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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.
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.[1] 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 (0.96 km2) Ross Valley Farm in Baltimore County.[2] 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.[3] 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 the worst owner in the Major Leagues. 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."[4] 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."[5] On April 16, 2010 a Fox Sports article suggested that Angelos allegedly denied a job to Cal Ripken, Jr., an Oriole legend and student of the game, when Ripken offered to come work for the franchise in a supporting role to help the O's young talent develop. A day later, ESPN, MLB.com and the Baltimore Sun wrote that the Fox Sports story was inaccurate.[6] Angelos denied that the two had spoken about potential opportunities with the Baltimore Orioles, but said he welcomed future discussions on the topic.[7] [8] On April 19, 2010, Cal Ripken Jr. issued a statement denying the Fox Sports story. In the statement, Ripken expressed an interest in returning to baseball and described his relationship with Angelos as "very good." [9] On June 26, 2010, Bleacher Report named Angelos the 6th worst owner in sports history.[10] 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."[11] Angelos was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 1996.[12] Charitable works Angelos is well known for various acts of charity and philanthropy, 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. [1] In 2010, the Baltimore Sun reported that Angelos had recently donated $10 million to the university.[13] The same report notes that during the particularly hot summer of 2010, Angelos anonymously donated $300,000 to keep Baltimore city pools open.[13] References 1. ^ http://www.lawpga.com/contact.htm
* Law Offices of Peter G. Angelos - Official Website.
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/"
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