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To An Athlete Dying Young (by A. E. Housman)

The time you won your town the race
We chaired you through the market-place;
Man and boy stood cheering by,
And home we brought you shoulder-high.

To-day, the road all runners come,
Shoulder-high we bring you home,
And set you at your threshold down,
Townsman of a stiller town.

From: The St.Catharines Standard

JUNE 30, 1926

ST.CATHARINES -- Canada’s premier lacrosse player of fifteen years ago and an outstanding authority on the grand old game answered the great summons this morning in the person of William James (Billy) Fitzgerald. Death occurred shortly after midnight at the General Hospital where he had been confined for the past three weeks.

“Billy” Fitzgerald as he was known from coast to coast, put up the same stiff struggle for life for which he was noted on the lacrosse field, and even on Tuesday his physicians thought his remarkable vitality might pull him through. The odds, however, were too great, and death won the victory.

Born in St.Catharines 39 years ago, the deceased spent the greater part of his life in this city. This was his home and to this city he returned from his frequent pilgrimages with victorious lacrosse teams. He early learned to play lacrosse and gained his first fame in the Garden City. In 1907 he first played senior lacrosse with the St. Catharines Athletics, and during his career played with five championship teams.

Lacrosse Career

His local career included home-field positions on the Athletic Lacrosse Club, where his advice was followed with the most encouraging results. He later became coach and then referee. In his playing days, which terminated only about eight years ago, “Billy” played both amateur and professional. In the latter class his services were eagerly sought after. He played professional lacrosse with Toronto and then went to the coast with “Con” Jones Vancouver team, and was a member of that team when it won the world’s championship. It was Fitzgerald who won the game, for he scored the goal which brought his team into a tie with the opposition, and then he captured the winning goal. During his professional career he played from coast to coast and his name is most familiar to sport fans and writers throughout Canada.

At the close of the war when sport was disorganized, “Billy” Fitzgerald organized a team of lacrosse players in this city and played in Toronto and elsewhere, enjoying a most successful season. He also organized a team here and took it to Vancouver and the west.

A Home-Booster

The deceased was a player who put his very heart into the game and gave his best for his team. He was a true sportsman and also a real man, a man of sterling character, one who always boosted for his home city.

Latterly his services were in great demand as a referee and in that field of activity he had no peer. Even since an operation early in December last, his services have been requested on numerous occasions.

Three weeks ago he was taken ill and about ten days ago entered the General Hospital where he underwent an operation. Following the operation he slowly sank, and although he rallied, his condition gradually grew worse until the end.

The death of “Billy” Fitzgerald will be deeply mourned in many circles of life. He was a member of St. Catherine’s Roman Catholic Church, the Holy Name Society, the Knights of Columbus and financial secretary of the Catholic Order of Forresters.