You see that LA Angels logo everywhere, right? Especially if you’ve spent any time down in Southern California. For the longest time, I just kinda glanced at it – you know, the ‘A’ with the halo. Seemed pretty straightforward. Man, was I in for a surprise when I decided to actually dig into it for a little project I cooked up.
So, here’s what happened. I got this idea to make a really old-school, vintage-looking pennant for my den. Something that screamed 70s or early 80s Angels baseball. I figured, “Easy peasy, I’ll just grab the logo online and get to it.” That was my first mistake. The moment I started searching, it was like opening a can of worms. Seriously.
I found myself staring at my screen, realizing there wasn’t just one “Angels logo.” Oh no. My simple plan quickly turned into a bit of an archaeological dig. I remember thinking, “Okay, which ‘A’ is it?” Because there are differences! I started noticing:
- The exact shape and thickness of the halo. Sometimes it’s thin, sometimes it’s chunky.
- The style of the letter ‘A’ itself. Some are sharper, some are rounder.
- Then you’ve got the whole “California Angels” era versus “Anaheim Angels” versus “Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim” (what a mouthful that was!) and now just “Los Angeles Angels.” Each had its subtle, and sometimes not-so-subtle, tweaks.
- Don’t even get me started on the different shades of red and blue they’ve used over the years. I felt like I needed a color science degree.
I spent a good few hours, maybe more, just comparing images, trying to find that exact vibe I was going for. My browser tabs were a mess. I was muttering to myself, “No, that halo’s not right for ’78…” It sounds a bit crazy, I know.
Now, you might be wondering why I got so obsessive over a pennant. Well, this all went down a while back when I was laid up with a really bad cold. Like, couldn’t-leave-the-couch-for-a-week bad. My main company was the TV and my laptop. So, instead of just binge-watching shows, I sort of channeled all that foggy-headed energy into this logo quest. It became my mission. My wife would peek in and see me squinting at different versions of the Angels ‘A’ and just shake her head. She’d say, “Honey, it’s just a baseball logo,” but I was too far down the rabbit hole by then. It was something to focus on, you know? Something to achieve when I couldn’t do much else.
Eventually, I pieced together a design I was happy with, something that felt like it captured that retro spirit. I even managed to get it printed onto some felt. It wasn’t perfect, probably, if a real historian looked at it. But to me, it was a victory. I hung it up, and honestly, every time I see that pennant, I don’t just think of the Angels. I think of that weird week, stuck indoors, becoming an accidental expert on the finer points of their branding history.
It’s funny, isn’t it? You see these logos a million times, and they just become part of the background. But when you actually try to replicate one or understand its journey, you realize there’s a whole story there. It definitely made me look at team logos differently. They’re not just static images; they evolve, they change, sometimes for the better, sometimes… well, sometimes you just miss the old ones.
