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John Howard Fisher
New York Mets
Pitcher
Born: March 4, 1939, Frostburg, MD
Signed: Signed by the Baltimore Orioles as an amateur free agent, June 24, 1957
Major League Teams: Baltimore Orioles 1959-1962; San Francisco Giants 1963; New York Mets 1964-1967; Chicago White Sox 1968; Cincinnati Reds 1969
An innings eater for several bad Mets teams in the mid-1960s, Jack Fisher led the league twice in losses with 24 in 1965 and 18 in 1967. Fisher's best seasons came early in his career with the Orioles and he went 12-11 with a 3.41 ERA in 1960, at one point pitching 29 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings. Fisher gave up a few milestone home runs during his career, surrendering a home to Ted Williams on September 28, 1960 in his final major league at-bat and also giving up Roger Maris' (#155) record-tying 60th home run on September 26, 1961. Fisher threw the first official pitch at Shea Stadium in 1964 as the starting pitcher for the team's home opener. He appeared in 160 games for the Mets, going 38-73 with a respectable 4.12 ERA in 133 starts. He spent the last two seasons of his career with the White Sox and Reds, and was released by the Angels on opening day 1970.
In exactly 400 career appearances, Fisher was 86-139 with a 4.06 ERA and 1,017 strikeouts over 1,975 2/3 innings pitched. In his retirement, he owned and operated Fat Jack's sports bar in Easton, Pennsylvania, so named because of the nickname given to him by former teammate Hoyt Wilhelm (#276).
Building the Set
May 13, 2021 from Marco Island, FL - Card #270
After adding a number of star cards in April, I decided I should focus on a group of commons for our set in May. I set out specifically to add reasonably priced cards from the set's second series and I found a few eBay sellers running specials on recent set breaks. In total, I added 23 cards over three-day period with this Fisher card coming from Super Bowl Auctions located in Marco Island, Florida for $5. This was the card that originally sent me on my quest, as it was the last card we needed out of the first 100 in the set. It wasn't easy to track down in good shape, and I'm guessing that's because it's a Mets card.
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| May 12, 2021 |
May 13, 2021 from Marco Island, FL - Card #270
After adding a number of star cards in April, I decided I should focus on a group of commons for our set in May. I set out specifically to add reasonably priced cards from the set's second series and I found a few eBay sellers running specials on recent set breaks. In total, I added 23 cards over three-day period with this Fisher card coming from Super Bowl Auctions located in Marco Island, Florida for $5. This was the card that originally sent me on my quest, as it was the last card we needed out of the first 100 in the set. It wasn't easy to track down in good shape, and I'm guessing that's because it's a Mets card.
The day before these cards arrived, we proudly celebrated our oldest son Doug's induction into the National Junior Honor Society.
The Card / Mets Team Set
This is one of four Mets cards Fisher appeared on within Topps flagship sets between 1964 and 1967. Like the Charlie Smith (#22) card before it, this card gives us a fantastic look at the New York World's Fair patch the Mets wore on their sleeves during the 1964 season. Flipping to the back of the card, Fisher struck out 115 in 1964, only three behind the 118 struck out by fellow starting pitcher Tracy Stallard (#491). And he'd top his 227 2/3 innings pitched in 1964 with 253 2/3 innings pitched in 1965.
1965 Season
Used more than any other starting pitcher for the Mets, Fisher went 8-24 with a 3.94 ERA over 43 games and 36 starts. The Mets lost 112 games overall to finish in the basement of the National League. Impressive by today's standard, Fisher went the distance in 10 games out of his 36 starts. And despite his sub-4.00 ERA, he also led the league in earned runs with 111. It was the second year in a row Fisher led the league in that category.
Other Notable Baseball Cards
First Mainstream Card: 1960 Topps #46
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1960-1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2008 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-JF
The Card / Mets Team Set
This is one of four Mets cards Fisher appeared on within Topps flagship sets between 1964 and 1967. Like the Charlie Smith (#22) card before it, this card gives us a fantastic look at the New York World's Fair patch the Mets wore on their sleeves during the 1964 season. Flipping to the back of the card, Fisher struck out 115 in 1964, only three behind the 118 struck out by fellow starting pitcher Tracy Stallard (#491). And he'd top his 227 2/3 innings pitched in 1964 with 253 2/3 innings pitched in 1965.
1965 Season
Used more than any other starting pitcher for the Mets, Fisher went 8-24 with a 3.94 ERA over 43 games and 36 starts. The Mets lost 112 games overall to finish in the basement of the National League. Impressive by today's standard, Fisher went the distance in 10 games out of his 36 starts. And despite his sub-4.00 ERA, he also led the league in earned runs with 111. It was the second year in a row Fisher led the league in that category.
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First Mainstream Card: 1960 Topps #46
Topps Flagship Set Appearances (11): 1960-1970
Most Recent Mainstream Card: 2008 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs #ROA-JF
Fisher wasn't in the 1959 Topps set, but Topps created a "what if" card in the style of the 1959 Topps cards for him to sign as part of the 2008 Topps Heritage Real One Autographs insert set.
54 - Fisher non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/29/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
54 - Fisher non-parallel baseball cards in the Beckett online database as of 5/29/21.
Sources:
Baseball Reference
Beckett Database
SABR
The Trading Card Database
Wikipedia
Previous Card: #92 Dick Howser - Cleveland Indians
Previous Card: #92 Dick Howser - Cleveland Indians
Next Card: #94 Charlie Lau - Baltimore Orioles
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