Erich Fischer played water polo at Stanford, where he twice made All-American, scoring 197 goals in his college career, and leading Stanford to the NCAA title in 1985 and 1986. He was on the US team that won gold at the 1991 World Cup, scoring the title-clinching goal. He also won a silver medal at the 1991 Pan American Games, and played for the US at the 1989 World Cup, the 1990 Goodwill Games, and the 1991 World Championships. Fischer had two daughters, Ana and Makenzie, who won gold medals with the US water polo team at the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics.