Cherokee Fisher

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

Fisher was a pitcher during organized baseball's formative years, from about 1867 to the end of his career. 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 ... 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.

He was part of Major League Baseball from 1871 to 1878. Fisher played for the Rockford Forest Citys, Baltimore Canaries, Athletic of Philadelphia, Hartford Dark Blues, Philadelphia White Stockings, Cincinnati Reds, and Providence Grays. On May 2, 1876, he gave up the first home run in National League history to Chicago White Stockings star Ross Barnes. After retiring he served for many years in the Chicago Fire Department.

Famous quotes containing the words cherokee and/or fisher:

    A Cherokee is too smart to put anything in the contribution box of a race that’s robbed him of his birthright.
    Howard Estabrook (1884–1978)

    For anyone addicted to reading commonplace books ... finding a good new one is much like enduring a familiar recurrence of malaria, with fever, fits of shaking, strange dreams. Unlike a truly paludismic ordeal, however, the symptoms felt while savoring a collection of one man’s pet quotations are voluptuously enjoyable ...
    —M.F.K. Fisher (1908–1992)