Freeman Fitzgerald
| Notre Dame Fighting Irish | |
|---|---|
| Position | Guard |
| Career history | |
| College | Notre Dame (1913–1915) |
| Personal information | |
| Date of birth | August 21, 1891 |
| Place of birth | Gervais, Oregon |
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) |
| Weight | 196 lb (89 kg) |
| Career highlights and awards | |
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Freeman Charles Fitzgerald (born August 21, 1891) was an All-American football player for Notre Dame. He was six feet in height and weighed 195 pounds. He played football for Notre Dame from 1913–1915 and was selected as an All-American at the guard position in 1915. He later played professional football for the Massillon Tigers (1916), Youngstown Patricians (1917), and Rock Island Independents (1920–1921).
Fitzgerald was born in Gervais, Oregon, and raised in Aberdeen, Washington. He attended the Columbia University school, a Roman Catholic school that was part of what later became the University of Portland in Portland, Oregon. He was a three-sport star at Columbia. As a pitcher for Columbia's baseball team, he once struck out 19 batters from Vancouver High School, setting a Portland Interscholastic League single-game record. In 1911, he signed a professional baseball contract with a team in Spokane, but he refused to report, opting to attend Notre Dame instead. In football, Fitzgerald was the starting fullback for the 1911 Columbia football team that played in the Portland Interscholastic League. Four players from the 1911 Columbia team went on to become starters for the Notre Dame football team; they were Fitzgerald, Bill Kelleher, Bill Cook, and Charles Finnegan. Fitzgerald also played left forward for the 1910 Columbia basketball team that won the Portland Interscholastic League championship. In September 1912, Fitzgerald left Oregon for Notre Dame University, "where he is going in for athletics as much as study."
After high school, Fitzgerald enrolled at Notre Dame where he studied mechanical engineering and continued to be a multi-sport star. Though his greatest fame came as a football player, he also won varsity letters in football, baseball, and basketball. Fitzgerald was among the first players in Notre Dame history to receive varsity letters in the three sports.
As a pitcher for the Notre Dame baseball team, Fitzgerald drew the attention of big league scouts. His pitching performance suffered in 1913, and his setback was blamed on the overdevelopment of his shoulder muscles after a summer of "pulling 'lead line' on a seining skiff at the Sand Island seining grounds. His pitching arm recovered in 1914, and he was offered "a fat contract" by the New York Yankees. However, Fitzgerald opted to continue with his education at Notre Dame.
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