Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project
Fred and Yetta Pitler immigrated to the United States in the late 19th century, settling in New York City. They had seven children. The family relocated to the Hill District of Pittsburgh in the early 1900s. Their son Jake, Harry and Dave excelled in three different sports at the city level.
Jake Pitler (1894-1968) sold concession at Forbes Field in 1910s and occasionally trained with the players before games. He played on semi-pro and minor league teams until 1917, when he became a second basemen for the Pittsburgh Pirates. He still holds the major league record for most put outs in a game — 15 in a 22-inning loss to the Dodgers. Pitler later managed minor league teams and spent 11 years from 1947 to 1957 on the Brooklyn Dodgers coaching staff, primarily at first base. These were years when the Dodgers were among the best teams in the league, winning six pennants and one World Series. During that run, Pitler never coached on Rosh Hashana or Yom Kippur. In 1954 and 1956, the Dodgers held a “Jake Pitler Night,” raising thousands of dollars for a “Pediatric Playroom” at Beth-El Hospital, which was later memorialized in a poem by Marianne Moore. Pitler remained in Brooklyn when the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. He was inducted into the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Fame in 1989 and posthumously inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Western Pennsylvania in 1991.
Under the alias Johnny Ray, Harry Pitler (1896-1961) started boxing at 17 and left the ring 11 years later with a record of 138-0. After retiring, Pitler opened a boxing gym in the Hill District and managed Billy Conn up until his famed matches against Joe Louis.
The youngest, Dave Pitler (1898-1973), was a two-time All City quarterback for Fifth Avenue High School, which earned him a scholarship to the University of Pittsburgh. He was a first-string quarterback in 1917, part of run of undefeated “Pop” Warner squads.
Bibliography
Rauh Jewish Archives
- Pitler family papers [2011.0055] (catalog record).
National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum Archives
- Jake Pitler materials, from George Burke and George Brace photographic materials [BA PHT 021] (catalog record).
- Jake Pitler materials, from Contracts, Assignments and Transfer Agreements collection [BA MSS 262] (catalog record).
Brooklyn Public Library
- Jake Pitler materials, from Brooklyn Daily Eagle photographs [BCMS.0002] (catalog record).
Exhibit history
- Author: Eric Lidji
- Original: August 6, 2014
- Current: July 5, 2026