Angel Stadium turns 56 this year, the 4th oldest ballpark still standing. It certainly doesn’t seem like it is, in part due to the major renovations this stadium has had.
How it happened
One of those renovations was when the Rams moved in for the 1980 season. This was because the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum didn’t sell out and thus blackouts were an issue. In addition, the city Los Angeles wouldn’t build the Rams a new one. Multi purpose stadiums were the style at the time, and thus Angel Stadium was converted as Orange County was having a population boom.
This conversion consisted of closing the stadium to encircle the field, adding many additional seats and moving the Big A to outside next to the 57. By doing so it drastically changed the look of Angel Stadium, ruining the view and losing much of the charm.
Many iconic moments happened during this time, from the Lynn catch, the 1989 All Star Game, Reggie Jackson’s 500th career home run, Rod Carew’s 3000th hit, and the 1982 and 1986 ALCSs.
While at Angel Stadium, the Rams were successful for the most part, going to the playoffs 7 times. Big time players and big time plays made Angel Stadium a great place to watch competitive fun teams in 2 sports, But, unfortunately, like the Angels, the Rams couldn’t get over the hump in the 80’s.
How it ended
In the 90’s owner Georgia Frontiere saw an opportunity to move the Rams to her hometown of St. Louis and gutted the team in order to make the move the fans’ fault.
The media and people bought the excuse and the Rams left. What this meant for Angel Stadium was what can now be called a coliseum problem, as the seating, which was already an issue for Angel games with how far away the outfield seats were. Worse as there was no excuse to having them there anymore.
When Disney took over they renovated the place, opening the stadium up and overall improving the aesthetics dramatically. Even though the decision for a geyser and the other choices are still devisive to this day, we can all agree it is better now as a baseball only stadium.
Legacy
However, some of the changes made for football are still there. The Big A is still in the parking lot, the big wall in RF with seating behind is a leftover of that time, as is the straight line making the stadium not a mirror copy of Dodger Stadium anymore. Changing Angel Stadium to something more modern was something Disney didn’t have to do. The A’s still have Raiders ghosts that haunt them in the form of Mt. Davis in Oakland.
In 2017, the Eagles practiced at Angel Stadium, harkening back to an older time. While not a multi sport stadium anymore, it can still fit football if need be.
With the Rams being at Angel Stadium for a good while, I wonder how many Angel fans are fans of the Rams? With them gone for 20 years, I know many have a different team to cheer for if they do care about the NFL. One thing I am glad for, though, is that they both have a place they can call home suited for them.
Georgia Frontiere, the carpetbagging bitch who was inspired by Rachel Phelps.
Well even though that black widow vaudevillian whore has been dead for some time now the team is still finding new ways to screw over Eric Dickerson.
Yeah, that was pretty classless of them. They don’t like that Eric calls it like he sees it, and is critical of the teams when they are playing bad.
Halftime show was epic!
Really good, best I’ve seen since Prince.
It saddens me that i’ve only seen it in it’s current state. We gotta put the Big A back in left field some day.
I can remember the original park with the scoreboard in the A. That original iteration of Angel Stadium was, in my estimation, one of the most beautiful ballparks i have ever been.
From pictures I would definitely agree.
We’ll have to make sure we run it by the State affordable housing police.
Big A in left field is known to the state of California to cause cancer
That version of our stadium had all the charm of an indoor mall…
That giant literally box-shaped press box on the left field view level! Sucked big time.
especially when they made the baseball writers sit there.
http://www.lbreport.com/15obits/mcdon.jpg
RIP “Big Nasty”………He would’ve been rooting for them today!
Joe was great!!!
http://photos.wikimapia.org/p/00/00/45/97/77_big.jpg
I’ve never been there, and I have to try them!!
I used to have season tickets to Rams games behind the south goal posts. Next to a contingent of Chino dairyman. Over the years I have lost interest in football, even at the college level. So, in honor of the Stupor Bowl being played in LA , and the Rams playing in the game, I will go and play golf!!!
Fun read. You were a cute kid, what happened? Weird in that I felt the same when as you feel now when the Rams left the Coliseum for the OC. I did become a Raiders fan until they both left in 1994. Then something good happened, we received better TV games on Sunday and after SoCal had no team, I became an NFL fan even more so. Now I watch a lot less because I just will not be loyal to either LA team as I do not really care that they returned “Home”. But I am not alone as the 49’ers out drew the home team for a game a few weeks back.
Today I will root for the Rams though, as I am a ‘Homer” for any sports team that calls SoCal home. Yes, even the Lakers.
So, for today I can say, GO RAMS!!!!!!.
Just another So Cal fair weather fan 🤣
So what happened was years of bad school experiences, my first job being lost during the recession, and general jadedness that occurred this Millennium.
I’m a Rams fan, my grandfather was one back when the Rams were here and he died right before they left. I still have some of his old Rams stuff. Being told that I didn’t deserve a team for 20 years made me rather bitter about the whole thing. Which is also why I have no sympathy for St. Louis.
I was a big Rams fan. Let me restate that – I was a HUGE Rams fan. My dad and I used to go to the Colliseum from OC to watch the games starting in around 1974. It was unbelievably exciting when they announced they were coming to Anaheim. We got season tickets and my passion for the team intensified. We went to so many games and saw so many amazing moments and players. I was a Rams fan, Angels fan and Lakers fan so my plate was full. These were the golden years of living in OC as a sports fan.
And then the Rams left. It was really a turning point in my sports allegiances. A moment where it really hit me (as a 28 year old) that these teams could really care less about their loyal, diehard fans and were just chasing money. The Rams leaving impacted all my sports fanaticism- leaving me a little jaded. Maybe it made me more realistic but it was like the day I stopped believing in Santa Claus. It was a dividing line ending what was left of my childhood.
I will say without hesitation that since they left, the Rams are dead to me. I have tried to root for them since their return – but it’s just not in me. They left and hurt me bad. Now they want me to take them back…..as if that pain can just be forgiven- sorry, they are dead to me. ITS OVAH!
And so this former Rams diehard says without hesitation- Go Bengals!!
I didn’t care that the Rams went to Saint Louis…they were still the Rams.
My first Ram game was in 1972 at the Coliseum…too many stars to list.
https://www.pro-football-reference.com/teams/ram/1972_roster.htm
You and I obviously had very different feelings on this.
To me – what you are saying is the functional equivalent of the following:
“My wife left me and our two children in OC to go live with another man in NYC because he had more money. But she is still my wife.”
Relax…it’s suppose to be fun!
You might just need therapy.
Oh I’ve had it my friend!
Well you should be fine now cuz that bitch died 14 years ago.
And BTW: They just won the Stupid Bowl!!
What a game winning drive…Kupp is MVP.
Congrats! I probably helped that happen by rooting for the Bengals!
What is fun about abandonment?
Rigo said, “No ma’am, it’s just a game.”
That pretty much says it all about sports.
They left when I was too young to understand what was going on. I grew up without a team and being told I didn’t deserve one.
My mom’s side were Rams fans and while my grandfather died before the move, I became a Rams fan to remember him. Them coming back is Stan fighting a wrong that Georgina made. Everyone hates him, but the man fixed what was right and built the stadium with his own money.
Like the article – love your dedication .
But don’t give Stan too much love – he was also the big money behind the Anaheim to STL move back in 1994. Not many people know this for some reason.
Glad Stan didn’t slight the city of St Louis when he hoisted the trophy yesterday. Georgia kicked us in the gut when she raised the trophy January 2000 saying on the podium “this proves we made the right move” in her first words out of her mouth … Ugh – what an itch she was. W and B apply here.
I don’t get all racked up with anger anymore over the move but it was great to have football back in LA. Had some great times at the Coliseum in 2016 with my son – we’ll never forget the first games back in LA as i was also at the last games in Anaheim (attended 10 games total in 1993 & 1994 as I knew the end was coming).
This take is pretty much the same as mine. I’ll just add refs/umpires deciding games added to the turn off. There were three crucial PI call/non-calls in that super bowl.
The second shot of you and your Dad looks like the last row in the Upper View section. If so we must have seen each other at some point!! In the All Star illustration our 1986 ALCS Game 5 seats were about the second e in Batters Eye. We were a long ways away but it still was the worst baseball day of my life. Except for maybe Gibson’s World Series homerun.
Yeah that’s up at the top of the stadium. It’s where we sat for a good number of years. Once the renovation happened we sat in RF for the family stuff there.
Now, I stay out of the sun.
Behind home plate above row O in the old seating system.
Above row O so people on the walkway didn’t block the view.
There was always walk up ticket window seats available there.