Peter Wilt (born in McHenry, Illinois), is a soccer executive who was the first President and General Manager of the Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer, led an effort to bring an expansion MLS franchise to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and maintains strong connection to the sport of soccer in the Midwest, Chicago in particular. Wilt is most known for his work with the Chicago Fire, where he gained a reputation for being a fan-friendly businessman in the soccer world.
He is also known as the Patron Saint of The Highbury, a sports bar in Milwaukee where he is known to appear frequently, where he invented Schlabst, Milwaukee's Black and Tan. A mixture of bottled Schlitz beer and canned Pabst, poured into a pint glass. He also regularly spends time at Club Lago, an Italian restaurant in Chicago and has been known to regard it as his second office. Wilt was known for answering questions from fans through the BigSoccer Internet message boards, and now maintains his own blog on Chicago soccer issues.
In 2005, Wilt left the Fire after Anschutz Entertainment Group, the team's owner, replaced him with John Guppy. In 2006, he became the chief executive officer of Milwaukee Professional Soccer (a group bidding to bring an MLS franchise to Milwaukee), but left the position to become CEO of the Chicago Red Stars Chicago's Women's Professional Soccer team that started play in 2009. After one season, Wilt left the Red Stars for a front office position with the Milwaukee Wave. After one season with the Wave, Wilt founded the now defunct expansion MISL side Chicago Riot.
Peter Wilt contacted TorontoFC on several occasions for a vacant GM position in 2006 and 2012.
In late 2012, Wilt led an effort with a group of Indianapolis investors headed by Ersal Ozdemir to determine the viability of the market to support a North American Soccer League Team in Indianapolis, IN with aspirations for an MLS Team. On January 16, 2013, the league awarded Indianapolis its twelfth franchise. Wilt was named President of the team the same day. The team will begin play in the 2014 season.
Famous quotes containing the words peter and/or wilt:
“The concept of a person is logically prior to that of an individual consciousness. The concept of a person is not to be analysed as that of an animated body or an embodied anima.”
—Sir Peter Frederick Strawson (b. 1919)
“Come, wilt thou see me ride?
And when I am a’horseback, I will swear
I love thee infinitely.”
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)