John Fitzgerald, a 2-time Super Bowl champion with the Cowboys, died

John Fitzgerald, who spent his entire 12-year NFL career with the Dallas Cowboys and won two championships along the way, died April 14. He was 77.

Fitzgerald was the Cowboys’ starting center during their 1977 run to the championship. Besides protecting quarterback Roger Staubach, he recovered a fumble in the Cowboys’ Super Bowl XII victory over the Denver Broncos in January 1978.

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Fitzgerald was a backup lineman when the Cowboys defeated the Miami Dolphins to win Super Bowl VI in January 1972. By 1973, he was the starting center on the team’s “four Irishman and a Scott” O-line — a role he held down through the end of the 1980 season.

Fitzgerald retired in January 1982 with a special place in franchise history, having played 137 games and never enduring a losing season in Dallas.

According to the team’s website, Fitzgerald’s 19 career postseason games is tied for 19^th in franchise history.

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In 1975, Fitzgerald played a key role when Cowboys head coach Tom Landry installed a spread offense.

“(Landry) told me to start practicing snapping the ball back five yards without looking,” Fitzgerald said. “So I didn’t ask questions. I just did it. … It was a mental thing at first. It took pure repetition before I gained confidence.”

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With the Cowboys, Fitzgerald moved to center from guard, his initial position after being selected in the fourth round of the 1970 NFL Draft out of Boston College.

With the Eagles, Fitzgerald played on both sides of the offensive line. Boston College inducted Fitzgerald into its Athletic Hall of Fame in 1982.

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Fitzgerald attended Southbridge (Mass.) High School, where he competed in football and also was a shot putter on the school’s track and field team.

Although he was never selected to a Pro Bowl or the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Fitzgerald did more than center one of the Cowboys’ most famous O-lines — he is credited with coining its enduring nickname.

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