(1902-2003)
Inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, 1987
Born and raised in Hartford, Dragat graduated from Hartford Public High School in 1920, Yale College in 1924, and Yale Law School in 1926. He played baseball and basketball both at Hartford High and at Yale, and while at Yale he coached in the New Haven Industrial Baseball League. He was active in the National Association of Baseball Officials, serving the industrial leagues and prep schools in the Hartford and New Haven areas for many years.
As a young lawyer he was elected to the Hartford Board of Aldermen, serving from 1933 through 1935. He also served on the Hartford Board of Finance, the Hartford Refuse Disposal Commission and the Greater Hartford Housing Committee. In 1940, he became a naturalization examiner for the U.S. Department of Justice, and during World War II, he joined the Veterans Administration and served on the local draft board, the Appeal Board and the Retired Reserve of the Selective Service System. For this service he was awarded the Congressional Medal and Certificate of Merit by the city of Hartford.
His numerous philanthropic activities included former Boy Scout Commissioner and member of the Executive Committee and former Chairman of the Eagle Scout Court of Honor. He served with the U.S. Dept. of Justice, Dept. of Naturalization and Immigration, Naturalization Examiners, and formerly with the Veterans Administration Claims Rating Specialist. He was a member of the United Jewish Social Service, Executive Secretary of the former Hebrew Home for the Aged, Director and organizer of the Young Men-Young Women’s Hebrew Association (YM-YWHA) and served as one of its first presidents and an organizer and former President of the Young People’s League of the Emanuel Synagogue. He was a Mason from his college days for more than 70 years and was recognized for leadership in the Masonic movement.