Pat Fischer

Patrick Fischer (January 2, 1940 – October 8, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a cornerback in the National Football League (NFL) for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1961 to 1967, and the Washington Redskins from 1968 to 1977. He played college football for the Nebraska Cornhuskers.

Early life Fischer was born January 2, 1940, in St. Edward, Nebraska.

College He attended the University of Nebraska–Lincoln. At Nebraska, he played safety, tailback (as a sophomore and junior) and quarterback (senior year), and holds a school record 18.33 yard punt return average. Three older brothers (Cletus, Kenneth and Rex) also played football at Nebraska, with two joining him in Nebraska’s Hall of fame.

Professional career

St. Louis Cardinals Fischer was pursued by both the National Football League and the American Football League, albeit late due to concerns over his size. He was selected by the St. Louis Cardinals in the 17th round of the 1961 NFL draft. He was also recruited by the Dallas Texans (who became the Kansas City Chiefs). He described the latter as a “fallback. I thought the NFL was the better league. If I didn’t make the Cardinals, I could always go on and try out for the Chiefs."

Fischer was used for occasional kick returns in his rookie season and he recorded no defensive statistics that year. That would change in his second season, in limited form. In the September 16 game against Philadelphia, he recorded his first interception off future hall of fame quarterback Sonny Jurgensen. He played in 12 of the Cardinals 14 games in 1962, starting 6 or 8 games. He recorded two more interceptions that season. including a two-interception game on December 8 against Philadelphia. Fischer again started all 14 games in 1964, with ten interceptions and two returned for touchdowns He was also named to the Pro Bowl. In 1965, The Sporting News again selected Fischer as first-team All-Conference and UPI selected him second-team All-Pro. In the first of only four times the NFL exercised the Rozelle rule, the Cardinals received a 1969 second-round selection (35th overall–Rolf Krueger) and a 1970 third-round pick (69th overall–Colorado defensive back Eric Harris) as compensation. The 1971 season saw the arrival of George Allen as head coach, and he instituted an approach to using veteran players exclusively to the point where his teams would be dubbed the "Over-the-Hill Gang", Fischer and Mike Bass, the other cornerback, were particularly successful in shutting down the Cowboys wide receivers, Ron Sellers, Billy Parks, and Lance Alworth, who had four combined catches for 65 yards. Fischer would record his last interception on December 5, 1976, against the New York Jets. He would play three games in the 1977 season, At the time of his retirement, Fischer had played in 213 NFL games, then a record for a cornerback.

He was well known for his strong tackling skills despite his diminutive size. Some of Fischer's most memorable defensive match-ups occurred against Philadelphia Eagles receiver Harold Carmichael who stood eleven inches taller than Fischer. Fischer's mantra "get a leg up and you own him" is used today to motivate and teach smaller defensive backs how to defend taller wide receivers. The 6 ft 8 in Carmichael said Fischer was one of his toughest defenders. Carmichael said one technique Fischer and Washington used against him was to cut his knees at the line of scrimmage as the play began, which Washington called the "Sequoia Ax"; and which is no longer permitted in the NFL.

Fischer's tackling technique applied to bigger running backs as well, like Jim Brown or Larry Csonka, "'Stay low, keep my head up and, when I make contact, lift and take one of his legs away from him. If I get him off the ground with one leg, I'm going to win the war, because now he doesn't have any power. He has to have both legs driving in order for him to run over me.'"

In the late 1980s, NFL Films named Fischer as the Redskins All-Time Neutralizer sponsored by Tums. After retiring from the Redskins, Fischer worked as a stockbroker and owned a successful real estate business. In 2003, he was named to the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's inaugural HOVG class.

Legendary football quarterback Johnny Unitas said of Fischer, "'if he hits you, he'll knock your socks off!'"

He is a member of the Washington Commanders Ring of Fame.

Personal life and death Fischer had two children. and was residing in an assisted-living facility in Ashburn, Virginia. Fischer died in Ashburn on October 8, 2024, at the age of 84.