Peter George Angelos, longtime Orioles owner, Baltimore political activist and one of the most successful class-action attorneys in U.S. history, died Saturday, according to the Orioles.
Peter Angelos, aged 94, passed away on Saturday.
No cause of death was given at the moment, however, Peter Angelos had a serious cardiac seizure in October 2017 and had “become disabled” by 2018.
According to a statement given by the family, Angelos had been sick for many years.
“Today, Peter G. Angelos passed away quietly at the age of 94. Mr. Angelos had been ill for several years, and the family thanks the doctors, nurses, and caregivers who brought comfort to him in his final years. It was Mr. Angelos’ wish to have a private burial, and the family asks for understanding as they honor that request. Donations may be sent to charity in lieu of flowers.”
The family expressed their gratitude to the caregivers that brought him comfort in his final years.
Who was Peter Angelos?
Peter George Angelos, born on July 4, 1929, was a prominent American trial lawyer and baseball executive hailing from Baltimore, Maryland.
Angelos was known as the majority owner of the Baltimore Orioles, a team in the American League of Major League Baseball.
Raised in a working-class neighborhood of Highlandtown, Angelos was the son of John and Frances Angelos, immigrants from Menetes, Karpathos, Greece.
He married Georgia Kousouris in 1966 and had two children, John and Louis. Angelos’ father, who primarily spoke Greek at home, owned a local tavern.
After graduating from Patterson Park High School, Angelos pursued higher education at the University of Baltimore, where he obtained a bachelor’s degree.
Subsequently, he attended the University of Baltimore School of Law, graduating in 1960 as the class valedictorian.
Angelos passed the bar in 1961 and opened an office specializing in handling product-liability cases for employees, almost always on a contingency basis.
In one of his cases, he represented some 8,700 steelworkers, shipyard workers, and manufacturers’ employees in a consolidated-action asbestos poisoning suit that was partially settled in 1992. Angelos’ take from that litigation alone has been estimated at $330 million.
He served a brief stint on the Baltimore City Council from 1959 to 1963 and ran for mayor on the city’s first interracial ticket in 1967, and lost.