgers Oraganizations and their fans. Many fights and riots break out now in the stands during a Dodgers-Angels Freeway Series, because of the animosity between the Angels Fans and Dodgers Fans. The move also put The Angels and The City of Anaheim at total odds with each other PLUS  The Angels and The Disney Corporation at odds with each other.  In 2016, The Angels will have the option of opting out of their lease with an escape clause. 

   Today, there are still Angels in The OC; but, for how long?

 

AUTRY & DISNEY FOR COOPERSTOWN:

    However, we should never lose sight of what Gene Autry and Walt Disney and Company has done for Anaheim and Orange County over the years, and how they have helped to put Anaheim and The OC on the map. Autry and Disney have also established The OC as a viable sports market. Recently, both Gene Autry and Walt Disney have been enshrined on Orange County's "Walk of Stars." Wouldn't it be nice to see both of them enshrined in Cooperstown as well?

2005 SEASON:

JAN. 3rd, 2005: Dispite opposition from The City of Anaheim, The City of Los Angeles, Congresswoman Sanchez, and Orange County Residents, The Angel's LP officially changes the name of the Anaheim Angels baseball team to the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, right in the middle of New Years Festivities, which sparks a lot of negative reactions from Orange County based fans and residents.

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JAN. 5th, 2005: Anaheim files a lawsuit against The Angel's LP.

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JAN. 19th, 2005: Los Angeles comes to Anaheim's aid by filing a document with The Orange County Court stating that The Angels should not be allowed to carry LA's Name.

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JAN. 21st, 2005: Judge Peter Polos deniied the City of Anaheim a Preliminary Injunction which would have blocked the Angels Baseball Team from using their new name until a civil trial.

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FEB. 16th, 2005: Anaheim's legal council advises the city to continue their case with The Angel's LP. A trial date was later scheduled for November 7th, 2005; and then later moved to January 9th, 2006. A marketing firm entitled Venture Marketing Solutions, devises the "DropLA.com Website" advertising t-shirts and stickers which say "We are not LA."

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FEB. 17th, 2005: The "DropLA.com Crew" begins selling "We are Not LA" T-shirts and Stickers at The Orange County Market Place.

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FEB. 26th, 2005: Violent Threats were hurled towards any fan who wore a "DropLA.com" t-shirt protesting the Angel's recent name change.

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FEB. 28th, 2005: Anaheim appealed Judge Polos' Ruling which denied the city a Preliminary Injunction, which would have blocked the Angels from using their new name.

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MAR. 28th, 2005: Another hearing is held between the City of Anaheim and The Angels at The Court of Appeals, as the city attempts to have Judge Polos' January 21st Decision overturned. A decision wouldn't be rendered until three months later.

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MAR. 29th, 2005: At an Anaheim City Counsel meeting, The DropLA.com Crew and Supporters of DropLA pledged their support to Mayor Curt Pringle, and the Anaheim City Coucil in their legal battle with The Angels' LP to keep "Anaheim" in the Team's Name (The Anaheim Angels). We are not LA T-shirts were presented to Curt Pringle, Richard Chavez, Bob Hernandez, Lorri Galloway, and Harry Sidhu of the Anaheim City Council.

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MAY. 3rd, 2005: California State Legislator, Tom Umberg, introduces the "Truth in Sports Advertising Act," which passed The Local Legislative Committee by a unanimous vote. This Bill was created in response to The Angels Team Name Change. According to the Bill, if it became a State Law, Sports Franchises representing another California City, other than the one they are playing in, would have to display the name of the city they are playing in on all tickets, sports merchandise, etc.

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MAY 17th, 2005: The State Assemblyman in Sacramento, CA; voted in favor of The Truth in Sports Advertising Act by a large majority vote of 50 to 18. The Bill then went to the California State Senate. The Bill was later put on hold pending the outcome of the trial.

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MAY 28th, 2005: Was "We are Not LA Day" at Anaheim Stadium. The event was covered by Channels 4, 5, 7, 9. 11 and Associated Press. The event was also covered by The Orange County Register.

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JUNE 6, 2005: The webmaster of Anaheim Angels Forever has a brief article published in the Orange County Register entitled "Truth is on Anaheim's Side."

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JUNE 27th, 2005: The Appeals Court upheld Judge Polos' January 21st, 2005 Court Decision which denied the City of Anaheim an Injunction which would have blocked The Angels form using their new name, Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. Judge Sills, however, stated that Anaheim was not in LA and that the denial of the injunction would by no means determine the outcome of the Angel's Civil Trial. Judge Sills also made a ruling from the bench that adding LA to the team's title was the same as removing Anaheim's name altogether. The Angels were allowed to use the new name for the remainder of the 2005 Season.

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FALL 2005: The Angels LP Threatened to move the Angels if the City of Anaheim wins their lawsuit. News of this and the upcoming trial sparks the ressurection of the civil war in The Angels Fanbase. Webmaster of "Anaheim Angels Forever" presents "Angel Fan of the Year 2005 Award" to Venture Marketing Solutions (Drop LA.com Crew).

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      The Angels were able to land a major TV Deal worth one half of a billion dollars for ten years. The TV Executives, however, stated that The Angels re-branding their team as "Los Angeles" did not influence their decision. Their decision was based on The Angels product out on the field during the first part of the 21st Century. Under the continued superb leadership of Mike Scioscia,The Angels made it to the 2005 Post Season. This was the first time in Franchise History that The Halos made it to The Play-offs two consecutive years in a row.

    The Angels made it to The American League Pennant Race during the 2005 Post Season, but were swept by the Chicago White Sox. The White Sox then went on to win the World Series to break the "Curse of the Black Sox."

2006 SEASON:

JANUARY 9, 2006: The Trial of "The Angels vs. Anaheim and jury selection began. Opening Statements of The City's and The Angels' Lawyers were delivered on Friday the 13th. Fans supporting The Angels LP and the city show up for moral support.

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ANGELS vs ANAHEIM TRIAL:

JANUARY 9, 2006: Trial Began. Associated Press did a story about the trial made reference to Anaheim Supporters wearing "We are NOT LA" shirts at the courthouse.

JANUARY 10 & 11: Jury Selected.

JANUARY 13TH: Anaheim's Lawyer and Angels' Lawyer give their opening statements.

JANUARY 17TH: Dave Morgan, Anaheim's City Manager Testified stating the Intent of the stadium lease didn't indicate that two city names could be in the Angels'Team Title. While cross examining Mr. Morgan, The Angels' Attorney established that the intent of the lease didn't exclusively mean that the Team had to be called the Anaheim Angels.

JANUARY 18TH: Anaheim Convention, Sports, and Entertainment Director, Greg Smith testified that "Anaheim Angels" and "California Angels" was always displayed on tickets and other items before Arte Moreno bought the team in 2003.

JANUARY 19th: John Thorn, Baseball Historian, testified that "Anaheim has vanished from the team title approximately 99.9% of the time from media sources and team merchandise. The Angels' attorney made a very weak rebuttle to Thorn's Testimony.

JANUARY 20th: Lawyers for Anaheim and The Angels have a mediation session to try to come up with a settlement, but The Angels' LP still refuses to drop LA from the team title.

JANUARY 23rd: Former Anaheim City Manager, Jim Ruth, testified under oath that two city names in the Team Title was never discussed during negotiations between Disney and Anaheim in 1996. He firther testified that the name "Los Angeles" in the Team title would have been a "Deal killer."

JANUARY 24th: The court heard Tony Tavares' Videotaped Testimony. His testimony stated that the City of Anaheim was to be predominant in the team's title, and be displayed on all merchandise. Tavares' Testimony gave the city a strong advantage over the Angel's LP in the court case.

JANUARY 27th: Anaheim's Lawyer asked Arte Moreno to take the stand as a "Hostile Witness." Moreno introduced a new concept to the term, Hostile Witness--"The Court Jester," in which he was in turn, repromanded by Anaheim's Attorney. Anaheim's Lawyer reminded Moreno that the court case was a very serious matter. Moreno admitted to Dropping Anaheim from the team's title on Angels Merchandise.

JANUARY 30th: Arte Moreno concluded his teatimony. Moreno admitted to not being aware of the "Emotional Curtain" deviding Orange County and Los Angeles. He also testified that he never talked about the name restrictions when he bought the team from Disney, and he never consulted with the Dodgers Owner, while he considered changing the name to Los Angels Angels of Anaheim.

JANUARY 31st: Former President of The Angels, Dennis Kuhl, testified that the clause team's lease, which requires Anaheim to be in the team's title is "Very Vague." This testimony means that the jury can consider "Original intent," when they begin their deiberations.

_____*_____ANAHEIM RESTS. _____*_____

FEBRUARY 1st: Anaheim rested its case, and the Angels began presenting their case by calling Tim Mead, one of the Angels Team Executives, to the stand. Tim Mead was able to show that Anaheim had not disappeared from the Angels Team Title entirely.

FEBRUARY 3rd: Former Executive Vice President of the Disney Corporation, Larry Murphy, was called as the Angels' 2nd witness. Murphy testified that Disney wanted flexibility as far a the Geographical Naming of the team went. Murphy's Testimony was defective, however, because he couldn't recall ever mentioning this to Anaheim City Officials. Also, Larry Murphy was not present during the last two thirds of Disney's Negotiations with the City of Anaheim. A list of possible names Disney was tossing around during negotiations with Anaheim, was presented to the court. The list included Orange County Waves, Pacific Angels, Orange County Surf, and Southern California Shades. There was nothing on the list which included Los Angeles, or two geographical regions.

FEBRUARY 6th: The Angels called 3 expert witnesses to the stand: 1) Lon Hatamiya showed that Anaheim's Hotel Bed Taxes stayed the same after The Angels changed the name from California Angels to Anaheim Angels, for four years. The taxes spiked when the name was changed to Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. After being cross examined by Anaheim's attorney, Hatamiya conceded that other factors could have had an impact on this. 2) Dr. Richard Gilbert, Professor at UC Berkely stated that there has been a 45% in crease in attendance at Anaheim Stadium since The Angels 2002 World Series Championship. 3) Angels Vice President, Molly Taylor testified that Anaheim has received 5.4 Million Dollars in ticket and parking revenue since Arte bought the team, where as they only earned $400,000 under Disney's Ownership.

FEBRUARY 7th: Arte Moreno was The Angels Final Witness, and he testified how much the team prospered after he took over ownership of the team.

_____*_____THE ANGELS REST_____*_____

FEBRUARY 8th & 9th: Closing Arguments were presented. Anaheim's Lawyer acknowledged that "Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim technically compleis with the lease, but argued that the "Oxymoron title" violates a "Covenant of Good Faith and Fair Business Dealing" which also constitutes a breach of contract. After deliration, the jury came back with a verdict in favor of The Angels.

    Despite winning his case in court on February 9, 2006; This was an off year for Arte Moreno and his team, as The Angels were in Last Place in their division pretty much until the All Star Break in July 2007. Following the All Star Break, however, Mike Scioscia and his team mounted one of the biggest valiant comebacks ever. The Angels got within a couple of games of making it to the Post Season for the third consecutive time, but they fell short of the Oakland A's. This big comeback left The Angels with a great degree of optimism for their future, as they would once again make it to the Post Season two consecutive times in a row  in 2007 and 2008.

 

Webmaster Note (Disclaimer): I myself refuse to call the Name of this team the "Los Angeles Angels (of Anaheim)" because the team neither plays in the City of Los Angeles nor does this team pay taxes to Los Angeles. Anaheim is a city in its own right, and this team won its only World Series with Anaheim on their uniforms. Anaheim is not even located in Los Angeles County more less the City of Los Angeles. This move was perpetuated by greed, and disloyalty to the long time fans in Orange County. On this site and my Dodgers Fan Site, you will not see Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim displayed anywhere but on this page.

2007 SEASON:

      The Angels gave Gary Matthews Jr. a $50 Million Dollar Contract to play Center Field in place of Darin Erstad. Matthews had come off his best year ever with the Texas Rangers in 2006. Some questions came up about whether or not Gary Matthews was using steroids, but he was allowed to continue on as a starting outfielder for The Angels, and made a lot of good catches in Centerfield. Vladimir Guerrero, who made the All Star Team in 2007, also won the Annual Home Run Derby hands down. The Angels clinched a play-off berth early in the season, but were blown out of the First Round of the Post Season by Manny Ramirez and the Boston Red Sox.