Leo H. Fischer (September 20, 1897 – October 1970) was an American sports writer, editor and organizer. He also served on the boards of charitable organizations and headed the National Basketball League in the early 1940s before it merged with another professional organization to become the

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

that continues to exist today.

Family life

Fischer was born in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. His parents were Abraham and Anna (née Silverberg). From 1921 to 1923, Fischer studied at

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

. He married Margaret MacLean on June 20, 1926. Their children were Barbara (Mrs. William Swisher) and Nancy (Mrs. John W. Gwynne, Jr.).

Career

Fischer was a sports writer for the '' Chicago Examiner'', the ''Herald Examiner'', ''Chicago Journal'', and the '' Chicago's American''. He began his news career as editor of the ''Great Lakes Bulletin'' in 1918. For more than 25 years, he was the sports editor for ''Chicago's American'' (from 1943–1969). In 1969, he continued as sports editor when the American was converted into a tabloid known as '' Chicago Today''.

Other interests

In 1933, Fischer co-founded the Amateur Softball Association with Michael J. Pauley He also served as ASA's president until 1938. He wrote a book entitled ''How to Play Winning Softball'' in 1940. Fischer was president of the National Basketball League from 1940 to 1944. Moreover, he was a Trustee of the National Hemophilia Foundation and Illinois Masonic Hospital and also served as a director of LaRabida Jackson Park Sanitarium.

Army

Fischer served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

from 1917–1919 and after that in the Illinois National Guard from 1919-1920. After that he was in the 1st

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

from 1920-1927.

Awards

Fischer was a recipient of the U.S.O. citation for veterans recreational services in 1944. He was cited in the Back of Yards Council in 1953 and named Press Veteran of the Year in 1963. Chicago Sportsman of the Year, 1968. Member of Editorial Assoc., Chgo. Press Club, Baseball Writers’ Assn. Am., Football Writers’s Assn. (pres. 1956), other profl. assns., Am. Legion, Sigma Delta Chi. Mason (Shriner). Elk. Clubs: Variety, Ill. Athletic, Headline (president 1951), Sojourners. Author: Winning Softball, 1941; co-author Little Sports Library (10 vols.), 1939. Contbr. articles nat. mags. Home: Chicago IL

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fischer, Leo 1897 births 1970 deaths United States Navy personnel of World War I Writers from Chicago Northwestern University alumni Sportswriters from Illinois