The Lions Club of Pittsburgh was organized on November 27, 1920, it was not only the first Lions Club in Pennsylvania – it was also the first Lions Club anywhere east of Ohio where the Cleveland Club had been organized only a few months earlier.  The Pittsburgh Club was first place in District 13 – Ohio and Western Pennsylvania.

The first Districting of the State occurred in March 1922 when District 14 was formed from the western half of Pennsylvania and the State of West Virginia, where the Charleston Club had been organized September 30, 1921.  International President Ewen W. Cameron appointed H. L. Beach of the Pittsburgh Club as the first District Governor.  The eastern half of the State was lumped with Delaware and Maryland.

On March 24, 1923 District Governor Beach called all of the Clubs in Pennsylvania to a Convention in Pittsburgh, with the objective of uniting them.  After much discussion and some disagreement, they finally formed a State-wide District, and elected Irving L. Camp, of Johnstown, as District Governor.  Now that the State had finally been restored to a whole, subsequent years showed a succession of breakdowns including the massive redistricting of 1962-63 when the Districts were increased to sixteen, and District 14-B was reduced to the confines of Allegheny County.  The latest redistricting bisected 14-K and increased the number of Districts to seventeen.  Further redistricting is contemplated for the State Convention of 1985.

At the time of its inception District 14-B concentrated on strengthening the work of the public school system, and it was not until 1925, during the last half of the term of Governor Harry Detwiler, of Scranton, that any particular emphasis was placed on work with the blind.  In 1926, when Charles Ferguson of Butler was the Governor, the Lions of the State sponsored a network broadcast from the stage of the Syria Mosque, in Pittsburgh, with KDKA as the originating station for a network of 50 other stations in the United States and Canada.  This was done as a special tribute to the blind people of both countries.

District Governor William Coleman, of Bucknell University, was elected at a convention in Bethlehem in 1927, and served until he was succeeded by one of the two men in the District who have served two terms as Governor: Dr. Arthur S. Haines.  Dr. Haines, of the Wilkinsburg Club, served during 1928, 29, and was nominated for a second term at the Convention in Altoona.  Though he didn’t know it at the time, Lion Art was nevertheless to serve as Governor again, and to go on to become International Director, and was a candidate for International Third Vice-President.

During Dan Kramer’s term, in 1930-31, the “Key Member” status was created, and the State was divided into three Districts.  He was followed by Dr. Jacob Bowman of Somerset, Harry Conley of East Liberty, and Ezra Marvin of New Castle, during whose term the positions of State Secretary and State Treasurer were set up.  The Rev. Mr. Claire Stewart was State Secretary, and Howard Byrd was State Treasurer.

Dr. Herve Manon of the Washington Club was the next Governor, and during his term the office of Deputy District Governor became standard in Pennsylvania.  Prior to that time many Deputies had been called Regional Directors.  During the next term, 1936-37, when Earl Ramsey, of New Castle, was Governor, the position of Zone Chairman was first activated in Pennsylvania.

Starting in 1938, the State entered its greatest period of growth with extension and membership for three years leading the International.  Governor Clarence Gephart, of Indiana, added 17 new Clubs to the District, and 788 new members.  During the next term, even that phenomenal record was topped by Governor Dr. Arthur Haines, who added a whopping 799 men to the rolls, along with still another 13 Clubs.  Those two Governors still hold the record for our District; they have never been equaled.  Art Haines was appointed to serve the balance of the term of Governor Howard Carstens, who served only a fifth of the period for which he was elected.  James O. Courtney, of Somerset, added another 13 Clubs and 572 members.  During the term of Governor Evert F. Stabler of Clairton, ten more Clubs were added to District 14-B, but District 14-F was carved out of it.  This reduced the District to three counties – Allegheny, Washington and Greene, which it remained until 1963.  During the term of Governor Eston O. Poorbaugh, 1948-49, the position of Cabinet Secretary-Treasurer was accorded the kind of recognition and dignity that it warrants.  Robert H. Chambers, of McMurray, was the first Cabinet Secretary-Treasurer recognized by name in the annals.  He was elected to be the next District Governor.

During the term of Governor Samuel M. Reno, of Etna, now Elfinwild, the District sponsored the Ceiling Projector project, when Projectors of Books for bedfast persons were furnished by most of the Lions Clubs through the Carnegie Libraries.

Extension was still promoted in the District through these years, and during the term of District Governor Joseph G. Ludwig, 1954-55, nine new Clubs were chartered.  During the term of office of Lion Joe’s successor, Governor H. Turner Frost, of McKeesport, the office of Coordinator of Blind Activities was activated, and set the pattern for the rest of the State in dealing with problems of the blind.

It was during the 1950’s that the first District-wide projects were held, starting with the famous Mammoth Shows.  These were held at Forbes Field, and featured variety and aerial acts.  The Clubs sold tickets for the shows and for drawings, and a large amount of money was raised for Lions charities.  Another District-wide project, held in 1958, was the Ladies’ PGA Golf Tournament, sponsored by the Lions Clubs in conjunction with Churchill Valley Country Club.  This, too, raised a lot of money for Lions Charities through the sales of tickets and advertising in the Tournament Program.  Many other projects were tried during the years, and probably the largest was the opening game of the Pittsburgh Maulers professional football season in 1984, when the Lions Clubs were responsible for making the game the first sellout in league history.

By 1962 Lionism spread across the State of Pennsylvania and there were 16 Districts in the state.  District 14-B was reduced to Allegheny County.  Two additional districts were added in 1985 to make MD 14 a total of 18 districts today. 

In 1992, District Governor Joseph A. Donkin, of Dravosburg, spearheaded the opening of the first Lions Diabetes Center in the Country at the McKeesport Hospital (now UPMC McKeesport Hospital).  Today the Lions Diabetes Center is a hub for county-wide education for diabetes and also helps with medications for those less fortunate.