Len Fitzgerald, who played for Collingwood from 1945-1950, has passed away after a long battle with cancer. He was 77.

Fitzgerald played 95 games and kicked 49 goals for the Magpies, but extraordinarily all before his 21st birthday. He remains one of the youngest ever players to debut at VFL/AFL level, having played his first match against North Melbourne in 1945 just days before his 16th birthday.

Recruited from the Collingwood Technical School, Fitzgerald is regarded as one of Victoria’s finest football exports, because he is one of the few Victorian players to have crossed the border in the prime of his footballing life.

At age 20 he stunned the football world by moving to South Australia for work purposes, and went on to win three Magarey Medals with Sturt.

Fitzgerald was strong, athletic and extremely versatile, standing at 180 centimetres and weighing a solid 86 kilograms.

In 1946, after amazingly playing every game in his debut season, Marcus Whelan and Jack Regan returned to the side and Fitzgerald played wherever the team seemed to have a weakness.

‘Fitzie’ astounded many with how much extra work he was prepared to do on the training track, even for all his natural talent. In 1947 he played outstanding football at centre half back, but in the next two years became primarily a follower and won interstate selection.

During this period Bruce Andrew branded Fitzgerald the most brilliant Magpie big man since Albert Collier, particularly praising his pace and versatility. Neil Mann also believed Fitzgerald to have been one of the best he had seen.


Information from ‘A Century of the Best: The Stories of Collingwood’s Favourite Sons’, by Michael Roberts, was used in this article.