George Sliter

George W. Sliter
(The Chatham Wizard)

• Bats Unknown, Throws Left

• Born November 1869 in Dover Plains, NY USA
• Died May 20, 1932 in Chatham, NY USA

BR Minors page

Biographical Information

George Sliter, known as "The Chatham Wizard", was a minor league pitcher from Chatham, NY. He was a protégé of fellow Chatham resident Walter Beebe, who was also a successful minor league pitcher of the time. Sliter, like Beebe, was said to have a peculiar, original delivery, and threw deceptive curve balls.

In 1889, Beebe was a member of the New Jersey Athletic Club in Bayonne, NJ, and Sliter joined him there that May. However, after three games Sliter returned to New York, and would primarily pitch with Hudson for the remainder of the season, though he did defeat the NJAC club when they visited for two games.

He began 1890 pitching for Utica in the New York State League. He was wild, but was considered to have gotten poor support from his team, and went 4-7 for the club before being released in July. Later that month he got a trial with Albany, and pitched a 1-hit shutout in an exhibition game on July 27, but made no more appearances for the club afterwards.

Sliter would pitch in and around Chatham some more in the following years and remained in the city for the rest of his life, working for many years as an engineer with the New York Central railroad.