Sam Fishburn

Samuel E. Fishburn

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 5' 9", Weight 157 lb.
• School Lehigh University
• Debut September 30, 1919
• Final Game July 9, 1919
• Born May 15, 1893 in Haverhill, MA USA
• Died April 11, 1965 in Bethlehem, PA USA

BR page

Biographical Information

Sam Fishburn played in the National League but nevertheless managed to compete against Babe Ruth and Joe Jackson. That's because all three were in the 1918 Bethlehem Steel League during World War I when a variety of major league players worked in the war effort. Ruth was connected with a mill in Lebanon, PA, Jackson did riveting at a shipyard, and Sam was with the Bethlehem factory team. A 1917 Lehigh University graduate, he went on later to start a real estate firm in Bethlehem. Source: [1]

Sam hit well in the majors, going 2-for-6 with a double and a single and two RBIs. He was primarily a pinch-runner, however, appearing in the field in only two of his nine games.

In the minors, he played for the 1918 Hagerstown Terriers and the 1919 Reading Coal Barons.

Fishburn Realty still exists, and its website features a photo of Sam. The site states that Sam started the firm in 1928 and sold it in 1961, and the subsequent owners have retained the Fishburn name. [2]

Lehigh University was successfully producing major leaguers in the 1910s. During the time Sam was there (1912-1917) there were six other future major leaguers whose time at Lehigh overlapped with that of Sam. The one with the most major league appearances was Babe Twombly.

A variety of websites state that Sam was Jewish.