How’s it going today eh? We’re back visiting the hallowed halls of the Canadian Baseball Hall Of Fame with our latest Installment of Inductee In An Instant.
This Inductee was part of the Class of 1999 in the Builder category. Born August 1/1841, in St David’s, Upper Canada moved with his family to Guelph ON in 1857. In 1859 at the age of 18, our Inductee became the General Manager of his father’s brewery, Silver Creek Brewery. By 1865 they were partner and then took over the entire operation when his father retired in 1867.
On the diamond, our brewing magnate was a pitcher for the Guelph Maple Leafs in 1863 and eventually came to be team president in 1874. By that point, our Builder was also financially backing and supporting the team.
It wasn’t only baseball from an athletic perspective. He also served as President of the Guelph Turf Club, the Guelph Bicycle Club, and the Guelph Rifle Association while founding the Royal City Curling Club in 1888.
A pioneer in Canadian baseball history, he was one of if not the first managers to bring in American players. Not only that, they would profit share with the players with player salaries being introduced two years later in 1876. That was a busy year for the future mayor of Guelph (1905-1906) as they also started the first professional baseball league in the Great White North in 1876. The write-up on the Canadian Baseball HOF calls him the father of professional baseball in Canada, which is hard to argue with.
Our latest INDUCTEE IN AN INSTANT is…
GEORGE SLEEMAN
Thank you for stopping by and checking in today. I’ll see you all again soon.
KEEP IT 80 GRADE!
SOURCES/RESOURCES/READINGS
http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/sleeman_george_15E.html