Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout inspire Angels During a recent trip, when the Angels started a winning streak that vaulted them back into contention in the American League West, a television analyst referred to Mark Trumbo and Mike Trout as "T 'n T" - a dynamite combination. And who could argue? With each mammoth home run and diving catch, youngsters Trumbo and Trout were putting a charge into a veteran team that had languished in the season's opening weeks. The nickname was catchy, even accurate. But, as it turns out, not exactly original. Fifty-one years ago, in the Angels' very first season, the team had another TNT tandem: Lee Thomas, 25, and George Thomas, 23. Like Trumbo and Trout, the Thomases, who were not related, were fairly new to the big leagues - and highly productive. Lee hit .285 with 24 home runs and 70 runs batted in while receiving a few MVP votes in 1961, and George hit .274 with 13 home runs and 59 RBIs, helping the Angels to a 70-91 mark that stands as the best first-year record for an expansion franchise. Lee came to the Angels early in the season from the New York Yankees, having left a club that would win 109 games and the World Series with a nudge from two of the team's biggest stars. Recognizing that there was no room in the powerful Yankees lineup for Lee to play consistently, Mickey Mantle and Roger Maris advised him to show up early for some extra batting practice before a game against the Angels. "They said, 'Just go out there and try to impress them and maybe something will happen, because we heard some rumors,"' Lee recalled. Apparently, those rumors were true. Three days later, Lee was on his way to California. Lee got the news from Yankees Manager Ralph Houk, who called him around midnight saying, "You've been traded to the Angels." "I think Mantle and Maris knew what they were talking about," said Lee, who is now a special assistant in the front office of the Baltimore Orioles. The Angels picked up George Thomas later in the season in a trade with the Detroit Tigers, and he averaged a home run about every six games the rest of the way. The current Angels can only hope Trumbo and Trout's surge lasts longer. Although Lee Thomas had a great 1962 season - 26 homers and 104 RBIs for a surprising Angels team that led the AL as late as July 4 - George was recalled to military duty before the season and struggled when he returned to the club in late July. The next season, he was traded. The Angels' current young stars - Trumbo is 26, Trout is 20 - "overshadow us a bit," Lee said. "They have more power and they're both going to be real good players," he added. I thought George and I were fairly decent players, especially on an expansion club. Trout and Trumbo look like they're going to be outstanding for a long, long time. Unlike the inaugural rag-tag team amassed with players from the expansion draft, the Angels' in 2012 opened with a roster loaded with heavy artillery - more than $300 million in off-season commitments to Albert Pujols andC.J. Wilson alone. However, it became clear early that the Angels hadn't simply bought their way to the top. The team stumbled out of the gate to an 18-25 record through May 21. It was then that the 2012 TNT boys sparked an eight-game winning streak that put the Angels back into contention - and rekindled an old nickname.