Walt Disney Archives

This Day in Disney

Agreement Finalized to Purchase 25 Percent of the California Angels

Singing cowboy Gene Autry began his movie career in the 1930s, eventually making more than 100 films. Although his theme song was “Back in the Saddle Again,” Gene felt just as comfortable in a baseball dugout and was the founder of the team now known as the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. On this day in 1995, Michael Eisner scored big points with Disney’s baseball fans when he announced that The Walt Disney Company had agreed to purchase 25 percent of what was then known as the California Angels. The Company acquired the rest of the team after Gene Autry’s death and remained the owners until its sale in 2003. During the initial deal with Disney, the 86-year- old Gene Autry was delighted and stated, “I could not be more pleased that the company that bears my friend Walt Disney’s name and that is also dedicated to the creation of family entertainment is now a part of the Angels organization.”