Vintage Pics of Anaheim Stadium

by AngelKeith on Aug 27, 2009 9:44 AM PDT Comment 30 comments

I just stumbled upon another Blog site and I found some nice Vintage pictures of Anaheim Stadium in the inaugural season. I know it is a Doyers blog site, but I think the pictures are worth checking out especially if you want to see how the stadium looked when it first opened. It also has a picture of old Wrigley Field in Los Angeles where the Angels played their inaugural season.

http://dodgersblueheaven.blogspot.com/2008/05/vintage-southland-pics.html

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Those are great

Thanks for finding those, dude! I love photos like that. The most amazing thing for me about the pictures of the Big A is the vast empty expanse beyond the ballpark. Amazing what a difference 43 years makes. And actually, I think that most of the development and sprawl outside the park has probably only happened over the last 25 years or so. So some of the older HH readers can probably still remember the bean fields and orange groves. …Great stuff!

by KennyKatella on Aug 27, 2009 10:08 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

You're welcome

I really thought the HH community could enjoy the pictures. It has changed so dramatically.

by AngelKeith on Aug 27, 2009 10:11 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

For those Drum Corps people

The pic with the completely full field includes the Anaheim Kingsmen Drum&Bugle Corps (in the outfield).

Angels baseball. We do what we must, because we can -- HaloDutch

by red floyd on Aug 27, 2009 3:14 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

God I love the big A scoreboard

I wish we had left it inside the stadium

Tell your statistics to shut up

by HaloDutch on Aug 27, 2009 10:56 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

Do you remember the lights on the sides of the big A flashing and the halo lighting up every time the Angels hit a home run?

THIS… IS… ANAHEIM!!

by opiejeanne on Aug 27, 2009 2:34 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

YES!

I am glad someone else remembers that!

I love this team.

by Downing Rules on Aug 27, 2009 3:44 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Oh, I remember them too.

They used to chase up and down the sides after things like HR’s and wins, and in opposite directions. So the left upright would have the lights all off, then lighting up in a chase pattern from bottom to top. Meanwhile, the right upright would have the lights chasing down. Then, once the lights reached the end of their runs (at the same time for each side) they would go back off in reverse order. This pattern would repeat 3 or 4 times as the halo lights twinkled.

We don't have a Bullpen. We have a Cowpen. Before we get to call it a Bullpen these guys gotta grow a pair.

by Stirrups on Aug 27, 2009 3:55 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Looks like someboy

dreamed of making the Big A do that on many an occasion.

by eyespy on Aug 27, 2009 5:01 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

that was great

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.

by Moondoggy on Aug 27, 2009 5:06 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Didn't we all? I even had my bat flip perfected.

We don't have a Bullpen. We have a Cowpen. Before we get to call it a Bullpen these guys gotta grow a pair.

by Stirrups on Aug 29, 2009 10:51 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Take me out to the ball game

on the video board in the last shot… Are the lyrics wrong? or have they changed?

says “Take me out to the park!” instead of “Take me out with the crowd!”

by Neo8234 on Aug 27, 2009 11:29 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

it also says

“its 1, 2, 3 AND your out” instead of “strikes”

by dr-awkward on Aug 27, 2009 2:23 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

And,

Root, root, root for THE ANGELS!

by California Cajun on Aug 27, 2009 2:29 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I just loved the original Big A

The open outfield with the white Big A scoreboard in left field.

by California Cajun on Aug 27, 2009 2:19 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I loved that open outfield

although I recall it felt very odd coming late to the game (coming from Glendale, this usually was the case) with the stands filled and walking around the stadium behind the outfield. It felt as if everyone in the stands were sitting there looking at me in condemnation for being late!

by rspencer on Aug 28, 2009 12:20 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I never realized that the original stadium at the HR fence and bullpens looked so much like a community college field.

In my youth, I must have been overwhelmed by the stadium seating levels and the manicured playing surface.

We don't have a Bullpen. We have a Cowpen. Before we get to call it a Bullpen these guys gotta grow a pair.

by Stirrups on Aug 27, 2009 3:32 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

That I do remember

I also remember they would bring the relievers in golf carts

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.

by Moondoggy on Aug 27, 2009 5:07 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I can also remember being able to lean over the right field stadium wall and heckle the visiting bullpen.

Nothing like being a 10-year old kid razzing the Oakland A’s for dressing and shaving like a barber shop quartet.

If you note the photos, there are 3 buses parked just to the right of CF beyond the fence. Those were for the visiting team, who used to walk en masse from the locker room through the visiting bullpen out the back fo the stadium and over to those buses. After one game my baby brother (maybe 8 or 9 at the time) got picked up, bodily, by Joe Rudi and carried onto the team bus, autograph book and pencil in hand. Less than 3 minutes later he came right back off that bus, carried – again, bodily – by Reggie Jackson. Joyless prick.

We don't have a Bullpen. We have a Cowpen. Before we get to call it a Bullpen these guys gotta grow a pair.

by Stirrups on Aug 27, 2009 5:19 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

that's pretty funny

I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer.

by Moondoggy on Aug 27, 2009 5:59 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

How does the current configuration compare with the original?

The last time I was in the area the Angels were on the road so I never got to see a game with the current configuration.

As a kid in the late 60s-early 70s, I thought the original Big A was perfect and was awestruck by it.

How do fans who attended games compare the original to the present configuration?

by California Cajun on Aug 28, 2009 8:09 AM PDT reply actions 0 recs

I prefer the current design.

Having fans in the outfield surroundingthe game adds to the community experience.

Meanwhile, the views are still open to the hills and mountains. But the field is no longer open wide to the 57 fwy and all the development now to the northeast. I still haven’t figured out the rock pile, though.

We don't have a Bullpen. We have a Cowpen. Before we get to call it a Bullpen these guys gotta grow a pair.

by Stirrups on Aug 28, 2009 5:33 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

the "Anaheim Stadium" multipurpose days were ugly

the stadium is 1000 times more attractive since we reverted to baseball only

Tell your statistics to shut up

by HaloDutch on Aug 29, 2009 2:13 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

I am agreeing with that sentiment 1000 percent.

But what I am saying is that when I contrast the “open” design of the 60’s with the “open” design of today, I prefer today’s “open” design. I prefer to have some seating beyond the outfield, some stadium areas of interest to visit and from which to enjoy the game, and some architectural features to partially obscure the nearby industrial development. With the exception of the rock pile I think today’s design is nails. And with respect to the rock pile, I am totally down with the concept but not so sure about the execution.

We don't have a Bullpen. We have a Cowpen. Before we get to call it a Bullpen these guys gotta grow a pair.

by Stirrups on Aug 29, 2009 10:49 AM PDT up reply actions 0 recs

Remarkably similar, considering the physical differences

When I first attended a game with the current configuration, I had a strong sense of deja vu. It’s more the feel than the exact look—relaxed and very park-like. Oddly, according to the figures I’ve read on the Angels site the current capacity is very close to the original capacity (I assume because the addition of the suites took out a lot of seats).

by rspencer on Aug 28, 2009 6:48 PM PDT up reply actions 0 recs