Long before the Los Angeles Angels became a Major League franchise in 1961, they were the darlings of the Pacific Coast League. One of the PCL’s charter members, the “Looloos” or “Seraphs” – as they were often called – won 12 pennants from 1903 to 1957. From the 1930s to the mid-50s, the PCL (AA and AAA) was widely regarded as the “third” major league (after the AL and NL), providing a high level of play garnished by the blaze of Tinseltown celebrities in the stands whenever the Angels or Hollywood Stars hosted their games at Wrigley Field in South L.A. Presented here is a 1956 Angels warm-up jacket with use attributed to manager Bob Scheffing.
The former big league catcher spent seven seasons with the Chicago Cubs, interrupted by three years of service in World War II, before joining the Angels (Cubs former Triple-A affiliate) as a coach. He took over as manager midway through the 1955 season before leading the Seraphs to their final PCL title in 1956, the year he is believed to have donned this jacket. Scheffing was named PCL Manager of the Year after guiding the Angels to a 107-61 record, 16 games ahead of the second place Seattle Rainiers. He was promoted to MLB skipper of the Cubbies in 1957 and spent three seasons at the helm. He would later manage the Detroit Tigers for three years (1961-63) and serve as GM of the N.Y. Mets from 1970-75.
The snazzy, royal blue warm-up jacket has red and blue (now faded to purple) ribbing around the collar, tail and sleeve ends, and is insolated with wool. The iconic PCL club’s "LA" logo is sewn over the heart in white and red tackle twill. The back is blank, but inside the rear collar is a strip tag with numbers "25 15" handwritten in black marker. Van Ginkel's (Des Moines, IA) manufacturer tagging is found just inside the third button snap location. The jacket displays heavy wear, yet remains in fine overall condition with all buttons present. The ribbing shows some color fading and there are some spot stain and a few isolated holes (near the sleeve ends plus a few in the rear collar) from repeated wear and aging. The classic L.A. Angels jacket from the team's last PCL Championship campaign matches the style specifically worn by team members in 1956. It was sourced from the esteemed Dick Dobbins estate, the "mother" of all PCL collectors (whom we trust labeled it accurately as Scheffing's), over two decades ago and has remained with the same owner ever since.