Fishel Award for Public Relations Excellence on Baseball Almanac

Fishel Award

Robert O. Fishel gave his heart and soul to the American League Public Relations Department and did such an amazing job, that Major League Baseball chose to honor him by establishing the Fishel Award in 1981 and naming him the first recipient. On June 30, 1988 Fishel passed away, but his legacy lives on in this award given to the single person who best exemplifies public relations excellence.

"(NASA) made it clear to us (the Houston Astros) that it (wearing a Space Shuttle Columbia patch during the season) would require permission from the families because it includes the names on the patch. We were thrilled that they even considered the request." - Houston Astros Senior Vice President Rob Matwick

Fishel Award Public Relations Excellence
Year	Name	Team / Affiliation
1981	Robert O. Fishel	American League
1982	Robert W. Brown	Baltimore Orioles
1983	Larry Shenk	Philadelphia Phillies
1984	Arthur E. (Red) Patterson	California Angels
1985	Jim Ferguson	Cincinnati Reds
1986	Fred Claire	Los Angeles Dodgers
1987	Jim Toomey	St. Louis Cardinals
1988	Tom Mee	Minnesota Twins
1989	Donald Davidson	Houston Astros
1990	Ned Colleti	Chicago Cubs
1991	Phyllis K. Merhige	American League
1992	Richard Griffin	Montreal Expos
1993	John Blake	Texas Rangers
1994	Kate Feeney	National League
1995	Howard Starkman	Toronto Blue Jays
1996	Bill Guilfoile	Major League Baseball
1997	Dick Bresciani	Boston Red Sox
1998	Jay Horwitz	New York Mets
1999	Bob DiBiasio	Cleveland Indians
2000	Tim Mead	Anaheim Angels
2001	Rob Matwick	Houston Astros
2002	Mike Swanson	Arizona Diamondbacks
2003	Rick Vaughn	Tampa Bay Devil Rays
2004	Jeffrey Idelson	National Baseball Hall of Fame
2005	Randy Adamack	Seattle Mariners
2006	Rob Butcher	Cincinnati Reds
2007	Rich Levin	Major League Baseball
2008	Not Yet Announced^(11-2008)	--
Year	Name	Team / Affiliation
Fishel Award

A breakdown by team affiliation reveals ten winners from National League ballclubs, ten winners from American League ballclubs and four winners from the league offices.

Do you know about some of the public relations items that the Fishel Award winners participated in? Share their efforts on Baseball Fever today.

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