When you think of sports in Eufaula, Oklahoma, one of the first names that comes to mind is the Selmons. However, there is another family that is synonymous with the Selmons, the Fisher family. The Fishers are known for their 15,000 acres ranch but once you look into the history of the family, it is a remarkable story.

Roy Jr. and his wife Elizabeth moved their family to Eufaula in 1954. Roy was the son of Roy Fisher Sr. who was a three-sport letterman (football, baseball and track) at the University of Oklahoma. Roy would follow his father’s lead as he too was a three-sport letterman at Edmond High School and played collegiate basketball at Oklahoma State A&M. The Fishers had five children – David, Chris, Gary, Ann and Rix.

“The Fishers are a great group of people. All of them, including Roy, were impressive athletes. Roy loved his children and introduced them to sports at an early age. Each of them excelled in sports and cared deeply about their family, friends and the community,” close family friend Gary Moores said.

Roy coached little league baseball for years and volunteered as a member of the football chain gang at Eufaula for 40 years.

David was a tremendous baseball player at Eufaula, earning All-State status in 1971 and played center and nose guard in football. He earned a scholarship to pitch at Oklahoma State University.

“We were very fortunate and owe a lot to the Selmons. If it wasn’t for recruiters coming down to watch them we may have never been seen. We had a solid group of athletes at Eufaula and we enjoyed it,” David Fisher said.

Fisher graduated and went on to teach and coach high school baseball for 20 years in Oklahoma including seven years at Eufaula.

Chris Fisher was in the senior group of Ironheads that included Lee Roy and Dewey Selmon. Fisher was explosive on defense in football and was a great basketball player.

“Chris and Lee Roy were tough in whatever sport they played. You didn’t want to drive in the paint against those two in basketball. They were a part of those Eufaula teams that went to state. The Fisher family is just great and hard working people. All of them are,” former teammate and University of Oklahoma 1974-75 National Champion football player Rusty Griffis said.

“We were rough on Rusty back then. He was a sophomore when we were seniors and practiced and played hard. One of my favorite memories is playing with Lee Roy and when he jumped up to dunk that basketball, he would come down with his elbows out and almost always knocked two defenders down,” Chris Fisher said.

Chris Fisher earned a scholarship to Rice University where he played defensive end and graduated with a Business degree. Chris is a banker and in the art business.

Gary Fisher was a sensational football and baseball player. He started as a sophomore on the football team. It was a football team that had multiple sets of brothers on the roster.

Gary graduated in 1973 and earned a baseball scholarship to Kansas State to play baseball after batting .415 his senior year at Eufaula.

“I greatly appreciate our Fisher lineage going back to our great grandfather as far as I know. He was a medical doctor. My grandfather and dad both were great athletes. The truth is my siblings and I were taught some very good life lessons by our father and mother at a very early age: 1) Work before play 2) do your chores well and be on time.

3) Practice makes perfect.

4) find something you enjoy doing and work to become the very best at it.

5) Last but not least, be humble and give thanks to God and his Son in all circumstances.

“We were indoctrinated with the principle of “don’t ever let anyone outwork you!”

“I have, in turn, tried to teach these same things to my two sons and quite a few people I know have family backgrounds embedded in these same or similar beliefs.”

“Winning back-toback Area Championships and advancing to the State Tournament my junior and senior years as an Ironhead basketball player was the best highlight of my sports days!”

“I have many fond memories in football and baseball as well at EHS and I would love to do it all over again,” Gary Fisher said.

Gary went on to graduate from Kansas State and is a dentist in Tulsa.

Ann Fisher was a terrific basketball player at Eufaula and walked on the team at Oklahoma State University. She would ultimately move back to McIntosh County where she attended Connors State College and earned a degree in Horse medicine.

“Ann was a great basketball player. We would play all the time on the weekends. Our team was called the Raiford Raiders,” former Eufaula schoolteacher Kay Luna said.

Rix Fisher was a three-sport athlete for the Ironheads. He excelled in baseball and earned a scholarship to the University of Tulsa where he played catcher in 1978. Fisher would find himself transferring to Rogers State University due to Tulsa ending their baseball program.

Rix went on to work on the family ranch and other area ranches until his untimely death.

The sports success did not end there with the Fisher family as David’s son Nathan played college baseball at William Jewell University. Chris’ son Scott played baseball at the University of Missouri and Gary’s son Bradley played baseball for Oral Roberts University.

No doubt the Fisher family is a family of sportsmen but quality citizens who excels in life and has never forgotten their home roots.