March 31st marked opening day for Major League Baseball, including the strangely-named Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim, who had a disappointing 80-82 season in 2010 after a string of American League West Division titles. While the Angels have been in the major leagues since 1961, a minor league precursor with the same name operated in the Pacific Coast League from 1903 to 1957.
The “old” Angels were a durable mainstay in the region, winning eleven league crowns, including in 1916 when they were managed by former Chicago Cubs infielder and Hall of Famer Frank Chance; the 1926 campaign; and the 1934 season, when the team amassed a league record .733 winning percentage and played a championship series against an all-star lineup from the other league teams instead of the second-place finisher. There were a few local rivals, including the Vernon Tigers and Hollywood Stars, but the longevity of these franchises was difficult to maintain. (The Stars eventually moved south and became the San Diego Padres.)
The Angels played at three parks over its history: Chutes Park, at Main Street and Washington Boulevard (1903-1911); Washington Park, a few blocks east at Hill Street (1912-1925); and Wrigley Field, at Avalon Boulevard and 42nd Street (1925-1957), built by owner William Wrigley, the chewing gum magnate and owner of the major league’s Chicago Cubs franchise.
With the Brooklyn Dodgers coming to Los Angeles for the 1958 season, the Angels moved out of the area, with stays in Spokane, Washington; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Portland, Oregon. The franchise, currently located in Tucson, Arizona, is slated to move to Escondido, near San Diego, in 2013.
The artifact shown here is a July 4, 1928, scorecard for an Angels game at Wrigley Field against the Sacramento Senators. The result of the game is unknown because the attendee did not to keep score. The graphics are striking and there are local business advertisements. The year was tough for the Angels, who finished sixth out of eight teams and thirty-three games behind the league champion San Francisco Seals. Meanwhile, fans of today’s Angels hope their team can avoid another losing season in 2011!
Baseball scorecard, 1928. From the Homestead Museum Collection.
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