The Legacy of “The Bird”
After retiring, Fidrych returned to where it all started, his hometown of Northborough, Massachusetts. He worked a number of jobs over the years, purchased a farm, and became a licensed commercial truck driver. He was married and had a daughter that he adored. At charity appearances that he attended, the fans still loved seeing him as much as ever.
Tragically, Mark Fidrych died in April of 2009 while working underneath his truck. According to the Detroit Free Press, former teammate Willie Horton spoke at the funeral. “I told everyone that Mark was a beautiful young man, a special human being who loved life and people. He is one of my heroes. Mark really helped baseball by bringing attention back to the game, and I think he should be recognized in some way at Cooperstown.”
One of the legacies of “The Bird” is the Mark Fidrych Foundation. According to their website: “This is a charity organization with a purpose of enhancing the lives of children and adults with disabilities and/or special needs through and with a focus on sports and sports education and various other means of promoting, maintaining, improving, and creating opportunities and benefits aimed at improving the lives of such individuals.” They host an annual softball tournament that his wife describes here:
Earlier this year, Boston’s Teamsters Local 25 made a $10,000 donation to the Mark Fidrych Foundation. The grant was awarded to Northborough’s famous “Fist Bump Kid” Liam Fitzgerald during an Autism Awards Reception on April 28. The grant went to Fitzgerald’s charity of choice—the Mark Fidrych foundation. Liam Fitzgerald became Internet famous as “The Fist Bump Kid” when a video of him giving fist bumps to Boston Bruins players as they came off the ice went viral.
Fitzgerald was born with Down syndrome in 2006 and diagnosed with lymphoblastic leukemia in 2009. After four years of treatment, he is now cancer-free. He has been a participant in a challenger league run by the Fidrych Foundation that allows kids with disabilities to play baseball with the help of players and coaches. “The Fist Bump Kid” chose “The Bird’s” charity to show his appreciation for what the Fidrych foundation had done for him.
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Mark Fidrych is remembered as one of the all-time “what might have been” players, along with guys like Joe Charboneau and Herb Score. He burst upon the scene in the summer of 1976 like few players in history ever have. The enthusiasm from the crowds is amazing to watch in video from those days, as is the pure joy on his face. In his first 37 starts, he was 25-11, with a 2.23 ERA. He tossed 31 complete games and averaged 8.6 innings per start. And it seemingly ended in an instant. His baseball career and his life ended too soon, but his legacy continues with the Fidrych Foundation and young people like Liam “The Fist Bump Kid” Fitzgerald.