The Pitler Family

Fred and Yetta Pitler raised five children in the Hill District in the early 1900s. Their three sons, Jake,  Harry and Dave, excelled in three different sports in the city.

The oldest, Jake Pitler (1894-1968), played second base for the Pittsburgh Pirates in 1917 and 1918 before managing a minor league team and spending eleven years on the Brooklyn Dodgers coaching staff, primarily at first base. He still holds the major league record for most putouts in a game — 15 in a 22-inning loss to the Dodgers — and was posthumously inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame of Western Pennsylvania.

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 the run of undefeated “Pop” Warner squads.