Chester Matthias Pittser (July 29, 1893 – October 17, 1978) was an

American football American football, referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada and also known as gridiron football, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular American football field, field with goalposts at e ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

, and

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

coach at the college level. He served as the head football coach at the Montana State School of Mines—now known as

Montana Technological University Montana Technological University, popularly known as Montana Tech, is a public university in Butte, Montana. Founded in 1900 as the "Montana State School of Mines", the university became affiliated with the University of Montana in 1994. After un ...

—from 1920 to 1921,

Miami University Miami University (informally Miami of Ohio or simply Miami) is a public university, public research university in Oxford, Ohio, United States. Founded in 1809, it is the second-oldest List of colleges and universities in Ohio, university in Ohi ...

Oxford, Ohio Oxford is a city in northwestern Butler County, Ohio, United States. The population was 23,035 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A college town, Oxford was founded as a home for Miami University and lies in the southwestern portion ...

, from 1924 to 1931, and at Montclair State Teachers College—now known as Montclair State University—from 1934 to 1942, compiling a career

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

head coaching record of 82–45–5. Pittser was also the head basketball coach at Montclair State from 1934 to 1944, tallying a mark of 123–67, and the head baseball coach at Miami (1925–1931) and Montclair State (1935–1943), amassing a career

college baseball College baseball is baseball that is played by Student athlete, student-athletes at institutions of higher education. In the United States, college baseball is sanctioned mainly by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA); in Japan, ...

record of 129–67–2.

Education and playing career

Pittser graduated from the

University of Illinois The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC, U of I, Illinois, or University of Illinois) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Champaign–Urbana metropolitan area, Illinois, United ...

in 1924 and received his master's degree from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 1931. He was also an all-league fullback and

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

Colorado School of Mines The Colorado School of Mines (Mines) is a public research university in Golden, Colorado, United States. Founded in 1874, the school offers both undergraduate and graduate degrees in engineering, science, and mathematics, with a focus on ener ...

. In addition to football and baseball, Pittser competed on the Colorado School of Mines basketball and track and field teams.

Coaching career

Miami

Pittser served as football coach for

, from 1924 through 1931 with a record of 41–25–2. Pittser came to Miami from Montana School of Mines where he coached football and basketball. While at Miami, he mentored future

Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional football (gridiron), professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, 1963, the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of profes ...

coaches,

Paul Brown Paul Eugene Brown (September 7, 1908 – August 5, 1991) was an American American football, football coach and executive in the All-America Football Conference (AAFC), the National Football League (NFL), and the American Football League (AFL). ...

and Weeb Ewbank. Pittser's was the baseball coach during this same period he was football coach. During his tenure, the baseball teams captured three Buckeye Athletic Association (BAA) titles and shared two others in compiling a record of 77–21. He has the highest winning percentage (.786) of any Miami head coach. He was inducted into the Miami Athletic Hall of Fame in 1970.

Montclair State

After leaving Miami, he coached football, basketball, and baseball at Montclair State Teachers College in

Montclair, New Jersey Montclair is a Township (New Jersey), township in Essex County, New Jersey, Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a commercial and cultural hub of North Jersey and a diverse ...

, from 1934 to 1944. In 1934, Pittser became the fourth head football coach in school history and had a career record of 41–20–3. His best year was his first when he led Montclair to a record of 5–1. For the season, Pittser's defense only allowed 12 points with the lone loss coming to Trenton State College, 6–0. Pittser also had a 52–46–2 record as a baseball coach and is a charter member of the Montclair State College Athletic Hall of Fame.

Death

Pittser died on October 17, 1978, in

Chula Vista, California Chula Vista ( ; , ) is a city in San Diego County, California, United States. It is the second-most populous city in the San Diego metropolitan area, the Largest cities in Southern California, seventh-most populous city in Southern California ...

, at the age of 85.

Head coaching record

College football

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pittser, Chester 1893 births 1978 deaths American men's basketball players American football fullbacks Baseball pitchers Forwards (basketball) Colorado Mines Orediggers baseball players Colorado Mines Orediggers men's basketball players Colorado Mines Orediggers football players Montana Tech Orediggers football coaches Montana Tech Orediggers men's basketball coaches Miami RedHawks baseball coaches Miami RedHawks football coaches Montclair State Red Hawks baseball coaches Montclair State Red Hawks football coaches Montclair State Red Hawks men's basketball coaches Colorado Mines Orediggers men's track and field athletes High school football coaches in Colorado Columbia School of Engineering and Applied Science alumni University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni People from Gunnison, Colorado Coaches of American football from Colorado Players of American football from Colorado Baseball players from Colorado Basketball coaches from Colorado Basketball players from Colorado 20th-century American sportsmen