Weston D. Fisler

Weston D. Fisler, nicknamed "Icicle," was born on July 5, 1841, in Camden, NJ. He came from a well-known family; his father, Dr. Lorenzo F. Fisler, was the mayor of Camden three times.

In 1864, Wes played as a catcher and was the cleanup hitter for a team simply called "New Jersey." His game stats were reported in the Philadelphia Daily Age on May 26, 1864. The next year, he played left field and was the leadoff hitter for the Camden Club, with his stats showing up in the August 4, 1865 edition of the same paper. After that, he joined the Philadelphia Athletic Club, where he played for 11 seasons.

By the time Wes Fisler made his Major League debut at age 29 with the Philadelphia A's in the National Association (which later became the National League), he had already played five seasons for the Philadelphia Athletics. He mainly played first and second base and was known as a strong hitter, though he wasn't the biggest star of his time. He earned his place in baseball history during his last season on opening day.

On April 22, 1876, in the very first game of the National League's inaugural season, the Boston Red Caps defeated the Philadelphia Athletics 6-5. Wes Fisler, the Athletics' first baseman from Camden, NJ, scored the first run in National League history.

After retiring from baseball, Wes Fisler moved back to Camden, NJ. He was listed in the Camden city directories from 1887 to 1891 as living at 511 Federal Street and working in "gents furnishings" in Philadelphia. He later moved to Philadelphia, where he was recorded in the 1910 census. Wes spent his last years in Philadelphia, living in a rooming house at 2134 Park Avenue. He died on December 25, 1922, in Philadelphia, PA.