Leo Fishel (December 13, 1877 – May 19, 1960) was a pitcher in Major League Baseball who played one game for the New York Giants in 1899. He also attended Columbia University and became a lawyer after his professional baseball career was over. Fishel stood at 6' 0" and weighed 175 lbs.[1]
Biography
Leo Fishel was born in Babylon, New York, as the youngest of eight children to Leopold and Theresa Fishel.[2] He entered Columbia in the fall of 1894 and pitched for the baseball team there while also playing for various semi-pro teams around New York and New Jersey. He was once offered US$20 plus expenses to pitch in a game for White Plains.[2]
On May 3, 1899, Fishel made his major league debut for the New York Giants, pitching a complete game and taking the loss.[1] He was the first Jewish pitcher in Major League Baseball.[3][4] Later that summer, he played for the New London Whalers and New Haven Blues of the Connecticut State League. Fishel went 2-4 in the CSL and did not play any professional baseball after 1899.[5]
Fishel graduated from Columbia Law School in 1900 and was admitted to the bar later that year.[2] He became coach of the Columbia baseball team in early 1901[6] and over the next few years played and coached various teams in the area while setting up his law practice. In 1905, he won a championship while coaching the Freeport High School team.[2]
Fishel was married twice. His first marriage to Mary Blossom Searle in 1903 produced one daughter, but it ended in divorce. He later married Laura Duerstein, and his second child, a son, was born in 1917.[2]
