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Mark Fidrych

Mark Fidrych, American baseball player and sportscaster (died 2009)

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Born
August 14, 1954
Died
April 13, 2009
Zodiac sign
Leo
Birth year
1954

About Mark Fidrych

Mark Steven Fidrych, nicknamed "the Bird", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played five seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) with the Detroit Tigers. Known for his quirky antics on the mound, Fidrych led the major leagues with a 2.34 ERA in 1976, won the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year award, and finished with a 19–9 record. In his third appearance, on May 15, Fidrych made his first major league start, caught by Bruce Kimm, his batterymate in 1975 at Triple A Evansville. Fidrych pitched well, allowing two earned runs (a two-run home run by Carl Yastrzemski) in eight innings, but Luis Tiant shut out the Tigers, and Fidrych received his first major league loss. He gave up back-to-back home runs to Fred Lynn and Yastrzemski but won his sixth consecutive start.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Mark Fidrych timeline

  1. In his third appearance, on May 15, Fidrych made his first major league start, caught by Bruce Kimm, his batterymate in 1975 at Triple A Evansville.
  2. Known for his quirky antics on the mound, Fidrych led the major leagues with a 2.34 ERA in 1976, won the American League (AL) Rookie of the Year award, and finished with a 19–9 record.

The world when Mark Fidrych was born

Mark Fidrych was born in 1954. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1954

  • #1 song"Sh-Boom" – The Crew-Cuts
  • Top movieOn the Waterfront
  • Top TV showI Love Lucy
  • Best-selling bookLord of the Flies – William Golding

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentRoger Bannister breaks the 4-minute mile
  • Top headlineSupreme Court rules school segregation unconstitutional
  • Technology milestoneFirst nuclear power plant begins operation (USSR)
  • Defining fadRock and roll emerges
  • Notable inventionNonstick pan (Tefal)
  • World population2.72 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderDwight D. Eisenhower
  • Sports championNew York Giants (World Series)
  • Also wonMinneapolis Lakers (NBA)
  • U.S. population162.0M

1954 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Mark Fidrych's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19542026
Gas$0.29$3.45/gal
Average home$10,250$435,000
Average income$5,800$67,500
Minimum wage$0.75$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.49$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population162.0M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, MLB, Wikidata. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.