Jack Fitzgerald (3 April 1930 – 23 November 2003) was an Irish professional footballer. Fitzgerald was the Golden Boy of Waterford football during the Fifties. Jack was one of six brothers who played in the League of Ireland for the Blues - Denny, Tom, Ned,

Peter Fitzgerald (footballer) Peter Joseph Fitzgerald (16 June 1937 – 29 June 2013) was an Irish professional footballer. A centre forward Fitzgerald was one of the famous six Waterford brothers who played for the Waterford Blues. Tommy, Jack, Ned, Denny and Paul were the ...

and Paul were the others. Their father, Michael, was a native of Durrow and a hurler, only becoming involved with football through his sons. However, he subsequently was elected chairman of Waterford and became an international selector in the early 1960s. Fitzgerald had started his career as a right half at Waterford Bohemians and along with his brother Denny was in the squad that won the

FAI Youth Cup The FAI Youth Cup, also known as the FAI Umbro Youth Challenge Cup, is a cup competition organised by the FAI for youth association football clubs and teams in the Republic of Ireland. The inaugural winners were Greenmount Rangers. The competit ...

in 1947.

Debut

After making his

League of Ireland The League of Ireland ( ga, Sraith na hÉireann), together with the Football Association of Ireland, is one of the two main governing bodies responsible for organising association football in the Republic of Ireland. The term was originally us ...

debut in the 1949-50 League of Ireland season he spent the following season working in England. When he returned for the 1951-52 League of Ireland season, player-manager Jimmy Nelson switched him to centre-forward during an injury crisis. Jack responded with a couple of goals and his career took off from there. Blessed with good pace, once in the penalty area he could finish to the net equally well with either his head or his foot. His tall, blond figure bursting through defences was a thrilling sight and if he lacked a little ball control he more than made up for it with his willingness to chase everything, making life difficult for his markers. He won amateur caps, full international caps and inter-League honours, but fitting football in with his work as a milk delivery man wasn't easy. Yet, when he got the chance to move to England, he turned it down. First in with an offer was

Matt Busby Sir Alexander Matthew Busby (26 May 1909 – 20 January 1994) was a Scottish association football, football player and manager, who managed Manchester United F.C., Manchester United between 1945 and 1969 and again for the second half of the 197 ...

in October 1953. The fee was £8,000 but an inopportune cartilage operation put an end to that. Shortly after he signed professional for Waterford.

At Waterford

The following season Jack's partnership with the ill-starred Scot

Jimmy Gauld James Gauld (9 May 1931 – 9 December 2004) was a Scottish footballer, who played as an inside forward. He began his career with Aberdeen but failed to make a first team appearance before being released. Gauld went on to play in the Highland ...

, who was later to be jailed for the 1964 match-fixing scandal in England, caught the public's imagination and set attendance records around the country. This brought Jack back into the limelight and he scored the winning goal against

Netherlands national football team The Netherlands national football team ( nl, Nederlands voetbalelftal or simply ''Het Nederlands elftal'') has represented the Netherlands in international men's football matches since 1905. The men's national team is controlled by the Royal Du ...

Dalymount Park Dalymount Park (Irish: ''Páirc Cnocán Uí Dhálaigh'') is a football stadium in Phibsborough on the Northside of Dublin, Ireland. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as D ...

, which seemed to presage a lengthy international career. However, he then broke his ankle playing against the Hessen League in Germany. That didn't stop Sunderland pursuing him, the chairman even visiting him in hospital seeking his signature and inviting Jack and his wife over to do some house-hunting. Jack declined, citing as his excuse that he was a bad traveller. A hat-trick in the return game against the Hessen League in Dalymount earned him a recall to the international team. Holland were the opposition again and Jack contributed handsomely to a famous 4-1 win in Rotterdam. Such was the Dutch dismay at this football lesson from the Irish that they switched from amateur to professional football as a result. Despite being such crowd-pleasers, that Waterford team just missed out on the honours, twice being pipped for the League title and losing the 1959 FAI Cup final to St Patrick's Athletic after a replay. By 1964 the tide had turned and they had to apply for re-election. At the end of that season a note was pushed under Jack's front door telling him he was being released. After 16 years with Waterford, that was the only sour note - the fact that none of the directors had the courtesy to call on him and tell him personally that he was surplus to requirements. He signed for Cork Hibernians and enjoyed one good season, finishing top scorer, before work commitments forced him to quit. At the end of the

2013 League of Ireland The 2013 League of Ireland Premier Division was the 29th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division. The division featured 12 teams. St. Patrick's Athletic were champions, winning their eighth top level League of Ireland title. Dundalk f ...

season Fitzgerald is joint seventeenth in the all-time League of Ireland goalscoring list with 130 league goals

References

Sources

*''The Book of Irish Goalscorers'' by Seán Ryan & Stephen Burke 1987 {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzgerald, Jack 1930 births 2003 deaths Republic of Ireland association footballers Republic of Ireland international footballers League of Ireland players Waterford F.C. players Cork Hibernians F.C. players League of Ireland XI players Association footballers from County Waterford Association football forwards