Bobby Fischer has been a
fixture on the St. John's defense, but it's his off-field
contributions that have changed lives in South
Africa. St. John's athletics photo |
Over the past 60 years, no collegiate football
program has enjoyed the same degree of success as Saint
John’s University. John Gagliardi, the program’s
legendary coach, frequently attributes the Johnnies success to
ordinary people doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.
While this maxim stresses the importance of team over individual,
it underplays the fact that many truly extraordinary young men have
donned helmets and pads for SJU. Senior cornerback Bobby Fischer is
a shining example of the accomplished men who have worn the Johnnie
uniform.
Fischer has been a fixture on the gridiron for three-plus seasons.
In his first season, he contributed on special teams. He saw
playing time in eight games as a sophomore. Last year, Fischer took
over as a starter in the defensive backfield, and promptly snagged
the most interceptions by a Saint John's defender in a decade, the
seventh-most in school history. He was named All-MIAC First Team,
as he led the conference in interceptions (seven), interception
return yards (243) and passes defended (17). Fischer also garnered
All-West Region Second Team honors from D3football.com and was
named First Team All-America by Beyond Sports College Sports
Network.
His three picks against Hamline last November tied for the
second-most by an SJU player in a game. Last September, Fischer
returned an interception 85 yards against Concordia, the fourth
longest return in Saint John's history.
The Johnnies started slow last year, but came together as the
season progressed. They finished 6-4 overall and 5-3 in MIAC play,
taking fourth place.
This season, SJU stands 2-2 overall heading into Saturday’s Homecoming game with St. Olaf. Fischer has three interceptions thus far to lead the MIAC. He is on pace to finish his career in the top five among SJU’s al-time leaders.
While his
accomplishments on the football field are impressive, his off-field
activities are even more remarkable. Last year, Fischer spent the
spring semester studying in South Africa as part of a program
offered by Saint John’s and its sister school, the College of
Saint Benedict. “We were in Port Elizabeth for four
months,” Fischer said. “It was a great
experience.”
As part of the program, the SJU/CSB students took classes at
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University. In his blog about his
experiences in South Africa, Fischer noted the similarity yet
diverse contrast between SJU’s “pine curtain” and
NMMU’s scenic campus. "[It's] a beautiful place full of palm
trees, cacti, and many other floras that are very different from
that of Minnesota," Fischer wrote. "The campus was built in the 70s
and is mostly cement similar to much of Saint John’s which is
cool. I must say one thing very different than Saint John's is
seeing monkeys on campus. Yes, monkeys on campus. They are pretty
small, and the South campus where we spend most our time is on a
nature reserve.”
Fischer taught third grade two days a week at Pendula School.
“I taught the basics - reading, writing and
arithmetic,” he said. “Many of the kids there speak the
native tribal language with English as a second language, but they
are pretty proficient with English.”
He also worked with the school’s IT support team.”We
worked with archaic computers - I mean really old ones,” he
said with a laugh. “Using bits and parts from eight old
computers, we were able to reconstruct three working PCs. Once we
got them working, we were able to show the kids the basics of
computer use.”
Fischer also volunteered with Mpendulo Savings Member while in
South Africa. “That’s a non-profit organization that
uses innovative methods for growth for members to build
savings,” he explained. “It provides credit loans in
the poor communities of the Eastern Cape of South
Africa.”
True to his athletic nature, Fischer was also active in sports
with the kids from Pendula. “We played soccer, rugby, cricket
and field hockey with them,” he said. “Those are the
four major sports in South Africa.”
His volunteering has not been limited to the South African trip.
While at SJU, Fischer been active in Message Program, where he has
helped package supplies for needy areas. He has also been a weight
room supervisor and an IT lab assistant and volunteered as an
assistant coach for the Osseo VFW baseball program.
Giving back to the community around
him has been part of Fischer’s life before college as well.
While in high school, he was active as a Summer Stretch leader at
his home parish, St. Joseph the Worker. “We organized and led
various summer activities for kids in the parish and neighborhood,
working mainly with kids in fifth through eighth grade,” said
Fischer.
He was also involved in Families Moving Forward, which worked to
help homeless people improve their situation. “This was
through my parish,” Fischer said. “A lot of what I did
was connecting with the kids while adults helped the parents with
things like job searching and such.”
Fischer grew up in Osseo, and attended Osseo High, where he was an
honors student as well as a starter on the varsity football,
basketball and baseball teams. Fischer broke into the starting
lineups in all three sports his senior season and earned
All-Conference honors in football and basketball. He was the point
guard for the Orioles, leading them to a second place finish in the
state tourney. He was a defensive back and wide receiver on the
gridiron, and helped Osseo to a winning record (6-4).
“I wasn’t really thinking of playing varsity sports in
college,” he stated. “Since most of my high school
success didn’t come until my senior year, I wasn’t
heavily recruited, but most of the MIAC schools talked to me about
playing football there and several expressed interest in me for
basketball.”
One school Fischer was familiar with was Saint John’s, his
father’s alma mater. “When I first looked at SJU, I was
thinking of being just a student,” he said. He also
considered the University of Minnesota, without any athletics, as
well as a couple other MIAC schools, but ultimately decided on SJU.
As his senior year progressed, Fischer decided to try football at
Saint John’s.
His brother, Mike, has followed Fischer to SJU and is part of the
Johnnie baseball program. Steven, the youngest is a sophomore at
Osseo. “He plays baseball, basketball and football, like Mike
and I did,” Fischer said. “Steven might be the best
athlete in the family.”
When he arrived at Saint John’s, Fischer had some
discussions with the basketball staff about playing. “I
talked with the coaches briefly about the possibility, but I did
not want to play anymore,” he recalled. “I play
intramural basketball. The team has a few other football players,
and last year we won the championship. It is fun to get out there
and play.”
This past summer, he interned with Anderson & Roers CPAs, an
accounting and consulting firm in the northwest suburbs. “I
mainly helped in their audit area,” he said.
Fischer is an Accounting and Finance major with minors in
Economics and Management. He will graduate this spring. He is
exploring his post-graduate career options, looking at
opportunities in accounting, economics and business. One
possibility is returning to Anderson, “but for now I’m
still exploring options,” he said.
Looking back, Fischer is glad he chose Saint John’s.
“It has definitely been right for me,” he said.
“Saint John’s has been great because of the
opportunities it has given me. Football and the chance to study in
South Africa are the two biggest ones. The time here has allowed me
to grow greatly as a person. I have made some great friends and I
hope I am a much more well-rounded person.”
By Rich Mies, special to the
MIAC
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