Hank Fischer

Henry William Fischer
(Bulldog)

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 0", Weight 190 lb.
• School Seton Hall University
• High School Roosevelt High School (Yonkers)
• Debut April 16, 1962
• Final Game August 8, 1967
• Born January 11, 1940 in Yonkers, NY USA

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Biographical Information

Pitcher Hank Fischer attended Roosevelt High School, where he starred in both basketball and baseball, before briefly attending Seton Hall. He soon signed with the Milwaukee Braves and began his pro career in 1959 at age 19. The following year, pitching for the Cedar Rapids Braves, he posted a 15-7 record while leading the Three-I League with a 2.01 ERA and 217 strikeouts. With the Louisville Colonels in 1961, he went 11-9 with 163 strikeouts.

Fischer reached the majors with the Braves early in the 1962 campaign and went 2-3 with a 5.30 ERA in 29 games for Milwaukee (all out of the bullpen) before being sent down to Louisville late in the season. He improved to 4-3 with a 4.96 ERA in 31 outings in his sophomore season with the Braves while also making three starts for the minor league Toronto Maple Leafs. He joined the Milwaukee rotation in 1964, winning his first three decisions including a two-hit shutout against the Philadelphia Phillies on May 3rd in which he drove in the game's only run. Overall that summer, he went 11-10 with a 4.01 ERA and 99 strikeouts in 37 games while finishing second to Sandy Koufax in the National League with 5 shutouts. The following year, he split time between starting and relieving, going 8-9 with a 3.89 ERA in 31 outings.

Fischer began 1966 with the Braves, now in Atlanta, but was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Joey Jay in June. Two months later, he was dealt again, this time to the Boston Red Sox. Between the three clubs, he posted a 4-12 mark along with a 4.53 ERA in 31 games. He saw limited action with the Red Sox in 1967, going 1-2 with a 2.36 ERA while missing about two months with an injury that would ultimately end his career. He never pitched professionally after that season.

Fischer was inducted into the City of Yonkers Sports Hall of Fame in 1979. He also appeared in a pregame ceremony at Fenway Park with Carl Yastrzemski and other 1967 Red Sox teammates prior to Game 1 of the 2007 World Series.

Further Reading

• Mike Richard: "Hank Fischer", in Bill Nowlin and Dan Desrochers, eds.: The 1967 Impossible Dream Red Sox: 'Pandemonium on the Field', SABR, Rounder Books, Burlington, MA, 2007, pp. 170-171. ISBN 978-1-5794-0141-2

Related Sites

• Hank Fischer at the SABR Bio Project
• City of Yonkers Sports Hall of Fame bio