Tecumseh Sherman Fitch (21 March 1908 – 7 October 1969) was the founder and CEO of Washington Steel Corporation. He was the great-grandson of Civil War general

William Tecumseh Sherman William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...

. He graduated from Yale University in 1931, when he joined Jessop Steel, initially working as a laborer and then rising in the ranks of management to head the Composite Steel Division from 1936 to 1942. He founded Washington Steel in 1945. Fitch served as mayor of

Washington, Pennsylvania Washington is a city in and the county seat of Washington County, Pennsylvania. A part of the Greater Pittsburgh area in the southwestern part of the state, the city is home to Washington & Jefferson College and Pony League baseball. The populat ...

from 1956 to 1960. He was a strong supporter of the African-American community in that city, and was instrumental in the creation of the LeMoyne Center athletic facility in 1956, in the heart of the black community, where the T.S. Fitch Gymnasium was named for him. The dedication was attended by baseball greats

Jackie Robinson Jack Roosevelt Robinson (January 31, 1919 – October 24, 1972) was an American professional baseball player who became the first African American to play in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the modern era. Robinson broke the baseball color line ...

and

Branch Rickey Wesley Branch Rickey (December 20, 1881 – December 9, 1965) was an American baseball player and sports executive. Rickey was instrumental in breaking Major League Baseball's color barrier by signing black player Jackie Robinson. He also creat ...

Fitch was also a founding Board Member and strong supporter of

PONY League Baseball PONY Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization with headquarters in Washington, Pennsylvania. Started in 1951, PONY organizes youth baseball and softball leagues and tournaments, as over 500,000 players annually play PONY in over 4,00 ...

, which was founded in Washington, PA in 1951. Fitch married Janet M Reed in 1935,"Fitch-Reed Wedding Proves Delightful Event of Season"", Washington Observer-Reporter Newspaper, June 24, 1935. and they had seven children. He died of emphysema at the age of 61, in 1969.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fitch, T. S. 1908 births 1969 deaths American chief executives of manufacturing companies Deaths from emphysema American steel industry businesspeople Yale University alumni 20th-century American businesspeople Mayors of places in Pennsylvania