The History of the South Side Sportsmen's Club

Historical figures of Connetquot Park and the South Side Sportsmen's Club.
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Dean Witter

Dean Witter attended the University of California at Berkeley where he was a charter member of the Big C Society when it was formed in 1909.  He served as a referee of the Cal-Washington crew races on the Oakland Estuary from 1913 to 1964 and chaired the committee that selected Ky Ebright as varsity coach.  He competed at varsity stroke in 1908 but gave up competition to fill the vacant varsity coach job in 1909, after which he was the primary alumni supporter of crew during all of his alumni years.  He helped form the initial Crew Endowment fund in 1962 and was its main contributor.  He is a member of the Rowing Hall of Fame.^[1]

After graduating in 1909 he worked for Louis Sloss & Company as a salesman on the California coast. With Charles Blyth he started Blyth, Witter & Company in 1914 and the two men ran the company until 1924, when he launched Dean Witter & Company with his brother Guy, cousins Jean and Ed Witter and their brother-in-law, Fritz Janney.

In 1938, Dean Witter established its national research department, and by 1945, was one of the first retail securities firms to formally train account executives. In 1962, Dean Witter became the first firm to use electronic data processing a feat that paved the way for securities handling on Wall Street. At the time of Witter's death in 1969 there were nearly 80 branches of Dean Witter & Co. in the U.S. and Canada and the company was the largest investment house on the West Coast.

Dean Witter interrupted his career to volunteer for duty in both World War I and World War II, during which he attained the rank of colonel.

During Dean Witter's lifetime, he found recreation in hunting and fishing and in enjoyment of the outdoors. In business and as a fisherman, Colonel Witter enjoyed pursuing the difficult task. He preferred the elusive trout to the easy fishing of a well-stocked pond.

^[1]From the Official Athletic Site of the University of California: http://www.calbears.com/sports/m-crew/mtt/witter_dean00.html