Fletcher was John McGraw‘s shortstop for over a decade, providing the Giants with brilliant fielding, dependable hitting, and on-field leadership. A caustic, belligerent copy of McGraw during the game, off the field he was a non-profane, churchgoing family man. As the frustrated manager of four second-division Phillies teams, Fletcher’s final gesture was the drawing of a caricature of umpire Bill Klem as a catfish, a comparison the jowly, heavy-lidded Klem loathed. Fletcher became Miller Huggins‘s assistant in 1927, and remained a Yankee coach until 1945. When Huggins died in 1929, Fletcher took over as interim manager, but refused all other offers to manage again.
