If you didn’t know better, you’d have thought in hearing tributes to Pat Fischer today after the announcement of his passing that he was a cartoon character superhero.
Only 5-9, 170 pounds officially, but a bit smaller in person, Fischer would knock the stuffings out of any receiver who had the audacity to disrespect him and think they could handle him because of a size advantage.
Fischer was the classic example of “it doesn’t matter the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.” All you had to do was see Fischer defending against 6-7 Harold Carmichael of the Philadelphia Eagles back in the day and you’d know that to be true.
He is probably the toughest football player ever to not be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, amassing 56 interceptions in 17 memorable seasons. A member of the famed “Over The Hill Gang” back in the day, he is recognized as one of the greatest 70 Washington Redskins, yet for all his fierceness and toughness, the most common thing said of him after football was “I really liked him.”
Long after football he stayed here in Loudoun County, and I’ve yet to talk to anyone who met him and didn’t say two things: One was Pat “wasn’t even as big as I expected” and the other was “he was very nice to us.”
In last year’s polling for “The Best Of Ashburn” it was hardly a surprise Fisher was the winner in the category “Favorite Local Celebrity.”
An absolute maniac on the field (Rick Snider tells the story of how teammates once thought he was foaming at the mouth in the huddle) and an absolute gentleman off it. As unique as they come these days, getting every ounce of life out of his 83 years with us.
We’ll miss you, No. 37.
Rest In Peace.
