John Fitzgerald, the man in the middle of the Dallas Cowboys offensive line throughout most of the 1970s, passed away this morning. He was 77.
Selected by the Cowboys in the fourth round of the 1970 NFL Draft, Fitzgerald had played both offensive guard and defensive tackle during his three varsity seasons at Boston College, which earned him induction into the school's Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982. He spent his rookie effort with Dallas on the taxi squad, where he was originally slotted in on the defensive side of the ball before finding a home with the offense.
A backup guard in the Cowboys' Super Bowl campaign of 1971, Fitzgerald was then converted to center for the 1972 season and took over as the starter the next year. From 1973 to 1980, he would help pave the way for an offense that finished among the NFL's top 10 for total yards in each of those eight seasons and ranked in the top three for five of those years.
Beginning in 1975, Fitzgerald was the foundation for head coach Tom Landry's reintroduction of the famed shotgun offense, easily handling the transition of hiking the ball a farther distance to quarterback Roger Staubach. Thus would begin a stretch of three times in four seasons that the Cowboys would reach the Super Bowl, winning it all in 1977 with a 27-10 defeat of the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII.
In fact, over his 12 seasons in Dallas from 1970-81, Fitzgerald was never associated with a losing team as the Cowboys reached the playoffs 11 times, appeared in nine NFC Championship Games, did battle in five Super Bowls and won two Lombardi Trophies. Overall, he played in 19 postseason games, tied for 19th in franchise history books, with 13 starts.
Fitzgerald was also credited with one of the greatest nicknames in the history of the game after describing the Cowboys' offensive line of 1979-80 as "Four Irishmen and a Scott." That was in reference to himself at center, left tackle Pat Donovan, right guard Tom Rafferty, right tackle Jim Cooper and left guard Herb Scott.
Prior to the 1981 season, though, Fitzgerald was placed on injured reserve due to a knee problem, one of several injuries he would largely play through during his career. He then retired in January 1982.
Overlooked for the Pro Bowl, Fitzgerald is nonetheless part of a great lineage of centers who have worn the Star, a group that includes Dave Manders, Rafferty, who took over at center in 1981, Mark Stepnoski, Andre Gurode and Travis Frederick.
