Overview
- Marcus Fitzgerald posted on X that their father died peacefully on Monday, June 1, at age 71 and the family has asked for privacy; no cause of death has been released.
- Fitzgerald Sr. began his Minnesota media career in 1978 at KMOJ and spent roughly 45 years as a columnist and broadcaster for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder and other outlets.
- He covered dozens of major events for nearly five decades and was notably credentialed to cover his son Larry Fitzgerald Jr. at Super Bowl XLIII.
- Teams and local media issued public condolences, including the Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals, and Larry Fitzgerald Jr. posted a tribute calling his father the "rock of our family."
- Beyond journalism, Fitzgerald Sr. founded the Carol Fitzgerald Memorial Fund after his wife's 2003 death to support breast cancer and HIV research and was honored with awards such as the NCAA Living Legend Legacy Award in 2019, leaving a lasting local legacy that will shape tributes this summer.