William Anton "Moose" Fischer (March 10, 1927 – January 20, 2017) was an American football lineman who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL) for the Chicago Cardinals, from 1949 to 1953. He was a first-round pick by the Chicago Cardinals in the

1949 NFL Draft The 1949 National Football League Draft was held on December 21, 1948, at The Bellevue-Stratford Hotel in Philadelphia. The draft was preceded by a secret draft meeting held November 15, 1948, at the Hotel Schenley in Pittsburgh. This was the ...

. With the Cardinals, he was invited to three

Pro Bowls The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

. He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

at the University of Notre Dame, where he won two

national championships A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, i ...

, was twice named a consensus All-American in 1947 and 1948, and was awarded the Outland Trophy as the nation's top lineman in 1948. He was the first Mr. Irrelevant to make the Pro Bowl, who was the last pick in the

1948 NFL Draft The 1948 National Football League Draft was held on December 19, 1947, at the Fort Pitt Hotel in Pittsburgh. This was the second year that the first overall pick was a bonus pick determined by lottery, with the previous year's winner Chicago Bea ...

. He was drafted by the Chicago Cardinals after his junior season at

Notre Dame Notre Dame, French for "Our Lady", a title of Mary, mother of Jesus, most commonly refers to: * Notre-Dame de Paris, a cathedral in Paris, France * University of Notre Dame, a university in Indiana, United States ** Notre Dame Fighting Irish, th ...

. He opted to stay in school, and won the Outland Trophy as the nation's top interior lineman in 1948. The Cardinals drafted him again in

1949 Events January * January 1 – A United Nations-sponsored ceasefire brings an end to the Indo-Pakistani War of 1947. The war results in a stalemate and the division of Kashmir, which still continues as of 2022. * January 2 – Luis ...

, this time with their first round pick. Fischer returned to Notre Dame after his playing career, serving as an assistant coach under Terry Brennan, from 1954 to 1958. He also served as president of the Notre Dame Monogram Club in 1982. In 1983, he was inducted into the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame. Fischer died on January 20, 2017, in

Cape Coral, Florida Cape Coral is a city located in Lee County, Florida, United States, on the Gulf of Mexico. Founded in 1957 and developed as a planned community, the city's population has grown to 194,016 as of the 2020 Census, a rise of 26% from the 2010 Census ...

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* * * 1927 births 2017 deaths American football defensive tackles American football guards American football tackles Chicago Cardinals players Eastern Conference Pro Bowl players National Football League announcers Notre Dame Fighting Irish football coaches Notre Dame Fighting Irish football players St. Louis Cardinals (football) announcers All-American college football players College Football Hall of Fame inductees Sportspeople from Chicago Players of American football from Chicago {{collegefootball-player-stub