#49 04/19/66 – Anaheim Stadium - Opening Day at the Big A



The Angels spent their first Major League season in Wrigley Field, a minor league bandbox that only held 20,457 spectators. For the next four years, they were tenants at Dodger Stadium – transient guests who used the new digs when the owners weren’t home. Gene Autry knew he needed to find a permanent home for his ball club.

At first, it appeared that the Angels might be headed for Long Beach; but the city insisted that the team be called the Long Beach Angels. Autry balked at the idea, recognizing immediately that it would produce a marketing nightmare. With the deadline to renew their lease at Dodger Stadium looming, Autry turned his sights on Anaheim. Although the city had a population of just 150,000 at the time, it did have several factors in its favor: a prosperous and growing community, nearby tourist attractions (Disneyland and Knott’s Berry Farm), and 7 million people within a 50-mile radius. Best of all, the proposed site for the stadium was a 160-acre parcel of land (previously an old citrus grove) near the intersection of three freeways.

After completing their negotiations with the city, the Angels broke ground for the new stadium in August 1964. They also changed the name of the franchise to the California Angels in 1965 in preparation for their move. Finally, in 1966, the 43,204 seat stadium was ready. The most distinctive feature of the $24 million stadium was a giant 230 foot tall, 210-ton scoreboard in the shape of a Big A – providing a nickname still used to this day. The golden halo located near the top of the A is illuminated following Angel wins, whether at home or on the road.

On April 19, 1966, the Angels played their first official game in their new home against the Chicago White Sox in front of a crowd of 31,660. Jim Fregosi recorded the stadium’s first hit – a double to right – in the bottom of the first. In the second, LF Rick Reichardt hit a solo home run for the stadium’s first run, RBI, and home run. Unfortunately, the Halos wouldn’t score again, and the White Sox came back to claim a 3-1 victory. Future Angel Tommy John was credited with the first win and Marcelino Lopez got the loss. The White Sox’s Eddie Fisher pitched the final two innings to earn the save.

The Angels would win their first game in their new home the next night - a 4-3 win over Chicago. The Angels drew 1.4 million fans that first year in Anaheim - almost tripling their home attendance from the previous year in Dodger Stadium. The Big A has been the site of most of the 50 Greatest Moments in Angels’ History – proving the refrain “There is no place like home!”