Larry Darnell Fitzgerald Jr. (born August 31, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a wide receiver in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons with the Arizona Cardinals. He played college football at Pittsburgh and was selected by the Cardinals with the third overall pick in the 2004 NFL Draft. He is widely considered by fans, coaches and peers to be one of the greatest receivers in NFL history.
Fitzgerald has been selected for the Pro Bowl eleven times. He was named First-team All-Pro in 2008 and Second-team All-Pro twice in 2009 and 2011. He is second in NFL career receiving yards, second in career receptions, and sixth in receiving touchdowns. He was named to the NFL 2010s All-Decade Team and NFL 100th Anniversary All-Time Team.
Fitzgerald became a minority owner of the Phoenix Suns of the National Basketball Association in 2020.
Early years
As a teenager, Fitzgerald worked as a ball boy for the Minnesota Vikings under coach Dennis Green. "You know just being around your childhood idols," Fitzgerald said in a 2015 interview. "Coach Green gave me an opportunity of a lifetime to be around Cris Carter, Warren Moon, Joey Browner, Randy Moss, and Robert Smith. I can go on and on. To see their work ethic and dedication to their craft, that was really an eye-opening experience for a 14-year-old, 15-year-old. It was like on-the-job training almost."
Fitzgerald attended and played high school football at the Academy of Holy Angels in Richfield, Minnesota. While there, he was a two-time First-team All-State wide receiver. Fitzgerald did not meet NCAA requirements to play football as a freshman, so he spent a year at Valley Forge Military Academy in Pennsylvania.
College career
Fitzgerald attended the University of Pittsburgh, where he played for the Pittsburgh Panthers football team under head coach Walt Harris. He was widely considered one of the best wide receivers in college football from 2002 to 2003.
2002 season
In his freshman season, Fitzgerald was an instant contributor. In the second game of the season against #20 Texas A&M, he had ten receptions for 103 yards in the 14–12 loss. Three weeks later, against Toledo, he had six receptions for 121 yards and his first two collegiate touchdowns in the 37–19 victory. On November 2, Fitzgerald had another stellar outing against #3 Virginia Tech with five receptions for 105 yards and three touchdowns in the 28–21 victory. In the last regular season game on November 30, he had 11 receptions for 159 yards and two touchdowns against #24 West Virginia in the 24–17 loss. Pitt finished with an 8–4 record and qualified for a bowl game. In the 2002 Insight Bowl, Fitzgerald had five receptions for 88 yards and a touchdown in the 38–13 victory over Oregon State. Overall, in the 2002 season, Fitzgerald had a Big-East conference leading 69 receptions for 1,005 yards and twelve touchdowns.
2003 season
Fitzgerald had a stellar sophomore season in 2003. He began the campaign against Kent State with six receptions for 123 yards and three touchdowns in the 43–3 victory. In the next game against Ball State, he had seven receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns in the 42–21 victory. Fitzgerald once again put out a great effort in the following game against Toledo with 12 receptions for 201 yards and a touchdown in the 35–31 loss. In the next game against Texas A&M, Fitzgerald had his fourth consecutive game with at least 100 receiving yards with seven receptions for 135 yards and three touchdowns in the 37–26 victory. Two weeks later, against Notre Dame, he was held under 100 yards for the first time but still had five receptions for 79 yards and two touchdowns in the 20–14 loss. Fitzgerald bounced back in the next game against Rutgers with eight receptions for a season-high 207 yards and two touchdowns in the 42–32 victory. Fitzgerald's hot streak continued in the next game against Syracuse, where he had eight receptions for 149 yards and two touchdowns in the 34–14 victory. Fitzgerald's performance against the Orange was his fourth consecutive game with at least two touchdowns.