Peter G. Angelos (born July 4, 1929
in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania
), is an American
trial lawyer.
Angelos is also the majority owner of the
Baltimore Orioles, a
baseball team in the
American League East Division.
Biography
Career
Angelos is a graduate of Eastern College of Commerce and Law the
University of
Baltimore School of Law. He began work as a criminal defense
lawyer following graduation. For most of his legal career Angelos
made a living as a lawyer representing Baltimore labor unions and
their members in his own private practice, which he founded in
1961. Beginning in the 1980s, Angelos refashioned his firm from
criminal law to civil class action suits. In 1982, his wealth and
law firm expanded exponentially when he represented a large number
of plaintiffs in
asbestos
litigation and won. He reportedly made over $100 million on
this single case. Angelos was also enormously successful in
representing the state of Maryland as lead attorney in a suit
against
Philip Morris and suing
Wyeth, the makers of the diet pill
fen-phen. It was after this that he became a major
player in the Baltimore community.
Angelos's law firm currently has offices
in Baltimore
, Philadelphia
, Cumberland, Maryland
, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
, Wilmington, Delaware
, and Knoxville, Tennessee
.
Politics
A lifelong Democrat, he held a seat on Baltimore City Council from
1959 to 1963. Angelos ran for mayor of Baltimore in 1964 as an
independent, but lost with less than 10% of the vote. Three times
in the 1960s he unsuccessfully challenged Republican incumbents in
the Maryland Legislature. He recently has become involved in
politics again, publicly supporting Republican gubernatorial
incumbent
Robert Ehrlich and
criticizing 2006 Democratic candidate, now governor,
Martin O'Malley.
However, it is
speculated that Angelos's support for the Republican is more a
business move than a political move, because O'Malley encouraged
the move of the Montreal Expos to
Washington,
D.C.
, a move which threatened the Orioles monopoly on
the Baltimore-Washington market.
Horse racing
Angelos breeds and races
Thoroughbred
horses and in 1998 purchased the 237-acre Ross Valley Farm in
Baltimore County.
Baltimore Orioles
In 1993, Angelos led a group of investors which included
Tom Clancy and
Steve
Geppi that purchased Baltimore Orioles for $173 million from
Eli Jacobs. His official titles with the
club are Chairman of the Board and
Chief Executive Officer.
In May 2009, A
Sports Illustrated
article reviewing owners of
Major
League Baseball franchises rated Angelos as one of the five
worst owners in the United States. The article notes that the
methodology "was not scientific" and "weighing heavily in the
decision was the team's success or failure on the field."
Two weeks later,
Brady Anderson, a
member of the
Baltimore Orioles
Hall of Fame, responded in an op-ed to the Baltimore Sun, writing
that Angelos deserves to be on a list of the "best owners in
baseball."
"Perhaps one day another article will be written attempting to name
the best owners in baseball and a little more research will be put
forth and Peter Angelos will be on that list, where he rightfully
belongs." Anderson cited the Orioles robust payroll, low ticket
prices, liberal food policy, model ballpark - to which Angelos
refused to sell the naming rights, and recent hiring of GM
Andy MacPhail - in making the case for
Angelos.
Awards
He was named "Marylander of the Year" by the Baltimore Sun in 1988,
with a citation that read: "Measured by professional
accomplishments and contributions to his city and region, he is the
Marylander of this decade."
Angelos was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 1996.
He is a generous but shy philanthropist, having contributed
millions to civic and community institutions around Maryland. He is
the largest individual donor to the University of Baltimore and
pledged $5 million to the school in 2008.
[162133]
References
- http://www.lawpga.com/contact.htm
-
http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/bal-te.md.preakness20mar20,0,7666866.story
- Warshaw, Michael, "Steve Geppi - From Mailman to Tycoon" in
DeGarmo, Scott (ed.), Success (June, 1994) ISSN 0745-2489,
pp. 28-32
-
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/baseball/mlb/05/08/mlb.owners/index.html
-
http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/baltsun/access/37692073.html?dids=37692073:37692073&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Dec+27%2C+1998&author=&pub=The+Sun&desc=Peter+G.+Angelos%2C+Marylander+of+Year%3B+Honor%3A+Lawyer+invests+in+his+hometown+to+improve+it+for+all+who+live+and+work+here
- http://www.neco.org/awards/recipients/pangelos.html
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