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Former Dallas Cowboys center John Fitzgerald, a two-time Super Bowl champion, is dead at 77.
The Cowboys’ team website announced he died Tuesday morning. No cause of death was given.
The Cowboys selected Fitzgerald in the fourth round out of Boston College after he played on both sides of the ball. He played both offensive guard and defensive tackle in college and was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982.
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John Fitzgerald of the Dallas Cowboys stands on the field after Super Bowl X against the Pittsburgh Steelers in Miami, Florida, on Jan. 18, 1976. (Heinz Kluetmeier/Sports Illustrated)
When he was a rookie, the Cowboys originally had Fitzgerald lined up as a defensive tackle, and he spent his rookie season on the taxi squad. In 1971, he moved to offense and was a backup guard on the team’s Super Bowl-winning squad.
In 1972, the team moved him to center, where he became a starter, and remained there until he retired. From 1973-80, Fitzgerald was the center for a Cowboys offense that finished in the top 10 in total yards in each of those eight seasons.
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Offensive linemen Rayfield Wright, Blaine Nye, John Fitzgerald and John Niland of the Dallas Cowboys jog to the line of scrimmage during a game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago Sept. 16, 1973. (Diamond Images/Getty Images)
Fitzgerald was also the focal point for head coach Tom Landry’s reintroduction to the shotgun offense, having no issue snapping the ball to Roger Staubach from a further distance. After the shotgun offense was added, the Cowboys made the Super Bowl in three out of four seasons, including a 27-10 victory over the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XII.
The Cowboys, in Fitzgerald’s 12 seasons at center, experienced significant success, reaching the playoffs 11 times, making nine NFC championship games and five Super Bowl appearances, winning two.
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Offensive linemen Rayfield Wright and John Fitzgerald of the Dallas Cowboys block defensive linemen Steve Furness and L.C. Greenwood of the Pittsburgh Steelers during Super Bowl X at the Orange Bowl in Miami, Fla. Jan. 18, 1976. The Steelers won 21–17 to claim the Super Bowl title. (Kidwiler Collection/Diamond Images)
Fitzgerald retired in 1982 after being placed on injured reserve prior to the 1981 season with a knee injury.
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