IndianaLocalNews

Mishawaka honors only native son to play Major League Baseball

(Tom Franklin/95.3 MNC)

The childhood home of “Fat Freddie” has been immortalized in Mishawaka.

A short ceremony to unveil a new historical marker honoring Freddie Fitzsimmons was unveiled in front of his childhood home in Mishawaka Thursday. The South Bend Tribune says Fitzsimmons lived at 524 West Grove Street for about 30 years starting in 1921.

Fitzsimmons was actually born in Tipton County, but grew up in Mishawaka and most baseball references list him as being a Mishawaka native.

Fitzsimmons played 19 seasons, spending most of his time with the New York Giants and finishing his career with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He pitched over 3,200 innings and had a 3.51 earned-run average and 870 strikeouts. He was able to win a World Series in 1933 as a member of the Giants.

Fitzsimmons died in Palm Springs, California in 1979 at the age of 78. He has a nephew that still lives in Elkhart.

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