John Fitzgerald (football player)
Encyclopedia
John Robert Fitzgerald (born April 16, 1948 in Southbridge, Massachusetts
) is a retired American football
center
in the National Football League
for the Dallas Cowboys
from 1971 to 1980, including four Super Bowl
s. He played college football
at Boston College
and was drafted
in the fourth round of the 1970 NFL Draft
.
for Southbridge High School.
Fitzgerald signed with Boston College
and became a two-way tackle, playing both offense and defense during his three-year varsity career.
He was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982.
in the fourth round of the 1970 NFL Draft
.
Fitzgerald was switched from Offensive tackle to center
before the 1972 season
.
In 1973
he took over as the starting center
after Dave Manders
retirement.
He never appeared in a Pro Bowl
, but became a central part of a strong Offensive line in Dallas for most of the decade.
Fitzgerald named the Offensive line as the "Four Irishmen and a Scott", referring to himself, Pat Donovan, Jim Cooper, Tom Rafferty
and Herb Scott
.
He took great pride in his ability to snap from the Shotgun formation
, which was re introduced to the NFL by Tom Landry
.
Fitzgerald helped the Cowboys to 2 Super Bowl
Championships and playoff appearances every season except 1. He played in 138 games over 10 NFL seasons.
He had to retire after the 1980 season
season due to injuries.
Southbridge, Massachusetts
The Town of Southbridge is a city in Worcester County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 16,719 at the 2010 census.-History:...
) is a retired American football
American football
American football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
in the National Football League
National Football League
The National Football League is the highest level of professional American football in the United States, and is considered the top professional American football league in the world. It was formed by eleven teams in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, with the league changing...
for the Dallas Cowboys
Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
from 1971 to 1980, including four Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
s. He played college football
College football
College football refers to American football played by teams of student athletes fielded by American universities, colleges, and military academies, or Canadian football played by teams of student athletes fielded by Canadian universities...
at Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
and was drafted
NFL Draft
The National Football League Draft is an annual event in which the National Football League teams select eligible college football players and it is their most common source of player recruitment. The basic design of the draft is each team is given a position in the drafting order in reverse order...
in the fourth round of the 1970 NFL Draft
1970 NFL Draft
The 1970 National Football League Draft was held on January 27–28, 1970.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...
.
Early years
Played as a 300 lb fullbackFullback (American football)
A fullback is a position in the offensive backfield in American and Canadian football, and is one of the two running back positions along with the halfback...
for Southbridge High School.
Fitzgerald signed with Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
and became a two-way tackle, playing both offense and defense during his three-year varsity career.
He was inducted into the Boston College Varsity Club Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982.
Professional career
After graduation, he was selected by the Dallas CowboysDallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football franchise which plays in the Eastern Division of the National Football Conference of the National Football League . They are headquartered in Valley Ranch in Irving, Texas, a suburb of Dallas...
in the fourth round of the 1970 NFL Draft
1970 NFL Draft
The 1970 National Football League Draft was held on January 27–28, 1970.-Player selections:-Round one:-Round two:-Round three:-Round four:-Round five:-Round six:-Round seven:-Round eight:-Round nine:-Round ten:...
.
Fitzgerald was switched from Offensive tackle to center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
before the 1972 season
1972 NFL season
The 1972 NFL season was the 53rd regular season of the National Football League. The Miami Dolphins became the first NFL team to finish a championship season undefeated and untied when they beat the Washington Redskins in Super Bowl VII.-Major rule changes:...
.
In 1973
1973 NFL season
The 1973 NFL season was the 54th regular season of the National Football League. The season featured O.J. Simpson becoming the first man to rush for 2,000 yards in one season...
he took over as the starting center
Center (American football)
Center is a position in American football and Canadian football . The center is the innermost lineman of the offensive line on a football team's offense...
after Dave Manders
Dave Manders
David Francis Manders was an American football center in the National Football League from 1964 through 1974. He played college football at Michigan State University...
retirement.
He never appeared in a Pro Bowl
Pro Bowl
In professional American football, the Pro Bowl is the all-star game of the National Football League . Since the merger with the rival American Football League in 1970, it has been officially called the AFC–NFC Pro Bowl, matching the top players in the American Football Conference against those...
, but became a central part of a strong Offensive line in Dallas for most of the decade.
Fitzgerald named the Offensive line as the "Four Irishmen and a Scott", referring to himself, Pat Donovan, Jim Cooper, Tom Rafferty
Tom Rafferty
Thomas Michael Rafferty is a former American football offensive lineman in the NFL. He attended Fayetteville-Manlius High School in Manlius, New York, and went on to start four years for coach Joe Paterno at Penn State University earning All-American honors in 1975.-Early years:Rafferty attended...
and Herb Scott
Herbert Scott
Herbert Carnell Scott is a former American football offensive lineman in the National Football League...
.
He took great pride in his ability to snap from the Shotgun formation
Shotgun formation
The shotgun formation is a formation used by the offensive team in American and Canadian football. This formation is used mainly for passing plays, although some teams use it as their base formation. In the shotgun, instead of the quarterback receiving the snap from center at the line of scrimmage,...
, which was re introduced to the NFL by Tom Landry
Tom Landry
Thomas Wade "Tom" Landry was an American football player and coach. He is ranked as one of the greatest and most innovative coaches in National Football League history, creating many new formations and methods...
.
Fitzgerald helped the Cowboys to 2 Super Bowl
Super Bowl
The Super Bowl is the championship game of the National Football League , the highest level of professional American football in the United States, culminating a season that begins in the late summer of the previous calendar year. The Super Bowl uses Roman numerals to identify each game, rather...
Championships and playoff appearances every season except 1. He played in 138 games over 10 NFL seasons.
He had to retire after the 1980 season
1980 NFL season
The 1980 NFL season was the 61st regular season of the National Football League.After the league declined to approve the proposed move by the Raiders from Oakland, California to Los Angeles, the team along with the Los Angeles Coliseum sued the NFL for violating antitrust laws...
season due to injuries.