Peter Angelos, owner of a Baltimore Orioles team that endured long losing stretches and shrewd proprietor of a law firm that won high-profile cases against industry titans, died Saturday. He was 94.
Angelos had been ill for several years. His family announced his death in a statement thanking the caregivers "who brought comfort to him in his final years."
Angelos' death comes as his son, John, plans to sell the Orioles to a group headed by Carlyle Group Inc. co-founder David Rubenstein. Peter Angelos' public role diminished significantly in his final years. According to a lawsuit involving his sons in 2022, he had surgery after his aortic valve failed in 2017.
Born on the Fourth of July in 1929 and raised in Maryland by Greek immigrants, Peter Angelos rose from a blue-collar background to launch a firm in his own name after receiving his law degree from the University of Baltimore in 1961.
In August 1993, Angelos spearheaded a consortium of investors that acquired the Orioles. The group consisted of writer Tom Clancy, filmmaker Barry Levinson, and tennis star Pam Shriver. The purchase price of $173 million, then the highest ever for a sports franchise, resulted from a sale prompted by the bankruptcy of then-owner Eli Jacobs.
Despite maintaining an active role in a law firm specializing in personal injury cases, Angelos took a hands-on approach to managing his hometown team. Nearly all player acquisitions required his approval, and although he was known for not splurging on high-priced free agents, his estimated net worth in 2017 stood at $2.1 billion.
In 1996, his firm initiated a lawsuit on behalf of Maryland against tobacco behemoth Philip Morris, resulting in a $4.5 billion settlement. The Law Offices of Peter Angelos also garnered substantial earnings from settling asbestos cases, including a class-action lawsuit representing steel, shipyard, and manufacturing employees.
Angelos also made waves in the baseball world. In 1995, he stood alone among 28 owners in rejecting a proposal to use replacement players during a union strike that commenced in the 1994 season.
"We have a responsibility to deliver major league baseball to our fans, and that cannot be achieved with replacement players," he asserted.
Back in the day, Orioles shortstop Cal Ripken Jr. was just 122 games away from breaking Lou Gehrig's record of 2,130 consecutive games played. The streak would have come to an end if the season had started with replacement players and Ripken had remained on strike. Fortunately, an agreement was reached between the owners and players before opening day, allowing Ripken to extend his record run to 2,632 games.
Angelos also spent years advocating for an exhibition series between the Orioles and Cuba's national team. His efforts finally paid off in 1999 when, on March 28, the Orioles played in Havana with Angelos seated next to Cuban leader Fidel Castro. The teams faced off again on May 3 at Oriole Park at Camden Yards.
This series was historic as it marked the first time the Cuban national team had played against a squad of only major league players, and the first time since 1959 that a big league club had competed in Cuba.
