Wednesday, July 21, 2010

"Fat Jack" Fisher

I'm not exactly sure how "Fat Jack" earned his nickname, since he was listed at 6'2", 215 lbs in his playing days. That doesn't seem to bad to me, but maybe it was compared to the other players back then. I would say that "Slightly Overweight Jack" or "Doughy Jack" might have fit better, but they don't sound as good.

Jack pitched 11 seasons in the Majors from 1959-69, the first 4 for the O's. His career stats are highlighted by a number of categories that he led the league in, but unfortunately, they were pretty much all bad things to be #1 in, such as most losses (2x), most earned runs allowed (3x) and most wild pitches (1x). Jack only had a winning record once in his career, when he went 12-11 for the 1960 O's.

Jack is a tough signature to track down, at least on an Orioles card, and it took me a few months to find a signed O's card on the bay, at least at a price I was alright with paying. Jack owns a sports bar appropriately called "Fat Jack's" in Easton, PA. Maybe I should try to call him there and ask him to sign...

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