Reusse: Larry Fitzgerald Sr. was a proud father, dedicated journalist and an ally to many

The longtime Twin Cities sportswriter with a big laugh died at age 71, two months before his son is to enter the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

There have been very few tenures for big-league coaches in the Twin Cities that came with the tensions of Dennis Green’s decade as the leader of the Vikings. This started with his introductory news conference at Winter Park, when our Sid Hartman and Vikings CEO Roger Headrick started barking at each other as to whether Headrick had indicated that Pete Carroll was going to be his choice.

That was not one of Sid’s better-timed complaints, since Green was sitting next to Headrick waiting to be introduced as the second Black head coach in modern NFL history.

Dennis gave it an early try with those of us working for the major dailies. For instance: I was invited to a sit-down in his office before the start of the 1992 training camp. There was jazz playing softly in the office. We had a cordial 30-minute conversation that included a few smiles over Green’s tenure at Northwestern, when it was impossible to win there.

The situation started to get crossways after the 1994 season. Sid saw the opening and became a supporter of Green, yet he was well-beaten in the pro-Denny sweepstakes by Larry Fitzgerald Sr., then a columnist at the Minneapolis Spokesman and radio host at KMOJ and elsewhere.

I always considered my shots at Green to be soft and fluffy, although the coach and his greatest ally, Fitz Sr., didn’t necessarily see it that way. I ran across a few graphs written by Larry that might have resulted in a feud, if we didn’t handle it in first-class style, which was:

We didn’t talk about it.

Denny was fired near the end of the 2001 season, and in the quarter century since then, Fitz Sr. and I encountered each other a couple hundred times, always starting with my exclamation, “Brother Larry!” invariably followed by a few laughs.

On Monday night, with the Twins back at Target Field, the news spread among the early arrivers in the pressbox that Larry had died earlier in the day at age 71. This was shocking news, although Fitz Sr.’s friend and past colleague Charles Hallman from the Spokesman-Recorder would say:

“I hadn’t seen Larry at an event for a while. I was getting ready to call him.”

Hallman and Fitz Sr. were among the five inductees in the Southside Sports Hall of Fame for the Sabathani Community Center in mid-February. Al Nuness (basketball), Sankara Frazier (boxing) and Bob Williams (Minneapolis Lakers) were also honored.

Fitz Sr. was there and also at a number of Twins games a while back. And when I told Hallman that Larry had died, Charles rocked back in alarm. He was asked to relay some thoughts on Fitz Sr. and offered this on his fellow institution for sportswriting in the Black community.

Hallman said:

“We both were cut from the same cloth as strong advocates for Black athletes and coaches — in that if we didn’t do it, they might not get the proper attention and coverage as they had earned.

“Larry was a fixture at Super Bowls, including in person to watch his son Larry Jr. play for Arizona. He was extremely proud of him and his older son Marcus, both of whom I knew since they were little. And we watched how he worked tirelessly in honoring his late wife Carol, a precious soul in her own right.

“Larry rightfully earned the respect of the Twin Cities journalism community, as well as nationwide. He will be dearly and deeply missed.”

Larry and I had something in common beyond a talent for ignoring disagreements. We carried many extra pounds, although he did so on a taller and huskier frame. Still, I always had some doubt about the tales of Larry as a legendary defensive tackle; a two-time prep All-American at Fenger High on the South Side of Chicago, it was claimed.

And then along came Larry Jr., first great in college at Pitt, then all-world for the Arizona Cardinals — and a slam-dunk, first-ballot Hall of Famer as a wide receiver — and you had to say:

“Fantastic work ethic for Larry Jr., fantastic teammate, relentless effort and, yeah … there had to be something in those genes."

The ceremony for his Hall of Fame induction will take place Aug. 8 in Canton, Ohio. The pride that would be seen on Larry Sr.’s All-America tackle-sized mug now can only be imagined.

Plus, I won’t get a chance to bark, “Brother Larry, how was Canton?” and hear another big laugh from the big man.

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What a bummer, feel for Larry, much too young.