George Sleeman (August 1, 1841 – December 16, 1926) was a brewer, a major figure in Canadian baseball, and a politician in
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
, Canada. He was mayor of
Guelph
Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...
from 1880 to 1882 and from 1905 to 1906. Sleeman was also the president of the Guelph Rifle Association for 20 years, president of the Guelph Turf Club, president of the Guelph Bicycle Club, and, for four years, president of the Ontario Brewing and Malting Association. He helped establish the Royal City Curling Club. His brewery also sponsored an amateur baseball team called the Silver Creek Club.
Early years
The son of John H. Sleeman, an immigrant from England, and Ann M. Burrows, George Sleeman was born in then-
Upper Canada
The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...
in the village of St. David's (present day
Niagara-on-the-Lake
Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the Niagara Region of On ...
) and was educated there and in
Guelph
Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...
. The family moved to Guelph in 1857 and in 1859, he became general manager of his father's Silver Creek Brewery; six years later he became a partner. Sleeman fully took over the operation in 1867 when his father retired. In 1900, he incorporated his breweries as the Sleeman Brewing and Malting Company. The family played an important role in the establishment of
beer in Canada
Beer was introduced to Canada by European settlers in the seventeenth century. The first commercial brewery was La Brasseries du Roy started by New France Intendant Jean Talon, in Québec City in 1668. Many commercial brewers thrived until pro ...
.
In 1863, Sleeman married Sarah Hill. The family lived in Guelph, later in a gothic custom-built mansion that was completed in 1891 at an estimated $30,000, near what is now called Silver Creek Parkway.
In 1876, he was elected to Guelph town council for the first time. In 1877 he was elected Deputy Reeve and in 1880, after Guelph was transformed from a town into a city, he became the first mayor. He was elected mayor three subsequent times.
Prominent brewer
By 1890, his Silver Creek Brewery had 15 retail stores in two provinces (Ontario and Quebec). In 1894, Sleeman set up the Guelph Street Railway Company, an electric
streetcar
A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...
company. He invested so much of his own money in the operation that by 1902 the banks took over his house, railway and his brewery. (Sleeman's original railway was the foundation of the subsequent Radial Railway Company that expanded to serve more distant communities.) Sleeman set up a rival brewery in 1903, Springbank, and the banks sold him back the original brewery a year later.
Sleeman retired from the family business in 1905 and died in Guelph in 1926 at the age of 85 after undergoing an operation for an
obstructed bowel.
After being taken over by the Jockey Club Brewery in 1933, the Sleeman brand was discontinued and the brewery ceased production six years later. In 1985, Sleeman's great-grandson John Warren Sleeman reincorporated the
Sleeman Breweries
Sleeman Breweries is a Japanese-owned Canadian brewery founded by John Warren Sleeman in 1988 in Guelph, Ontario. The company is the third-largest brewing company in Canada. Along with its own Sleeman brands, the company produces under licence the ...
and began producing beers, and Sleeman’s Cream Ale, using the original recipes provided to him by an aunt.
Achievements in Canadian baseball
Sleeman had been a pitcher for the
Guelph Maple Leafs
The Guelph Royals are a baseball team based in the downtown area of Guelph, Ontario, and are a member of the Southern Ontario-based Intercounty Baseball League. The club was founded in 1861 as the Guelph Maple Leafs, and after winning the "Canadia ...
baseball club and later became the team's financial backer. He was the first team manager to import American players; at first, he paid them a share of the profits, but later he paid his players salaries. He encouraged other teams to do so in the new Canadian Association of Base Ball Players, of which he was president. In 1869, the Leafs squad won the Canadian championship and Sleeman was named president of the club. The Leafs also won the Canadian championship in 1870 and 1871. In 1877, Sleeman helped establish the International Association as a competitor to the
National League
The National League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the National League (NL), is the older of two leagues constituting Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, and the world's oldest extant professional team s ...
.
Later, when Toronto and Hamilton entered teams, Sleeman's Guelph Maple Leafs started losing money and eventually the team was disbanded, but returned in 1896. George Sleeman was inducted into the
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame
The Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum (french: Temple de la renommée du baseball canadien) is a museum located in St. Marys, Ontario, Canada. The museum commemorates great players, teams, and accomplishments of baseball in Canada.
His ...
in 1999.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sleeman, George
1841 births
1926 deaths
Mayors of Guelph
People from Niagara-on-the-Lake
Canadian brewers
Canadian baseball players
Canadian Baseball Hall of Fame inductees