Peter G. Angelos, the longtime proprietor of the Baltimore Orioles who constructed a fortune as a class-action lawyer, died on Saturday. He was 94.
His loss of life was confirmed in a statement from his household that was posted on the workforce’s social media account, which stated that Mr. Angelos had “passed away quietly.” No trigger was given, although the assertion acknowledged that he had been sick for a number of years.
Mr. Angelos’s loss of life got here as his household awaited approval by Main League Baseball homeowners to promote the workforce — valued, together with its belongings, at $1.725 billion, in keeping with The Baltimore Sun — to David Rubenstein, the president of Inside Harbor Sports activities.
The sale was accepted on March 20 by the Maryland Stadium Authority board, which was required below the phrases of the workforce’s lease for possession to be transferred.
Because the proprietor of the Orioles, Mr. Angelos, who grew up in Baltimore, endeared himself to followers by investing in free brokers to bolster the workforce.
“Peter Angelos was a true Baltimorean,” Brandon M. Scott, the town’s mayor, said on social media. “His impact on Baltimore & Baltimoreans will live for generations.”
Lately, as Mr. Angelos’s well being declined, decision-making in regards to the workforce’s prospects fell to his household.
A shrewd proprietor and businessman, Mr. Angelos started to make a reputation for himself in Baltimore as a member of the Metropolis Council from 1959-63, earlier than making an unsuccessful bid for mayor.
He went on to deal with legislation, and, through the Nineteen Eighties, he labored on a class-action lawsuit put ahead by metal and shipyard staff who claimed to have suffered from mesothelioma, a type of most cancers linked to publicity to asbestos.
The case was settled within the Nineteen Nineties for greater than $1 billion, according to The Washington Post.
Mr. Angelos used a few of his earnings to then purchase the Orioles in 1993 for $173 million, which on the time was the best quantity ever paid for an expert sports activities workforce in america.
The core motivation to buy the membership, in keeping with his website, was “so the team could stay in Baltimore and once again enjoy local ownership.”
All through his tenure, Mr. Angelos oversaw a few of the lowest moments within the franchise’s historical past, together with a stretch of 14 consecutive dropping seasons.
However there have been additionally moments of optimism and sound judgment; as an illustration, Mr. Angelos urged the supervisor Buck Showalter to affix the workforce in 2010, and, in 2012, the Orioles made a playoff run.
Mr. Angelos may very well be identified to spend freely to maintain expertise throughout the ball membership, which garnered respect and paid some dividends. In 2014, the Orioles gained the American League East for the primary time in 17 years.
George Angelos was born in Pittsburgh on July 4, 1929, to Greek immigrants, in keeping with an ESPN profile. After Mr. Angelos recovered from appendicitis at a younger age, his mom modified his identify to Peter, dedicating his soul to the Virgin Mary.
He graduated from Japanese Faculty of Commerce and Legislation and the College of Baltimore Faculty of Legislation, in keeping with his agency’s web site. All through his profession, he labored on lawsuits that efficiently recovered billions of {dollars} from the tobacco trade.
His father owned a tavern, and he instilled in his son a piece ethic that lasted all through his life.
“He never took a vacation, and I’ve taken only a few in my life,” Mr. Angelos, referring to his father, advised The Los Angeles Times in 1995. “What do I do? I do what my old man did. I work.”
