<P> In the end it was the National League that first came to the city, in the form of the Brooklyn Dodgers . Dodgers owner Walter O'Malley purchased the Pacific Coast League's Los Angeles Angels in early 1957 from Chicago Cubs owner Phil Wrigley . Under the rules of the time, he also acquired the rights to a major league team in Los Angeles, which he used to move the Dodgers there a year later . Under ordinary circumstances, that would have precluded any subsequent American League presence in the Los Angeles area . However, in an effort to prevent the proposed Continental League from becoming a reality, in 1960 the two existing leagues agreed to expand, adding two teams to each league . Though the understanding was that expansion teams would be placed in cities without major league baseball, that agreement quickly broke down . When the National League placed a team in New York City (the Mets) as its tenth franchise, the American League announced plans to place an expansion team in Los Angeles, to begin play in 1961 . </P> <P> Gene Autry, former movie cowboy, singer, actor and owner of Golden West Broadcasters (including Los Angeles' KMPC radio and KTLA television), attended the Major League Owners' meeting in St. Louis in 1960 in hopes of winning broadcasting rights for the new team's games . Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg was initially on the fast track to be the team's first owner, with Bill Veeck as a partner . However, when O'Malley got word of Veeck's involvement, he invoked his exclusive right to operate a major league team in Southern California . In truth, O'Malley wasn't about to compete with Veeck, who was known as a master promoter . After it became obvious that O'Malley would never sign off on the deal as long as Veeck was a part - owner, Greenberg was forced to bow out . After another bid by Chicago insurance executive and future A's owner Charlie Finley failed, Autry was persuaded to make a bid himself . Autry (who had been a minority stockholder in the Angels' PCL rival, the Hollywood Stars) agreed, and purchased the franchise . </P> <P> Autry named the new franchise the Los Angeles Angels . The origins of the name date back to 1892, when it was first used by a Los Angeles franchise in the California League . The Angel moniker has always been natural for Los Angeles teams, since The Angels is a literal English translation of the Spanish Los Angeles . It was also a nod to the long - successful PCL team that played in Los Angeles from 1903 through 1957 . O'Malley still owned the rights to the Angels name even after moving the team to Spokane to make way for the Dodgers, so Autry paid O'Malley $300,000 for the rights to the name . </P> <P> The Angels and their fellow expansionists, the new Washington Senators (now the Texas Rangers) chose players from other American League teams in an expansion draft . In 1961, the first year of the team's existence, the Angels finished 70--91 for a . 435 winning percentage, still the highest winning percentage ever for a first - year major league expansion team . Moreover, they not only finished nine games ahead of the Senators, but also nine games ahead of the Kansas City Athletics . The 1961 Angels, admittedly a motley crew, featured portly first baseman Steve Bilko, a long - time fan favorite who played many years with the PCL Angels . Another favorite was the diminutive (5' 53⁄8 ") center fielder, El Monte native Albie Pearson . The Angels played that inaugural season at Wrigley Field in South Los Angeles, the longtime home of the PCL Angels and also of the syndicated television series Home Run Derby . They originally wanted to play at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, where the Dodgers had played on a temporary basis since moving from Brooklyn . However, Commissioner Ford Frick turned this idea down almost out of hand after concluding that the Coliseum's extremely short left field fence (only 250 feet from the plate) made it unsuitable even as a temporary facility . </P>

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