Enoch Rauh Club

The Enoch Rauh Club was an athletic, literary and philanthropic club for young men in Pittsburgh. The club was founded in late 1919 by a group of boys in the Hill District and Oakland. It was named after businessman and former city councilman Enoch Rauh, who had recently died unexpectedly. His widow Bertha Rauh provided initial funding for team uniforms and maintained a long-standing social relationship with members of the club.

Early members of the Enoch Rauh Club included David Bonder, Jacob Caplan, Myer Cohen, Nathaniel Cohen, Hy Gefsky, Shepherd “Shep” Gefsky, Max Gerber, Max Goldstock, Benjamin Goodstein, Isadore Karchinsky, Hyman Jacobs, Puggy Levin, George Levinson, Leon Levinson, Harry Manon, Hyman Nebron, Myer Paris, Wyoming Paris, Louis Schmidt, Isidore Schoenfield, Alex Singer, Harold Sivitz, Harry Sweitzer, Morris “Maishe” Wheeler, and Carl Wolk. Dan Schmidt was the club advisor.^[1]“Enoch Rauh Club,” Pittsburgh Jewish Community Book, 1921 (online—Historic Pittsburgh).

The Enoch Rauh Club was initially associated with the Hebrew Institute and became an independent entity in the early 1920s. By the end of the 1920s, the Enoch Rauh Club had a semi-professional basketball team and was in the process of creating its own youth basketball league. The Enoch Rauh League eventually had six associated youth teams, including the Ralph Schugar Club, the Louis Little Club, the Palomine Delphis, the Ben Lencher Club, the Hakoahs, and the Junior Rauh Club. The Somer Sommerman Boys Club was also associated with the Enoch Rauh League at one point in time.^[2]Enoch Rauh Club league announcement, Jewish Criterion, November 10, 1933 (online).

Starting in 1928, the Enoch Rauh Club began hosting an annual “Orphanage Party” for children living in local institutions. The event continued into the early 1950s, bringing together more than 1,000 children between the ages of three and 13 from various backgrounds.^[3]“Enoch Rauh Club 25th Orphanage Party,” Jewish Criterion, December 11, 1953 (online). The party included entertainment, desserts, and gifts. Among its philanthropic ventures, the Enoch Rauh Club also raised funds for Montefiore Hospital.^[4]Enoch Rauh Club-Montefiore Hospital gift, American Jewish Outlook, February 5, 1954 (online).

Bibliography

Rauh Jewish Archives

• Enoch Rauh Club photograph [OFP 0006] (catalog record).
• Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Western Pennsylvania oversize papers [MSO 0308] (catalog record).
• Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Western Pennsylvania oversize photographs [MSR 0308] (catalog record).
• Rabbi Jacob Goldfarb papers [MFF 288] (catalog record).
• Richard E. Rauh papers [MSS 0301] (catalog record).
• Somer Sommerman Boys Club records [MFF 0261] (catalog record).
• “Enoch Rauh Club,” Pittsburgh Jewish Community Book, 1921 (online—Historic Pittsburgh).
• “Frauhters: The good fellow-ship / the Junior Rauh Club,” Pittsburgh : The Club, 1938 (catalog record).
• Lidji, Eric. “The Founding of the Enoch Rauh Club in four takes,” Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle, June 16, 2021 (online—Pittsburgh Jewish Chronicle).

University of Pittsburgh Archives & Special Collections

• Barry Paris oral history, 1988, Tape 1/Side 1, from National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section Records [AIS1664.40] (online—Historic Pittsburgh).
• Richard Rauh oral history, 1994, 1998, Tape 2/Side 3, from National Council of Jewish Women, Pittsburgh Section Records [AIS1664.40] (online—Historic Pittsburgh).

Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project

• Enoch Rauh Club newspaper articles (online—Pittsburgh Jewish Newspaper Project).

Exhibit history

• Author: Eric Lidji
• Original: October 26, 2022
• Current: October 26, 2022