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Jewish baseball fans have created an exhaustive list of Jewish players. They missed Monte Pfeiffer.

JL;DR SUMMARY Monte Pfeiffer, a little-known Jewish baseball player from the early 20th century, has been rediscovered and added to the rare list of Jewish major leaguers, thanks to the sleuthing of Yankees fan and lawyer Zak Kranc. A way out west there was a fella, fella I want to tell you about, fella by the name of Jeff Lebowski. At least, that was the handle his lovin' parents gave him, but he never had much use for it himself. This Lebowski, he called himself the Dude. Now, Dude, that's a name no one would self-apply where I come from. But then, there was a lot about the Dude that didn't make a whole lot of sense to me. And a lot about where he lived, likewise. But then again, maybe that's why I found the place s'durned innarestin'.

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Tags

Jewish IdentityJewish AthletesGenealogyMajor League BaseballBaseball HistoryMonte PfeifferPhiladelphia AthleticsWalter JohnsonZak Kranc

Places mentioned

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, United States
"Monte Pfeiffer is No. 12, second from left on the bottom row in a photograph of the Wilkes-Barre (Pennsylvania) Coal Barons."
New York City, New York, United States
"Montefiore Monte Pfeiffer, also known as Moshe Ben Shmuel Yosef, was born in New York City in 1890 to Yiddish-speaking Jews from Eastern Europe."
Haverhill, Massachusetts, United States
"He began playing baseball for money in 1911, at age 19, for the Haverhill (Massachusetts) Hustlers."
Washington, Washington DC, United States
"Pfeiffer made his debut in enemy territory: Griffith Stadium, home of the Washington Senators."
Kansas City, Missouri, United States
"Pfeiffers career swiftly nosedived. In true journeyman fashion, he began the 1914 season with the Kansas City (Missouri) Blues of the American Association,"
Marinette-Menominee, Wisconsin, United States
"traveled north to join the Marinette-Menominee (Wisconsin) Twins of the Wisconsin-Illinois League,"
Topeka, Kansas, United States
"and signed with the Topeka (Kansas) Jayhawks of the Western League."
St. Boniface, Manitoba, Canada
"The following year, in 1915, Pfeiffer wrapped up his baseball sojourn in Manitoba, Canada with the St. Boniface Bonnies of the Northern League."

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Cairo Item ID 59319
Cairo Source ID 35
Retrieved 2025-08-15 05:31:25 UTC
Curated 2025-08-15 08:31:09 UTC