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The Los Angeles Angels are once again at a crossroads over their team name. The franchise — which has changed identities several times since its founding — could revert to the Anaheim Angels if a bill in the California legislature becomes law.
On May 22 (local time), Yahoo Sports reported that passage of AB 2512 could make it difficult for the Angels to keep their current name.
The club’s naming history is rooted in the region. The “Angels” moniker dates to the early 1900s with the Los Angeles Angels, a storied Pacific Coast League team that represented the Los Angeles area. The Spanish place name “Los Angeles” literally translates to “the angels.”
The modern major-league franchise began in 1961, when western actor and singer Gene Autry won an MLB expansion franchise. Autry wanted to preserve the PCL Angels’ tradition, but the Dodgers’ owner Walter O’Malley held the naming rights. Autry paid $350,000 to acquire those rights and launched the Los Angeles Angels.
In their early years the Angels played home games at Dodger Stadium from 1962 through 1965, a stretch that helped popularize the name Chavez Ravine for the neighborhood around the ballpark.
The team’s first renaming came with its move to Anaheim. After relocating in 1966, the club became the California Angels to broaden its appeal across the state.
When Disney bought the franchise in 1997, the name changed again. Following public funding for stadium renovations, the team adopted the Anaheim Angels name to emphasize its local identity.
The controversy peaked in 2005, when owner Arte Moreno rebranded the club as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim to tap into the Los Angeles media market. The attempt to balance local identity and marketability drew criticism for producing an awkward name, with some in the sports world calling it one of the stranger team names in recent memory.
In 2016 the franchise simplified its name to the Los Angeles Angels. With the ballpark still located in Anaheim, however, the debate over regional identity has persisted.
Yahoo Sports noted that the Angels were born in Los Angeles, raised in Anaheim and marketed to all of California — a positioning that has left the club caught between Hollywood and Orange County for decades.
If AB 2512 clears the legislature, the team could once again become the Anaheim Angels. Fans are watching closely to see whether the franchise — which has changed its name four times since its founding — will adopt a new banner yet again.
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