CANTON, Ohio - Larry Fitzgerald Jr. arrived in Hall of Fame week carrying the kind of joy that should come with first-ballot immortality, but also a loss that hung over everything. The man everyone called “Big Fitz” wasn’t there to share it.
“There’s definitely a part of me that’s still looking around for him,” Fitzgerald said.
That missing presence was Larry Fitzgerald Sr., the longtime Twin Cities sports journalist and Fitzgerald’s father. Big Fitz died June 1 after prostate cancer had spread, and a stroke left him hospitalized for the final three weeks of his life while Fitzgerald stayed at his side. He was 71.
For Fitzgerald, the moment was impossible to separate from family. His mother, Carol, died of breast cancer in 2003, before his 17-year career with the Arizona Cardinals even began. He said the people who made this weekend possible are the ones who aren’t here to see it.
“None of this weekend happens without him or my mom,” said Fitzgerald, referring to his mother Carol, who died of breast cancer in 2003, a year before her son began his 17-year career with the Arizona Cardinals. “The sacrifices they made for me and my brother, Marcus.
It’s sad they’re not here to celebrate with me. But I know they’re watching.
I hope they’re proud.”
The Hall of Fame celebration started with a public introduction Thursday night at the NFL preseason kickoff game between Arizona and Carolina at Tom Benson Stadium, where the Cardinals honored him by having every player wear his No. 11 during pregame warmups.
The next night brought one of the signature Hall of Fame moments: the gold jacket ceremony at the Canton Civic Center. Fitzgerald had to pick a fellow Hall of Famer to help place the jacket on him, and he nearly went with Kurt Warner, the quarterback with whom he came closest to winning a Super Bowl. In the end, he chose Cris Carter, the former Vikings receiver who had been in Fitzgerald’s corner since his days as a Vikings ballboy and through the years when his father was one of coach Dennis Green’s closest confidantes.
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