Image from Old Judge card set	Fischer p Majors: No
	Chicago Position: p First game: DNP Last game: # of games: 0	No one knows who Fischer was. There is no record of Chicago signing a player named Fischer prior to the 1888 season.

The Clarkson Hypothesis

In the massive Old Judge set (N172), there are four poses from 1888 of Fischer, a pitcher for the Chicago Maroons. The identity of this player is unknown. There are more than a few Western Association players on Old Judge cards who did not play in regular season games with the clubs identified on the card, as the photos were likely taken during spring training, including Fischer, Boyd, and Nicholson for Chicago. Nicholson was released by the Maroons in May and went to play for Minneapolis. There are at least a few articles mentioning Boyd in the Chicago newspapers from early 1888 (the last of which was on April 11, 1888). There is, however, nothing to be found on a player named 'Fischer'. So where did this player come from?

An examination of the players included with the Maroons in the Old Judge issue shows there were multiple distinct photo shoots for the club. Boyd was probably gone by the end of April. Will Hanrahan and Frank Dwyer were signed in late April. All three have cards with the Maroons, although Hanrahan is wearing the uniform of the National League Chicago White Stockings. Charlie Sprague was purchased by the Maroons from the Whites Stockings on May 3; he was photographed with both clubs. Nicholson was released May 15 and signed by Minnesota, but his card places him with the Maroons (and he is wearing a Maroons uniform). Roscoe Coughlin wasn't signed until late May, yet he has a card with the club. There are also different backgrounds, with some players having a blank studio wall, and others having a faux field background. Fischer is among the latter; his background is similar to that for Boyd.

Looking at the Maroons roster in the spring and into the season also provides clues. As noted above, some of the photos used in the Old Judge set for the Maroons must have been taken as late as the end of May, as Coughlin is included in a Maroons uniform. There were four players reported by the Chicago Inter Ocean on May 17 as released by the Maroons the previous day: Arthur (Dad) Clarkson, Nicholson, George Rooks and Charlie Ingraham. Nicholson and Rooks have known cards with the Maroons. The checklist of cabinet cards (N173) available for the Maroons includes Rooks, Nicholson, and a player named 'Dugrahm', as well as Fischer. No known examples of the Dugrahm card exists, nor is there a equivalanent known card in the N172 set. This sounds like a mismash of Dugdale (another catcher for Chicago) and Ingraham. Prominently absent from the checklist (as well as from the roster of known cards) is Clarkson. Why wouldn't there be a card of him at least advertised?

From this question comes the self-proclaimed "Clarkson Hypothesis", which is that Fischer is actually Arthur Clarkson. Arthur Clarkson was the younger brother of the famous John Clarkson. John Clarkson was a star pitcher for the National League Chicago club in 1887. In the spring of 1888 he was involved in a salary dispute with the White Stockings, which ultimately led to his being sold to Boston in April 1888 for the unheard of sum of $10,000. Arthur Clarkson was signed by the Chicago Maroons on March 24, 1888, per the Chicago Tribune (March 25, 1888). He was released on May 16, 1888. There is no reason he could not have been photographed for the Old Judge set during that time. However, given his brother's noteriety during this stretch, one could suppose (and indeed, I am supposing) that he chose not to give his actual name during the photography shoot. As a new player on a new club, it is doubtful anyone taking the photos would have known or cared. His background seems to be the same as Boyd's, another newcomer to the club. One can imagine in late March, as these players showed up to train, they were told to go to the studio and get their photos taken. Off they went, and the result was the cards we know today.

An even wilder theory is that Fischer is John Clarkson, wearing a Maroons uniform. Photos of Fischer and the Clarksons are presented below. You make the call.

Comparison of Fischer with two images of Arthur "Dad" Clarkson

Comparison of Fischer with a photo of John Clarkson

Two of the other three poses for Fischer