William Charles "Cherokee" Fisher (November 1844 – September 26, 1912) was an American

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

pitcher In baseball, the pitcher is the player who throws ("Pitch (baseball), pitches") the Baseball (ball), baseball from the pitcher's mound toward the catcher to begin each play, with the goal of out (baseball), retiring a batter (baseball), batter, ...

who played in the National Association from 1871 to 1875 and the

National League National League often refers to: *National League (baseball), one of the two baseball leagues constituting Major League Baseball in the United States and Canada *National League (division), the fifth division of the English football (soccer) system ...

in 1876 and 1878.

Career

Fisher was a pitcher during organized baseball's formative years, from about 1867 to the end of his career in 1878. He was known for his fastball on the field and his heavy drinking off it. William J. Ryczek wrote:

There appeared to be a connection between a predilection for alcohol and the tendency to revolve .e., change teams frequently.. Cherokee Fisher, whose meandering will be detailed later, was another case which strengthens this connection. A heavy consumer of alcohol would logically be much more susceptible to the overtures of other clubs, as well as more likely to be in need of money.

He played for the West Philadelphias in 1867, the Cincinnati Buckeyes in 1868, the Troy Haymakers in 1869 and 1870, and the Chicago Dreadnaughts in 1870 as well.Gustaf W. Axelson, ''"Commy": The Life Story of Charles A. Comiskey'' (The Reilly & Lee Co., 1919), p. 20. Fisher was part of

from to . He played for the

Rockford Forest Citys Rockford Forest Citys (officially the Forest City Club), from Rockford, Illinois, was one of the first professional baseball clubs. Rockford played for one season during the National Association inaugural year of . They are not to be confused w ...

Baltimore Canaries The Baltimore Canaries were a professional baseball club in the National Association of Professional Base Ball Players, National Association from 1872 to 1874. History The team was usually listed as Lord Baltimore in the box scores of the day, and ...

Athletic of Philadelphia Athletic may refer to: * An athlete, a sportsperson * Athletic director, a position at many American universities and schools * Athletic type, a physical/psychological type in the classification of Ernst Kretschmer * Athletic of Philadelphia, a ...

Hartford Dark Blues The Hartfords (more commonly called the Hartford Dark Blues because of their uniform color) were a 19th-century baseball team. The team was based in Hartford, Connecticut. History In 1874, baseball in Hartford was being played in a fever pitch. ...

Philadelphia White Stockings The Philadelphia White Stockings were an early professional baseball team. They were a member of the National Association from 1873 to 1875. Their home games were played at the Jefferson Street Grounds. They were managed by Fergy Malone, Jimm ...

Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...

, and

Providence Grays The Providence Grays were a Major League Baseball team based in Providence, Rhode Island who played in the National League from until . The Grays played at the Messer Street Grounds in the Olneyville neighborhood. The team won the National ...

. With the

in , Fisher had 10 wins, one loss, and a league-leading 1.80

earned run average In baseball statistics, earned run average (ERA) is the average of earned runs allowed by a pitcher per nine innings pitched (i.e. the traditional length of a game). It is determined by dividing the number of earned runs allowed by the number ...

. He repeated as ERA champion the next season while pitching for the

Philadelphia Athletics The Philadelphia Athletics were a Major League Baseball team that played in Philadelphia from 1901 to 1954, when they moved to Kansas City, Missouri, and became the Kansas City Athletics. Following another move in 1967, they became the Oakland ...

, posting a nearly identical 1.81 mark. On May 2, , he gave up the first

home run In baseball, a home run (abbreviated HR) is scored when the Baseball (ball), ball is hit in such a way that the batting (baseball), batter is able to circle the bases and reach home plate safe (baseball), safely in one play without any error ( ...

history to Chicago White Stockings star

Ross Barnes Charles Roscoe Barnes (May 8, 1850 – February 5, 1915) was one of the stars of baseball's National Association (1871–1875) and the early National League (1876–1881), playing second base and shortstop. He played for the dominant Boston R ...

. After retiring, Fisher served for many years in the Chicago Fire Department.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisher, Cherokee 1844 births 1912 deaths Major League Baseball pitchers Cincinnati Buckeyes players Troy Haymakers (NABBP) players Rockford Forest Citys players Baltimore Canaries players Philadelphia Athletics (NA) players Hartford Dark Blues players Philadelphia White Stockings players Cincinnati Reds (1876–1879) players Providence Grays players Baseball players from Philadelphia American firefighters

Career

See also

References

External links