The franchise was founded in Los Angeles in 1961 by Gene Autry as one of MLB's first two expansion teams and the first to originate in California.

Throughout their first four decades of existence, the Angels were a middling franchise, but did win three division titles and notably hosted the careers of Hall of Fame players Nolan Ryan, Rod Carew, and Reggie Jackson.

Under manager Mike Scioscia, they would eventually achieve their first Wild Card spot in 2002, and used this momentum to win the 2002 World Series, their only championship appearance to date.

Over the next seven years under Scioscia's management, the Angels would then win five division titles, spearheaded by their lone Hall of Fame representative Vladimir Guerrero.

This notoriety has grown into international attention since 2012 with the signing of Albert Pujols and the emergence of superstars Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, who cumulatively won five AL Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards with the team.

Under Disney's ownership and the leadership of manager Mike Scioscia, the Angels won their first pennant and World Series championship in 2002.

Local media in Southern California tend to omit a geographic identifier and refer to the team as the Angels or the Halos.

[12][13][14][15] On December 20, 2019, the city of Anaheim voted to sell Angel Stadium and the land around it to a group led by the team owner Arte Moreno for $325 million.

After winning the World Series, Angels player Tim Salmon ran into the home dugout and brought out one of Autry's signature white Stetson hats in honor of the "singing cowboy".

[18] Each game begins with the song "Calling All Angels" by Train being played accompanied by a video that shows historical moments in team history.

"[22][23] The Rally Monkey came to national and worldwide attention during the Angels' appearance in the 2002 World Series against the San Francisco Giants.

During the 31 years of being known as the "California Angels", the team kept the previous color scheme, however, their logo did change six times during this period.

It was in 1965, while the stadium was being finished, that Bud Furillo (of the Herald Examiner) coined its nickname, "the Big A" after the tall letter A that once stood beyond left-center field and served as the ballpark's primary scoreboard (it was relocated to a section of the parking lot southeast of the stadium in 1980 when the facility was enclosed and expanded for the NFL's Rams.).

The first logo under Disney removed the halo and had a rather cartoon-like "ANGELS" script with a wing on the "A" over a periwinkle plate and crossed bats.

The Angels have historically developed rivalries with other AL West members: the Oakland Athletics,[31] Seattle Mariners,[32] Texas Rangers,[33] and, to a lesser extent, the Houston Astros, who joined the division in 2013.

[34] The Angels also considered the New York Yankees[35] and the Boston Red Sox[36] rivals due to a total of seven postseason series against the two teams in the 2000s.

Though not as intense as the Dodgers–Giants rivalry equivalent in the National League; the A's and Angels have often been competitive in their own battle for the division through the decades.

During the 2004 season, both teams came down to the wire: tied for wins headed into the final week of September with the last three games being played in Oakland against the Angels.

[39] Both teams were battling to secure the division title; however, Oakland fell in 2 crushing losses to the Angels with only one victory in the series coming in the final game.

Oakland would find themselves eliminated from the playoff hunt, though the Angels would go on to suffer a crushing sweep at the hands of the eventual champion Boston Red Sox.

The Angels have maintained a steady rivalry with the Seattle Mariners as both teams have often fought for control of the division or a playoff berth.

[41][42] The 1995 season culminated in dramatic fashion with both teams tied for first place, resulting in a tie-breaker game to determine the division winner.

[47] The feuds go back to two incidents between Angels second baseman Adam Kennedy and Rangers catcher Gerald Laird which led to punches being thrown.

As a result, Angels owner Gene Autry signed a three-year deal to rent the stadium with a subsequent four option years.

On May 5, 1962, Angels pitcher Bo Belinsky pitched the first no-hitter in Dodger Stadium history in a game against the Baltimore Orioles.

The broadcast booth features Wayne Randazzo as play-by-play announcer since 2023 and Mark Gubicza serving as color commentator since 2007.

Matt Vasgersian and Patrick O'Neal provide play-by-play commentary for select games, such as when Randazzo is working the national Friday Night Baseball broadcast.

Dick Enberg served as the Angels play-by-play announcer for KTLA from 1969 to 1978 and later won the Ford C. Frick Award in 2015 for his work with the team.

[60] Enberg was known for his signature "And the halo shines tonight" call after Angels wins in reference to the Big A sign.

[69] Bert BlylevenRod Carew Whitey HerzogReggie JacksonDave Parker Frank RobinsonNolan Ryan * Lee SmithDon SuttonHoyt Wilhelm Dick WilliamsDave Winfield Rickey Henderson Eddie Murray Vladimir Guerrero Jerry Coleman Dave Niehaus Dick Enberg Joe Garagiola Pitchers