Ivan Edward "Pete" Bigler (December 13, 1892 – April 1, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball player.
[3] After graduating from Juniata, Bigler began the early summer of 1912 catching for the Huntingdon Collegians, where his play drew the attention of Earle Mack, then with the Reading Pretzels of the Tri-State League.
On his son's recommendation, Philadelphia A's manager Connie Mack sent Bigler to work out with the Reading club for the remainder of the season.
[4] He began his professional baseball career with the Utica Utes of the New York State League in 1913 playing the outfield.
In 1914 he was back with Utica for a brief tryout, drew another release, and spent the remainder of the year playing semi-pro ball.
In the off-season, he attended Springfield College, where he would earn a master's degree in physical education, playing for their basketball team.
He was honorably discharged with the rank of captain and later served in the Marine Corps Reserve as commanding officer of the 308th Company, which won the Efficiency Trophy at the rifle range in 1930).
[9] He then accepted a job in 1921 at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI) as an assistant coach in basketball, baseball and football.
He held positions in production and count control, and outside the plant, managed the Wyman-Gordon baseball team to Industrial League and city championships.