The Dapper Dan Charities were founded by ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the All ...

'' editor Al Abrams in 1936. It is one of the oldest nonprofit and fundraising community sports clubs in the world and the oldest in

Western Pennsylvania Western Pennsylvania is a region in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania, covering the western third of the state. Pittsburgh is the region's principal city, with a metropolitan area population of about 2.4 million people, and serves as its economic ...

. The foundation fundraises for its charities primarily through the annual "Dapper Dan Banquet". Started in 1936, the first few banquets honored such regional figures as

Art Rooney Arthur Joseph Rooney Sr. (January 27, 1901 – August 25, 1988), often referred to as "The Chief", was the founding owner of the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football franchise in the National Football League (NFL), from 1933 until his death. ...

Jock Sutherland John Bain Sutherland (March 21, 1889 – April 11, 1948) was an American football player and coach. He coached college football at Lafayette College (1919–1923) and the University of Pittsburgh (1924–1938) and professional football for the ...

and John Harris. In 1939, the banquet began an annual tradition of naming the region's "Sportsman of the Year" and in 1999 the "Sportswoman of the Year". In recent decades, all charitable contributions raised by the banquet go to the Boys and Girls club of

, which directly funds activities and equipment for nearly 7,000 youths annually. The organization also presently sponsors the annual

Dapper Dan Wrestling Classic Sports in Pennsylvania includes numerous professional sporting teams, events, and venues located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Major league professional teams Pennsylvania is home to eight teams from the five major American professional spo ...

. Previous fundraisers included the occasional Dapper Dan Open golf tournament in the 1930s and 1940s, World Heavyweight Titles hosted at

Forbes Field Forbes Field was a baseball park in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, from 1909 to June 28, 1970. It was the third home of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball (MLB) team, and the first home of the Pittsburgh Steelers ...

in the 1950s and 1960s and the

Roundball Classic The Roundball Classic, originally known as The Dapper Dan Roundball Classic (also known as ''Magic Johnson's Roundball'', ''Sonny Vaccaro's Roundball Classic'', ''EA Sports Roundball Classic'', '' Asics Roundball Classic'') is well known in the spor ...

hosted at the Civic Arena from 1965 until the 1980s. Through

Pittsburgh Pirates The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) National League Central, Central division. Founded as part o ...

broadcaster

Bob Prince Robert Ferris Prince (July 1, 1916 – June 10, 1985) was an American radio and television sportscaster and commentator, best known for his 28-year stint as the voice of the Pittsburgh Pirates Major League Baseball club, with whom he earned the ...

's friendship with

Fred Hutchinson Frederick Charles Hutchinson (August 12, 1919 – November 12, 1964) was an American professional baseball player, a major league pitcher for the Detroit Tigers, and the manager for three major league teams. Born and raised in Seattle, Wa ...

the Dapper Dan Charity awarded

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL) ...

's annual

Hutch Award The Hutch Award is given annually to an active Major League Baseball (MLB) player who "best exemplifies the fighting spirit and competitive desire" of Fred Hutchinson, by persevering through adversity. The award was created in 1965 in honor of Hut ...

at the annual banquet until at least 1993.

Dapper Dan awards

Banquet festivities

Various years the Dapper Dan Banquet has been a who's who of

sports, and attracted national and even international stars and entertainers. In 1993

George Wendt George Robert Wendt Jr. (born October 17, 1948) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for playing Norm Peterson on the television sitcom ''Cheers'' (1982–1993), which earned him six consecutive nominations for the Primetime Em ...

and

David Lander David L. Lander (born David Leonard Landau, June 22, 1947 – December 4, 2020) was an American actor, comedian, musician, and baseball scout. He was best known for his portrayal of Andrew "Squiggy" Squiggman in the ABC sitcom '' Laverne & Shi ...

hosted the event.

Howard Baldwin Howard Lapsley BaldwinRose Weld Baldwin obituary
ccgfuneralhome.com; acce ...

Craig Patrick Craig Patrick (born May 20, 1946) is an American former hockey player, coach and general manager, the son of Lynn Patrick and the grandson of Lester Patrick. During the 1980 Winter Olympics, Patrick was the Assistant General Manager and Assista ...

Lanny Frattare Lanny Lawrence Frattare (born March 23, 1948) is an American former sportscaster. For 33 years he was a play-by-play announcer for Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates, the longest such tenure in the team's history. In 2008, he was nominat ...

Marty Schottenheimer Martin Edward Schottenheimer (; September 23, 1943 – February 8, 2021) was an American football linebacker and coach who served as a head coach in the National Football League (NFL) from 1984 to 2006. He was the head coach of the Kansas City ...

Rod Woodson Roderick Kevin Woodson (born March 10, 1965) is an American former professional football defensive back in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. He is currently the Head Coach of the XFL's Vegas Vipers. Woodson was drafted in the ...

, Ambassador

Dan Rooney Daniel Milton Rooney (July 20, 1932 – April 13, 2017) was an American executive and diplomat best known for his association with the Pittsburgh Steelers, an American football team in the National Football League (NFL), and son of the Steelers' ...

Mark May Mark Eric May (born November 2, 1959) is a former American college and professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL) for 13 seasons during the 1980s and 1990s. May played college football for the Universi ...

, John Brown, Sal Sunseri,

Hank Aaron Henry Louis Aaron (February 5, 1934 – January 22, 2021), nicknamed "Hammer" or "Hammerin' Hank", was an American professional baseball right fielder who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), from 1954 through 1976. One of the gre ...

Myron Cope Myron Sidney Kopelman (January 23, 1929 – February 27, 2008), known professionally as Myron Cope, was an American sports journalist, radio personality, and sportscaster. He is best known for being "the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers". Cope ...

Lou Holtz Louis Leo Holtz (born January 6, 1937) is an American former football player, coach, and analyst. He served as the head football coach at The College of William & Mary (1969–1971), North Carolina State University (1972–1975), the New York ...

Terry Francona Terrence Jon Francona (born April 22, 1959), nicknamed "Tito", is an American baseball manager and former player who is the manager of the Cleveland Guardians in Major League Baseball (MLB). Previously, he was the manager of the Boston Red Sox fo ...

Pat Mullins Dennis Patrick Mullins (August 22, 1937 – May 28, 2017) was an American insurance salesman and served as chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia. Personal life Born in 1937 in St. Albans, West Virginia, Mullins graduated from St. Alb ...

, Dave Robinson,

Len Dawson Leonard Ray Dawson (June 20, 1935 – August 24, 2022) was an American football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) and American Football League (AFL) for 19 seasons, primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs franchise. Af ...

Lou Groza Louis Roy Groza (January 25, 1924 – November 29, 2000), nicknamed "the Toe", was an American professional American football, football player who was a placekicker and Tackle (American football)#Offensive tackle, offensive tackle while playing ...

Bud Wilkinson Charles Burnham "Bud" Wilkinson (April 23, 1916 – February 9, 1994) was an American football player, coach, broadcaster, and politician. He served as the head football coach at the University of Oklahoma from 1947 to 1963, compiling a record of ...

, Governor Lawrence and

Todd Blackledge Todd Alan Blackledge (born February 25, 1961) is a former American football quarterback in both the NCAA and National Football League. In college, he led the Penn State Nittany Lions to a national championship. A member of the famed Class of 19 ...

have all participated in recent events.

References

External links

Dapper Dan history page
* {{Pittsburgh sports Organizations based in Pittsburgh Charities based in Pennsylvania Organizations established in 1936 Sports in Pittsburgh