THE ANGELOS FAMILY AND THE BALTIMORE ORIOLES

At last glance, the Baltimore Orioles sat at 38–44; .463; 20.5 GB–the now familiar cellar-dweller of the American League East.

Six games under .500 after 82 games is pretty good for them these days, however.

An improvement.

Wasn’t always that way.

Not at all.

History?

Rich.

Three World Series championships (1966; 1970; 1983).

Seven American League Pennants (1944; 1966; 1969; 1970; 1971; 1979; 1983).

Nine American League East titles (1969; 1970; 1971; 1973; 1974; 1979; 1983; 1997; 2014).

Three Wild Card berths (1996; 2012; 2016).

Back in the day, the O’s were the definition of a prized and storied franchise.

Since their move to Baltimore in 1954 from St. Louis, there have been four owners of the team.

Jerold (Jerry) Hoffberger; Edward Bennett Williams; Eli Jacobs; and Peter Angelos.

Angelos has deep Baltimore roots.

He was born in Baltimore on July 4, 1929, making him 93 years old.

Interesting that both he and the late “Boss,” George Steinbrenner, were born on July 4.

(Steinbrenner was born on July 4, 1930; other notables born on that date include Neil Simon; Bill Withers; Eva Marie Saint; Andrew Zimmern; Geraldo Riviera; Gina Lollobrigida; Calvin Coolidge; Nathaniel Hawthorne; Stephen Foster and Malia Obama).

After graduating from the city’s Patterson Park High School, Angelos attended the University of Baltimore, where he earned a bachelor’s degree.

He then attended law school at night at the University of Baltimore School of Law and was named class valedictorian.

Given his stewardship of the Orioles, would it be unfair to ask how many students were enrolled and graduated with him in his law school class?

Yes, it probably would be unfair, a low blow.

Yet Angelos has been–and remains–a controversial figure.

Among fellow owners, players and fans.

Venture capitalist Jacobs sold the Orioles to a group of investors on October 4,1993 for $173 million, the highest price paid for a sports franchise at the time.

Angelos was the principal investor, contributing $40 million.

As managing partner, Chairman of the Board and CEO, he immediately became a hands-on owner.

Not to everybody’s greatest good.

As one of the newest members of the elite consortium of baseball owners, he was expected to defer and demur.

No such luck.

Angelos wouldn’t bite.

1994 offers a prime example.

When the other owners signed a document canceling the rest of the 1994 regular season, Playoffs and World Series, Peter Angelos wouldn’t sign.

When the owners formed a committee to negotiate the strike, they excluded Angelos, in spite of his vast experience as a labor-management negotiator.

When talks between the players and owners stalled in December 1994, and the owners voted to impose a salary cap, Angelos was one of three dissenters.

The eyes of the public became more sharply focused on him when he stridently stated that he’d refuse to field replacement players, should the strike threaten the 1995 MLB season.

Although blue-collar Baltimore hailed Angelos as a champion of the worker, his fellow owners were white-hot with rage.

No surprise there.

As they mulled over what action to take against him–from a $250,000 fine for every game missed, to forcing the sale of the Orioles–the strike was settled in time for 1995 regular season play to begin with major leaguers.

But the die had been cast.

He’s been called the worst owner in baseball.

Yet both Brady Anderson and Baltimore mega-hero Cal Ripken, Jr. have independently defended him.

Angelos’ health has failed him in recent years.

His sons, Louis and John, are fighting over control of the team and its future, as well as his fortune.

His wife of 66 years, Georgia, has been lobbying to sell the franchise for quite some time.

Apparently, John nixed a potential deal.

Or deals.

Louis’ claim is that John has been “openly displaying his disregard for his father’s prerogatives as the managing partner” of the team.

Morals of the story?

Hard work is usually rewarded, but not always;

Money doesn’t care in whose pocket it lays;

Charity and real goodness are virtues; and

Unharnessed ego is deadly.

[Editor’s Note: This piece was written by Mr. Kaplan in July 2022.]