Birth of the Angels

The Los Angeles Angels and new Washington Senators were formed in the winter of 1960 and joined the American League the following spring. On Dec. 14, club officials drafted players by position from a talent pool supplied by the other eight AL Teams. The original Angels in the order they were drafted:

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 1. Eli Grba 26 RHP Yankees

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The first player drafted in 1960. Pitched three years for Angels--his last three in the majors--compiling a 20-24 record.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 2. Jerry Casale 27 RHP Red Sox

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Won one game and lost five with Angels in 1961 before being traded to Detroit. Was out of baseball after ’62 season.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 3. Duke Maas 31 RHP Yankees

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Never pitched for Angels. Traded back to New York where he pitched one-third inning in 1961, his last season in the big leagues.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 4. Tex Clevenger 28 RHP Twins

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Was 2-1 in 12 games with 1961 Angels before trade to Yankees. Was out of baseball after ’62 season.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 5. Bob Sprout 19 LHP Tigers

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One of few youngsters picked by ManAger Bill Rigney who didn’t work out. Major league career lasted four innings with the Angels in 1961.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 6. Aubrey Gatewood 22 RHP Tigers

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Came up to Angels in 1963. Was a spot starter and relief pitcher. His earned-run Average was never higher than 3.42 in seven years with club.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 7. Ken McBride 25 RHP White Sox

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An All-Star in 1961, ’62 and ‘63, appeared in 135 games for Angels. In his first three seasons, he was 36-32. In his last two (1964-65), he was 4-16.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 8. Ned Garver 34 RHP Athletics

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Was 20-12 with St. Louis in 1951, and a respectable 10-13 with Kansas City in ’59. Pitched the last 12 games of his career with Angels in ‘61, going 0-3 with a 5.59 ERA.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 9. Ron Moeller 22 LHP Orioles

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Had just 13 innings of major league experience when drafted. Pitched 112 2/3 innings for Angels in 1961, going 4-8 with a 5.83 ERA.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 10. Bob Davis 27 RHP Athletics

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Never pitched with Angels. His 29-game major league career ended with Athletics in 1960.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 11. Ed Sadowski 28 C Red Sox

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Played three years with Angels, batting .232 in 1961, .200 in ’62 and .172 in ’63. Ended his career in Atlanta after three games in 1966.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 12. Bob “Buck” Rodgers 22 C Tigers

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Played all nine major league seasons with Angels, catching 895 games. Best year was rookie season (1962) when he hit .258 and drove in 61 runs.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 13. Eddie Yost 34 3B Tigers

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Had already played nearly 2,000 games when Angels drafted him. Scored 100 or more runs five times, including league-leading 115 in 1959. In two seasons with Angels, scored 51 times.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 14. Ken Aspromonte 29 2B Indians

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Hit .223 in 66 games with Angels in 1961 before returning to Cleveland. Played 2 1/2 more seasons with Indians, appearing in only 98 games.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 15. Ken Hamlin 25 SS Athletics

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Played 42 games with Angels in 1961, batting .209. Played three more seasons in big leagues with Senators, including ‘65, when he hit a career-best .273.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 16. Gene Leek 24 3B Indians

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Played 57 games in 1961, hit five homers and drove in 20 runs. Played in only seven games in ‘62, his last season in major leagues.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 17. Jim Fregosi 18 SS Red Sox

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Became heart of Angels, starting an Average of 157 games a year from 1963-70. Hit 22 homers with 82 RBIs in ’70. A six-time All-Star, was inducted into Angels’ Hall of Fame in 1989.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 18. Bob Cerv 34 1B/OF Yankees

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Hit a combined 58 homers with 191 RBIs in 1958 and ’59 with Kansas City. Played 18 games for the Angels and hit .158 before returning to Yankees in ’61 trade that brought Lee Thomas and Ryne Duren to Angels.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 19. Ken Hunt 26 OF Yankees

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After playing in a total of only 31 games for Yankees in previous two years, hit .255 with 25 homers and 84 RBIs for 1961 Angels. Average dropped to .182 in ’62 and .183 in ’63.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 20. Jim McAnany 24 OF White Sox

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Never played for Angels. Traded to Cubs for Lou Johnson before ’61 season. Had 16 at-bats in two years with Cubs, his last in the majors.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 21. Earl Averill 29 OF/C, White Sox

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Caught 94 games, started 58 in the outfield and one at second base in two seasons with Angels before trade to Philadelphia. Hit .266 with 21 home runs and 59 RBIs in 1961.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 22. Faye Throneberry 29 OF Twins

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Brother of Marv. Last year in majors was 1961, when he played in 24 games and hit .194 for Angels.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 23. Ted Kluszewski 36 1B White Sox

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Led National League with 49 homers and 141 RBIs in1954 with Reds. Hit 15 homers for Angels in ‘61, his 15th and last major league season.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 24. Don Ross 22 INF Orioles

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Never played in the majors.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 25. Julio Becquer 28 1B Twins

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Was hitless in 11 games with Angels in 1961 before going to Twins. Didn’t play in ’62 and played one game with Twins in ‘63, his last season in the big leagues.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 26. Dean Chance 19 RHP Orioles

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The 1964 Cy Young winner when he was 20-9 with a league-leading 1.65 ERA, 15 complete games and 11 shutouts. Won an Angel franchise-record 11 times by the score of 1-0.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 27. Fred Newman 18 RHP Red Sox

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Spent entire six-year major league career (1962-67) with Angels. Was 33-39 with 3.41 lifetime ERA. Was 13-10 with 2.75 ERA in ‘64, when he struck out 83 and walked only 39.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 28. Bob Wilson 32 C Indians

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Retired after draft was announced. Cleveland sent left-hander Ted Bowsfield--who was 20-16 with 4.04 ERA with Angels in 1961-62--as a replacement.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 29. Steve Bilko 32 1B Tigers

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Hit .279 with 20 home runs and 59 RBIs in 1961 and .287 with eight homers and 38 RBIs in ‘62, the best two full years in majors and last of his 10 in big leagues.

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No. Name Age Pos. Team 30. Albie Pearson 26 OF Orioles

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Played last six seasons of nine-year major league career with Angels. Led the league in runs (115) in 1962, when he started 160 games and hit .304.