Peter Angelos
Encyclopedia
Peter G. Angelos is an American
trial lawyer.
Angelos is also the majority owner of the Baltimore Orioles
, a baseball
team in the American League
East Division
.
. 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 part of the diet pill combination 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
.
horses and in 1998 purchased the 237 acre (0.95910582 km²) Ross Valley Farm in Baltimore County.
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 2000, the team's general manager, Syd Thrift, told the Washington Times that the team had a practice of not signing players who had defected from Cuba, which he attributed to Angelos' desire to avoid doing "anything that could be interpreted as being disrespectful" by the Cuban government. Angelos denied the existence of such a policy. Subsequent investigations by Major League Baseball and the United States Department of Justice
did not find evidence that the absence of Cuban players on the Orioles' roster or in its minor league system was due to discrimination.
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." 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."
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. Angelos denied that the two had spoken about potential opportunities with the Baltimore Orioles
, but said he welcomed future discussions on the topic.
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."
Angelos was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 1996.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
trial lawyer.
Angelos is also the majority owner of the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
, a baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
team in the American League
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, or simply the American League , is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league based in the Great Lakes states, which eventually aspired to major...
East Division
American League East
The American League Eastern Division is one of Major League Baseball's six divisions . This division was created before the start of the 1969 season along with the Western Division...
.
Career
Angelos is a graduate of Eastern College of Commerce and Law the University of Baltimore School of LawUniversity of Baltimore School of Law
University of Baltimore School of Law, or UB Law, is one of the three colleges that make up the University of Baltimore, which is part of the University System of Maryland. UB Law is one of only two law schools in the state of Maryland, the other law school being the University of Maryland School...
. 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
Asbestos and the law
This article concerns asbestos-related legal and regulatory issues. Litigation related to asbestos injuries and property damages has been claimed to be the longest-running mass tort in U.S. history...
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
Philip Morris USA
Philip Morris USA is the United States tobacco division of Altria Group, Inc. Philip Morris USA brands include Marlboro, Virginia Slims, Benson and Hedges, Merit, Parliament, Alpine, Basic, Cambridge, Bucks, Dave's, Chesterfield, Collector's Choice, Commander, English Ovals, Lark, L&M, Players and...
and suing Wyeth
Wyeth
Wyeth, formerly one of the companies owned by American Home Products Corporation , was a pharmaceutical company. The company was based in Madison, New Jersey, USA...
, the makers of part of the diet pill combination fen-phen
Fen-phen
The drug combination fenfluramine/phentermine, usually called fen-phen, is an anti-obesity treatment that utilizes two anorectics. Fenfluramine, its S-enantiomer dexfenfluramine, and a few other serotonin agonists were shown to cause potentially fatal pulmonary hypertension and heart valve...
. It was after this that he became a major player in the Baltimore community. Angelos's law firm currently has offices in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
; Philadelphia; Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland, Maryland
Cumberland is a city in the far western, Appalachian portion of Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Allegany County, and the primary city of the Cumberland, MD-WV Metropolitan Statistical Area. At the 2010 census, the city had a population of 20,859, and the metropolitan area had a...
; Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg, Pennsylvania
Harrisburg is the capital of Pennsylvania. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 49,528, making it the ninth largest city in Pennsylvania...
; Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington, Delaware
Wilmington is the largest city in the state of Delaware, United States, and is located at the confluence of the Christina River and Brandywine Creek, near where the Christina flows into the Delaware River. It is the county seat of New Castle County and one of the major cities in the Delaware Valley...
; and Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
.
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.Horse racing
Angelos breeds and races ThoroughbredThoroughbred
The Thoroughbred is a horse breed best known for its use in horse racing. Although the word thoroughbred is sometimes used to refer to any breed of purebred horse, it technically refers only to the Thoroughbred breed...
horses and in 1998 purchased the 237 acre (0.95910582 km²) Ross Valley Farm in Baltimore County.
Baltimore Orioles
In 1993, Angelos led a group of investors which included Tom ClancyTom Clancy
Thomas Leo "Tom" Clancy, Jr. is an American author, best known for his technically detailed espionage, military science, and techno thriller storylines set during and in the aftermath of the Cold War, along with video games on which he did not work, but which bear his name for licensing and...
and Steve Geppi
Steve Geppi
Stephen A. Geppi is a comic book distributor, publisher and former comic store owner. Having established an early chain of comic shops in Baltimore in the mid-late 1970s, he is best known for his distributing business. Geppi founded Diamond Comic Distributors, the largest comic direct distribution...
that purchased Baltimore Orioles for $173 million from Eli Jacobs
Eli Jacobs
Eli Solomon Jacobs is an American financier and attorney, member of the National Commission for the Review of the National Reconnaissance Office and the former owner of the Baltimore Orioles from 1989 to 1993.-Rise to success:...
. His official titles with the club are Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Chief executive officer
A chief executive officer , managing director , Executive Director for non-profit organizations, or chief executive is the highest-ranking corporate officer or administrator in charge of total management of an organization...
.
In 2000, the team's general manager, Syd Thrift, told the Washington Times that the team had a practice of not signing players who had defected from Cuba, which he attributed to Angelos' desire to avoid doing "anything that could be interpreted as being disrespectful" by the Cuban government. Angelos denied the existence of such a policy. Subsequent investigations by Major League Baseball and the United States Department of Justice
United States Department of Justice
The United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
did not find evidence that the absence of Cuban players on the Orioles' roster or in its minor league system was due to discrimination.
In May 2009, a Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated
Sports Illustrated is an American sports media company owned by media conglomerate Time Warner. Its self titled magazine has over 3.5 million subscribers and is read by 23 million adults each week, including over 18 million men. It was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the...
article reviewing owners of Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
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." Two weeks later, Brady Anderson
Brady Anderson
Brady Kevin Anderson is an American former outfielder with the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox and Cleveland Indians of Major League Baseball...
, a member of the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
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."
On April 16, 2010, a Fox Sports article suggested that Angelos allegedly denied a job to Cal Ripken, Jr.
Cal Ripken, Jr.
Calvin Edwin "Cal" Ripken, Jr. , nicknamed "Iron Man", is a former Major League Baseball shortstop and third baseman. He played his entire 21-year baseball career for the Baltimore Orioles ....
, 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
ESPN
Entertainment and Sports Programming Network, commonly known as ESPN, is an American global cable television network focusing on sports-related programming including live and pre-taped event telecasts, sports talk shows, and other original programming....
, MLB.com
MLB.com
MLB.com is the official site of Major League Baseball and is overseen by Major League Baseball Advanced Media, L.P. . MLB.com is a source of baseball-related information, including baseball news, statistics, and sports columns...
and the Baltimore Sun wrote that the Fox Sports story was inaccurate. Angelos denied that the two had spoken about potential opportunities with the Baltimore Orioles
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are a professional baseball team based in Baltimore, Maryland in the United States. They are a member of the Eastern Division of Major League Baseball's American League. One of the American League's eight charter franchises in 1901, it spent its first year as a major league...
, but said he welcomed future discussions on the topic.
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."
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.