John Tener

Though he was born in Ireland, grew up in Pittsburgh, and is buried only a few blocks from my house, former Pennsylvania governor John Tener's historical marker is in Charleroi, where he worked as a banker between his professional baseball career and his political career. Tener served only one term as governor, from 1911 to 1915, but he established the first state standards for education and established state control over thousands of public roads. Not too shabby for four years' work. During his brief time in Congress, he established an annual Congressional Baseball Game, which apparently is still held.