There are few Major League Baseball teams with the unique variety of past logos that the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim have. They have had ten logo changes since their beginning. Today we’ll focus on four of them.
The Halos, as they are so rightfully nicknamed, were established in 1961 as an expansion team. Their original owner, the great Gene Autry, bought the name Angels from a Minor League team in the Pacific Coast League. Their initial emblem was pretty on-par with other 60s era sports logos.
As the team evolved, the logos had to evolve with them. In 1965, the team was renamed to the California Angels, as they prepared to play in a new city in the upcoming season. As the team moved to Anaheim and changed their name, a new logo was much needed. Instead of completely revamping the entire image, the Halos changed the letter “L” to the letter “C” for California. A handful of years later, the Angels did end up changing their entire logo, better representing their new California Angels name.
This logo definitely follows my No. 1 rule of simplicity. As seen with this new image, there is an outline of The Golden State as the background. The same golden, or yellow, halo adorns the top left corner of the California state outline. And in the middle, running slanted with the shape of the state, we see the red lettering “Angels” standing out above all else. And not to go unnoticed, a red star pinpoints the city of Anaheim.
[Blake]
In 1997, the Walt Disney Company took control of the team. They extensively renovated the stadium, and the city of Anaheim contributed $30 million of the $118 million cost. They had a condition though, and that involved another renaming. The requirement was that the stadium and the team had to contain the city name. As such, the Angels were renamed the Anaheim Angels and a new logo was to come.
This logo is one of my personal favorites of the Angels’ past. Crossed bats sit at the back of the image, with a light blue home plate layered just over them. At the top edge of home plate, the newly added city name rests in white lettering. “Anaheim” is spelled out, meeting the city’s requirement for the stadium renovations. The word “Angels” received a new font, making it much more appealing to the eye. The lettering is slanted slightly upwards to the right, as if it is getting bigger towards the end. My favorite part of this image is the wing. I love the fact that the club worked wings back into the look, seeing a much more modern version of the feathered wing adjacent to the “A” in Angels.
One last logo change was to come for the Halos, and that was in 2005. New owner Arturo Moreno wanted another name change, adding “Los Angeles” back into the name. He was hoping to reach the LA fan base from the team’s past, and spread to a wider demographic. In fact, Los Angeles is the second largest market in the United States. I don’t blame him for trying to tie in the city.
However, Moreno had to keep the city of Anaheim’s requirement as well. As such, the team was named the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. There was a backlash with this renaming, from the city of Anaheim most especially. The city took the matter to court, opposing having Los Angeles in the name. Courts favored Moreno in the matter, and the new name stuck. And of course, with a new name came a new logo. That’s the Angels logo we all know and love today.
This image is short and sweet. It’s the ideal, simple design that makes logos great. A firm, bold letter “A” is the forefront of the image. Interpret it as you please. The “A” could stand for Angels, Angeles (the city of LA), or of course, Anaheim. Either way, all parties should be pleased in the lettering. Though this image doesn’t feature the wings that I personally find awesome, the brought back the halo. It’s probably best to have the halo in the long run, as it attributes to the amazing nickname “Halos” that the fans love so much.
*This content original to awesomesportslogos.com.