Frank Fitzgerald

Frank Joseph Fitzgerald Sr. (August 15, 1919 – October 20, 2014) was an American professional football executive. He served as a general manager in the National Football League (NFL) for the team sequentially known as the Boston Yanks, the New York Bulldogs, the New York Yanks and the Dallas Texans from 1948 to 1952. He later worked in the radio business and for the NFL draft department of the Houston Oilers, now known as the Tennessee Titans.

Early life Several primary documents listed Fitzgerald's birth date as August 15, 1919, in New York City; however, media sources frequently gave birth dates in 1920 or 1921. In October 1940, he enlisted in World War II; at the time, he was listed as being unemployed. In January 1942, Fitzgerald married in New York City to Adelaide Collins, the daughter of Ted Collins, Kate Smith's talent manager.

Executive career Ted Collins became the owner of the Boston Yanks of the National Football League (NFL) in 1944, and in 1946, he hired Fitzgerald to the team. Fitzgerald was the team's "publicity man" by 1947. He moved to Boston, Massachusetts, in mid-1948, and that year became the team's general manager, taking over the duties of Arthur Sampson. He was just 28 years old when he took over the team's management.

The franchise was moved to New York in 1949 and became the New York Bulldogs, with Fitzgerald remaining as general manager. They totaled a record of 1–10–1 in 1949 and were renamed the New York Yanks in 1950. The team went 7–5 for a third-place divisional finish in 1950, but then went 1–9–2 the following year and again finished last. However, one month later, Fitzgerald resigned; a reporter for the Dallas Times-Herald noted that "he was presented with a Western hat, but it was apparent that the hat did not fit ... Frank was a big city man and wasn't any more sold on the Texans than the Texans were on him." Al Ennis succeeded him, with the Texans ultimately going 1–11 that year and folding, becoming the most recent NFL team to fold.

Fitzgerald left football in 1953. He also compared the modern NFL draft to the old days: "We had the first drafts In a room no bigger than a closet. Owners traded players on a handshake and their word was their contract. The first time Paul Brown of Cleveland asked one of the owners to sign a contract everyone was shocked and offended." He continued serving in this role with his son, Frank Jr., through at least 2010.

Fitzgerald died on October 20, 2014, at the age of 95. His son continued the practice of announcing the Titans' draft picks in 2015.