 Injuries began to take their toll on his playing and Fitzgerald finished his playing career in 1962 after playing 127 games for Sturt, kicking 201 goals and winning the club's best and fairest award three times.He represented his adopted State of South Australia 20 times and was named an All Australian in the 1953 Adelaide Carnival.Fitzgerald coached Glenelg for three seasons after his retirement as a player, but with little success.