Playing in their 52nd American League season, expectations from both the Los Angeles Angels and the fans are at an all-time high. Demand for Angels tickets has never been greater, which is not surprising, since the club is on a current nine-year streak of drawing in excess of three million in attendance. The Angels, along with the now-defunct Washington Senators, were baseball's first expansion clubs, joining the American League in 1961. The founder and eventual owner of the team was Gene Autry, the famous Hollywood cowboy, one of the nation's top box-office stars from the 1930s through the 1950s. Autry's involvement no doubt contributed to the early popularity of the team, and his frequent appearances at the games caused a spike in Angels tickets sales. Autry's tenure, which lasted for 36 years, saw the Angels advance to the post-season just three times, with the first occurring in 1979. Despite mediocre on-field performance, Angels tickets sales remained popular and steady. The Angels have also undergone several name changes, with the first change happening in 1965, when they became the California Angels. When the Walt Disney Company became majority owners of the team in 1997, they were renamed the Anaheim Angels. It was under this nickname that the Angels advanced to and won their only World Series in 2002. In 2005, new owner Arturo Moreno became the first Hispanic majority owner of a major American professional sports team and reinstated "Los Angeles" to the team's name, and the Angels became the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In spite of the numerous name changes and up-and-down fortunes of the team, Angels tickets sales are still strong.
After being awarded a franchise, the Angels needed a home. Initially, the team wanted to make the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum their home field, but the Coliseum was deemed unsuitable due to its chip-shot 250 ft. distance from home plate to the left field wall. The Angels were forced to play their first season at South Los Angeles' Wrigley Field. The following season, the team entered into an agreement with the Dodgers to share Dodger Stadium. Angels tickets sales improved significantly in their new surroundings, but the feeling that the team could not establish their own identity within Dodger Stadium compelled team officials to seek a home of their own. Autry found a suitable location in Anaheim, only 25 miles away, where Angels tickets went on sale for the 1966 season. The move proved lucrative, as the team drew a league-leading 1.4 million during their inaugural season in Anaheim. Following their first playoff appearance in 1979, the Angels took on a tenant of their own, the NFL's Los Angeles Rams. The addition brought about a massive renovation of Anaheim Stadium, increasing seating capacity to almost 65,000. Angels tickets sales reached a peak in the late 1980s, before lackluster won- loss records and fan apathy caused a near bottoming-out. The franchise underwent a renaissance of sorts after Disney took over the day-to-day management in 1994. The stadium was again renovated, along with a name change to Edison International Field of Anaheim, which lasted until 2003, when it became known as Angel Stadium of Anaheim. Currently, the team and stadium names have remained the same for almost a decade, and Angels tickets sales have once again taken their place among the American League's top five.