Last updated "Doc" Slater, a generous supporter of orphans, grandmothers, sporting men and politicians. He was proprietor of the grandest gambling club in Baltimore.Ocean Club aka "Slater's" at Long Branch, New Jersey was one of the main gambling clubs there before all were shut down in 1901 (postcard shows the later Tory's Restaurant c. 1920s)
Robert J. Slater aka Doc Slater (July 1837 - May 3, 1902) was a gambling club owner, sporting man, and political boss prominent in Baltimore, Maryland during the post-Civil War era. He was the owner of the principal gambling club in Baltimore,[2] which was patronized by the city's elite, including politicians, wealthy businessmen, and prominent visitors. Slater was known for his unassuming demeanor, impeccable dress, and the professional, orderly manner in which he ran his establishments. He was a Democratic-Conservative[3] ward boss who gave away cash freely, it was said that he carried the whole of East Baltimore in his pocket. He also controlled gambling clubs in other cities and was known nationally.
Biography
Robert J. Slater was born into a family of Baltimore butchers.[4] His father was of English or Irish background, and his mother was a member of the Bankard family, which was the Americanized form of the German "Bankert" surname.[5] His uncle, Jacob J. Bankard, became wealthy by supplying the Union army with meat during the Civil War and later built the opulent Bankard-Gunther Mansion on Butcher's Hill, which Slater would eventually inherit.[5][6] Although trained in the family trade, Slater was drawn to a different life, he soon became the leader of a local gang of "Plug Uglies", serving as an enforcer for political bosses.[4] He also earned a reputation as Baltimore's finest tenpin bowler.[4]
Slater transitioned from political muscle to a gambling entrepreneur, starting with a small-time Faro bank operation.[4] The venture was so successful that around the age of 25, he acquired an established gambling house at 10 South Calvert Street.[4] Specializing in Faro bank, a 19th-century card game more popular than poker and easy for the house to rig, his profits were immense.[4] He transformed the building into the "Maryland Gentlemen's Club House", which became, according to his obituary, "the most famous of its kind" and "one of the grandest gambling houses in the country".[5][4] The club's interior was lavishly described by Slater around 1870 in a New York World piece, which was as much boasting as advertising.[7][4] He later expanded his Faro empire to New Jersey with the Ocean Club at Long Branch, which, though ultimately shut down by authorities, it attracted notables of the era, cementing his national reputation.[1][8] The Baltimore gambling club operated for nearly 70 years before being destroyed during the Great Baltimore Fire of 1904, two years after Slater's death.[4][5]
Slater's success was built on his deep ties to Baltimore's powerful Democratic-Conservative political machine. For a time, he was considered part of a ruling triumvirate alongside bosses Isaac Freeman Rasin and J. Frank Morrison.[9] His political influence gave him protection from law enforcement. He was a key, if unofficial, figure in the city's power structure.[10] A contemporary reporter noted: "He never holds any office himself. He prefers to be the power behind the throne. Time has been when Doc Slater named the man who should fill the Mayor's chair. He has even named the Judges who should try the gamblers and liquor-dealers."[10] Known to be generous with his immense cash wealth, it was said that Slater "carried the whole of East Baltimore in his pocket". His power became so formalized that he served as a delegate to the 1884 Democratic National Convention.[9][2][11]
Slater's immunity did not last forever as political and moral reformers assailed him.[12] In 1884, in a power struggle with rival boss Rasin, his political network faltered. He was arrested, pleaded guilty to running a gambling house, and served six months in the penitentiary.[11] A subsequent purge at city hall removed his allies from power, and he never fully recovered his former influence.[9][11] Amidst a city-wide reform movement in 1894, he was finally forced to close the doors of his famous club.[13] Years later, journalist H. L. Mencken would fondly lament the end of "the old-time, so-called first-class gambling houses of the sort kept by the Hon. Doc Slater."[14]
A man of distinct habits, Slater never drank alcohol but was rarely seen without a cigar – until the final years when it was "beginning to tell on his throat".[5] When he died in 1902 at the age of 64, his passing warranted a prominent obituary in The Baltimore Sun, filled with tributes from across the social spectrum.[5]
↑ Democratic Conservatives: Following the Civil War, Maryland's Democratic Conservatives took power. The party was unified by its core beliefs in white supremacy and opposition to Reconstruction, which brought together everyone from neighborhood partisans to high-level politicians. This cohesive, city-wide network allowed the Democrats to gain complete control over municipal, state, and federal offices for several years. See pg.37 in Melton, Tracy Matthew (Spring 2010). "Anatomy of a South Baltimore Murder"(PDF). Maryland Historical Magazine. 105 (1).
↑ Melton, Tracy Matthew (Winter 2004). "Power Networks: The Political and Professional Career of Baltimore Boss J. Frank Morrison". Maryland Historical Magazine. 99 (4): 472.
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