Just call him Ishky

Long-time career as player and coach ends for Fatzinger.

By Keith Groller
Of The Morning Call


It's a September night at charming, old Limeport Stadium, and Ishky Fatzinger is back where he belongs -- in a baseball uniform.

There's no game to be played, just a picture to be shot for a newspaper article. Fatzinger grabs a glove and bat as if they are supposed to be attached to his hands. Even at the age of 58, he looks like he could step into the box and rope a few line drives.

But the games have finally ended for the Lehigh Valley's version of Cal Ripken. After 40 years in local amateur leagues -- 20 in the Blue Mountain and 20 in the Tri-County --Fatzinger didn't play in the 1995 season.

He still couldn't stay away, though. He passed the reins of managing the Tri-Co Limeport Bulls to his son, Billy. And for the first time since he was a toddler, Fatzinger was merely a spectator as the Bulls charged toward the league finals.

"This is the first year of my life that I didn't put on a baseball uniform," he said. "It was a big adjustment. Early in the season, it was tough just sitting in the stands. It got better as the season went on.

"I don't know if Billy knows it, but I did a lot of second guessing for about the first six games. Then things jelled so well , there wasn't much to second guess. Billy did a good job. I'm proud of him."

Billy Fatzinger won the league's Manager of the Year award after guiding the Bulls to the league title series against Gilbertsville. His father was there for it, still fighting the temptation to step back into the dugout.

"The urge was there, but my smarts prevailed," he said. "I'd love to still be able to play. You think you're going to go on forever, but nobody's invincible. Sooner or later, there comes a time when you have to say, `This is it.' So I did. I never dreamt I would play this long."

Fatzinger retired after playing the game at the age of 57. He had thought about quitting before ... more than once. But his passion for baseball continually brought him back to the park.

"One of my goals was to play as long as my father, Bill, did and he played until he was 45," Fatzinger said. "Everybody thought that was a long time to play.

"I left the Blue Mountain League after 20 years because, at the age of 38, I had never played a game here at Limeport Stadium. There was no BML team here; so if I wanted to play here, I had to switch leagues. I had my time in the BML. In fact, at that time, I was their first 20-year man.

"I wanted to just play here for a season or two. But Limeport grows on you so much. There's always a reason for that one more year."

Rather than stay for that season or two, Fatzinger played two decades in the area's "Field of Dreams." He became so associated with the village and park that most folks think he is a Limeport native.

Actually, Horatio Fatzinger was born and raised in East Allentown, where he still lives and works for Allentown Beverage. But the nickname "Ishky" was born at Limeport Stadium.

"I got the name from one of the Fegely men when I was a little kid," he said. "I was used to hang around here as a bat boy and mascot with my father. There was a popular comedian and clown called Ishcabibble, who performed with Kay Kaiser's band. My hair was cut just like his with the bangs all around. It was sort of like Moe from the Three Stooges.

"They gave me the nickname of Ishcabibble and it stuck with me through all these years, although it was shortened to Ishky and Ish."

His craving for baseball stayed as well. A 1954 graduate of Allentown High School, Fatzinger played parts of three seasons in the Cincinnati farm system and two months with St. Louis.

After his release, he was drafted into the army, where he played more baseball. Then came a Hall of Fame career in the BML that began in Bath. He also played with Wind Gap, the Allentown Orioles and Allentown Phillies.

Among his claims to fame is that he brought his friend, Ron "Punkin" Miller, into the league. Miller has gone on to become one of that circuit's most recognizable figures and remains manager of Banko's Orioles.

"Probably the only one who loves baseball as much as I do is Punkin," Fatzinger said. "And there's still some great guys around like Bobby Zerfass."

With Miller, Fatzinger won several titles in the BML and went on to win several more Tri-Co crowns as a player-manager in Limeport.

His most memorable crown came in 1982, when his son Billy, fresh out of Dieruff High, hit the championship-deciding home run in the bottom of the seventh of the third and deciding playoff game against the Mountainville A.A.

Billy Fatzinger remembers that moment and longs for a similar moment himself now as a player-manager. He has acquired his father's love for the game and his ability to lead others, but Billy doubts he'll ever come close to matching his father's longevity.

"I don't know how long I'll play, but I guarantee I won't be playing anywhere near the age of 58," the younger Fatzinger said. "My father was blessed with a durable body. He and my uncle Bob, who is still on our team and catching at the age 47, were always in such good shape. Bobby's an ox. At his age, he still catches and plays the position as well as anyone.

"Me? I've already had my share of injuries. Sometimes the head says yes, but the body says no. There have been times when I wasn't sure I was going to play the next season. I am sure about coming back next year because it's a challenge to go one step further and win the championship."

But the quest for a crown wasn't what Ishky Fatzinger was ever about. It was about being fit enough to play a game he has loved since he was a child.

"I really had no secrets about staying fit ... I'm not a diet freak or a health nut," he said. "I was a catcher and fortunate enough not to suffer knee trouble. When you love it as much as I do, you'll find a way to get out there somehow, and I ignored the aches and pains."

Fatzinger is a throwback to the days when players were totally committed to the game. No mid-summer family vacations would keep him away for a week of games. And it wasn't as if his teams were always in contention for a title.

"I've played on 10 or 12 championship teams, but there's been a lot of non-championship years in that 40-year mix where we struggled," Fatzinger said. "So, it was never about winning titles for me. That's gravy.

"Baseball's been kind to me. It's more than a game, it's more than a sport ... it was a way of life for Ishky Fatzinger. I didn't know what life without baseball was until this year, and it was different. Sure, there was a constant rush. Any twilight baseball league will involve a rush and some travel. But that was a part of it and I'd do it all over again."

But would he change his mind, put on the spikes and go out and play ball in the Lehigh Valley Men's Senior League? After all, he's completely healthy again after conquering bladder cancer last winter.

"I would never say never," he said. "I just don't know. Maybe someday I would enjoy recreation baseball, but I always felt recreation baseball belonged at a picnic. I want to be competitive. I love competition and players playing hard. I even want the opposition to play hard. When they don't, the game suffers.

"This game has been my life. It has been an identity for me. I'm the baseball player. That's how I am labeled. I wouldn't want to change that for anything."



keith.groller@mcall.com

From The Morning Call -- October 12, 1995

Copyright © 1995, The Morning Call