Who Founded Los Angeles Angels?

Gene Autry was the driving force behind the franchise’s foundation.

One of the first two MLB expansion clubs, the Angels were established in Los Angeles in 1961  as an homage to a previous team of the same name in the Pacific Coast League (PCL). In 1966, the team relocated to Anaheim from Los Angeles. In the years after the transfer, the team was referred to as the California Angels and then the Anaheim Angels. Although “Los Angeles” was added in 2005, due to a leasing deal with Anaheim that necessitated a city name to be included as well, this franchise was referred to until 2015 as the Los Angeles Angels. Next season, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim adopted their present moniker, which is still used today.

Gene Autry

Gene Autry was born on September 29, 190. The Singing Cowboy was an American singer, composer, actor, musician, rodeo performer, and baseball owner who became famous for singing in a crooning style on radio, movies, and television for more than three decades starting in the early 1930s. From 1961 through 1997, Autry owned a Southern California television station, multiple radio stations, and the Los Angeles/California Angels Major League Baseball franchise.

A member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame and the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, Autry has been awarded stars in all five categories of the Hollywood Walk of Fame, which includes film/TV/radio/live performance and music/radio/film. Oklahoma’s Gene Autry town and Mesa, Arizona’s Gene Autry precinct bear his name.