Sam Fletcher has a special place in the history of Bedford County sports as one of the few athletes to play at the highest level of his sport.
Fletcher was born in 1881 in Bedford and worked his way up through the minor leagues.
He pitched for the Wheeling Stogies, a Class B team in the CENL, and Clarksburg Drummers, a Class D team in the Pennsylvania-West Virginia League in 1908. In 1909, he pitched for Uniontown Coal Barons, a Class D team in the Pennsylvania-West Virginia League.
He went to play for the Brooklyn Superbas in the National League in 1909. He was a right-handed pitcher and played in one game, pitching nine innings and striking out five in a complete game in his only start. He walked two, allowed 13 hits, and eight runs, all earned. He was the losing pitcher in the 8-4 loss to New York Giants.
He played in Wilmington in the minor leagues in 1910 and pitched a no-hitter against Raleigh in the Eastern Carolina League. They won the game, 2-1.
He batted for Binghamton Bingoes in the New York State League in 1911, and for Reading in the Union Professional Independent league.
He did not play in the majors again until 1912 when he played in two games Cincinnati. He pitched in two games and 9.2 innings. He walked 11 and struck out three. He allowed 15 hits and 15 runs in his relief outings.
As a batter, he was 0-3 in his game for Brooklyn, but he hit well for Cincinnati. He was 2-4 with 2 RBIs.
His final major league appearance was in a 10-1 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies.
Afterwards, in 1913, he went 15-9 for the Danbury Hatters, a Class D team in the New York-New Jersey League. That was the last professional team that records show that Fletcher played for.
According to his World War I draft registration, he was working as a bartender in Harrisburg, PA and his wife Leona was residing in Uniontown, PA. He never shows up in any documents after that, making it possible he died in the influenza pandemic that swept across the United States in 1918 and 1919.


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