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Call it The Last Supper.
But it surely won’t be the end of all the good work Pro Football Hall of Famer in waiting Larry Fitzgerald has done and will continue to do away from the football field.
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind for the 42-year-old Fitzgerald, who will turn 43 on Aug. 31, only 23 days after being enshrined on Aug. 8 in Canton, Ohio.
That was only one year after he was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the first round (third overall) of the 2004 NFL draft.
It’s somewhat unusual for a player to begin a foundation so early in his career when they are focusing on making an impact and simply surviving on the field.
Asked about that by Cards Wire, Fitzgerald explained, “I grew up in a home where my mom (Carol) was part of non-profits, so I saw it as a youngster. But when I got here to Arizona, I saw Anquan Boldin doing it. I saw Kurt Warner doing it. I saw Emmitt Smith doing it. The guys who I was around were really thoughtful in terms of how they wanted to engage with the community.
“(Then-head coach) Dennis Green, even on Tuesdays, he called it Community Tuesdays. It was our off day, so you wanted to come in, get a workout in in the morning and go out and show your face in the community. He didn’t care what it was, but he wanted you to show up and go be leaders in this area so that was something that was always kind of pushed on me. So I knew at 21, my second year, that I wanted to build something and I’ve had a lot of help doing it.”
To that end, Fitzgerald said the two decades of work have exceeded his hopes and dreams.
“It’s gone to a level that I wouldn’t have expected,” he admitted. “I credit Danielle (Frost), who’s our executive director for a lot of that growth and partnerships with Jeff and his family to be able to host our event. This is our 12th year doing it here. Where we did it before then paled in comparison to what we’ve been able to accomplish here.
“And so, like anything in life ... You can’t write a great article without wonderful editors, without distribution. It takes a team to be able to do things that we all choose to do. I’m a product of that.”
Now, of course, he’s not only Larry Fitzgerald anymore. He’s Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald. Or will be officially after the enshrinement ceremony. And that carries a lot of weight.
What does he envision for the future?
“What we’ve accomplished as a foundation will continue to live on,” he said. “Our goal is that it will be long, long after me. That’s the goal. The partnerships that we’ve developed in this community, around the country, really have been fruitful, expanded my horizons and thinking in ways that I didn’t think about 10 years ago. And so, my perfect world is that we continue to do well and execute the way we’ve been executing.”
At that point, Mastro stated simply, that even after The Last Supper Club, “We’re here for whatever Larry needs.”
Which is surely true for legions of people in the area.
The accomplishments are lengthy, much of which is traced to the loss of his mom to breast cancer in 2003 at the age of 47.
Just in the last three years of the Breast Believe campaign, there have been 800 free mobile mammograms impacting thousands of women and families with support and resources.
In October, the foundation made the largest gift in its history ($1 million) “to sustain and expand breast health services for patients at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center on the campus of Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix.”
The Laura Dreier Breast Center at the hospital was then renamed the Carol Fitzgerald Breast Health Center.
In addition, the Foundation has coding labs in schools and STEM programming, working to “bridge the digital divide through STEM learning via coding, robotics and AI integration” along with numerous other assistance for youth.
Reflecting on the moment he saw Moss in Florida while being interviewed during the SiriusXM NFL Radio Hall of Fame Selection Show shortly after being introduced at NFL Honors, Fitzgerald said, “I met Randy in 1998 when I was a ball boy (with the Vikings). I worked with the receivers personally. So our relationship developed. I was a little snotty-nosed kid that was always around him and Cris Carter. I wanted to emulate everything. I would ask him what I should do after practice to work out. If they would send me to run stadiums, I would run stadiums. Do whatever they tell me to do. And he let me drive his car to high school prom. I wore the same size shoes as him when I was in high school and so all of his old cleats and shoes he would give me. I had the best Jordan collection any kid you could ever imagine. Just unbelievable.”
He got emotional when adding, “I think the one thing that really just hit me the hardest is I know Randy's had a really difficult last year and that was the first time I've seen him with his cancer in remission. It just made me very happy to see him healthy and that he would take the time to get on a plane after everything he's done to welcome me and it made me feel very appreciated.”
There were more tears when he was then asked about his mom and the impact she and his dad (Larry Sr.) had on his life and career.
“Obviously, wish Mom could be here, but I know she's watching. Her hands have been on me in all our lives for 20-plus years,” he said. “But my dad’s made so many sacrifices for our family. He took me to my first Hall of Fame. Pro Bowls. Got me my first job. I got a chance to work for Dennis Green, then Dennis Green drafted me a few years later. So many people played an important role, but none more important than my father. And I was really happy to be able to share this moment with him tonight.”
Finally, asked if he ever could have imagined retiring with the second-most receptions (1,432) and receiving yards (17,492) in league history behind only Jerry Rice, he concluded, “If you really think about it, it's hard to conceptualize. Not only doing that, but doing it in the same place with the different players that I played with. The different coaches. It makes me really happy. It’s special.”
So, obviously, is Larry Fitzgerald.
For more information on supporting Fitzgerald’s efforts, go to TheLarryFitzgeraldFoundation.org and follow him and the Foundation on Instagram at @LarryFitzgerald and @TheLarry FitzgeraldFoundation
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Larry Fitzgerald's 'last supper' event: A look at his legacy
Continue reading...
But it surely won’t be the end of all the good work Pro Football Hall of Famer in waiting Larry Fitzgerald has done and will continue to do away from the football field.
The last few weeks have been a whirlwind for the 42-year-old Fitzgerald, who will turn 43 on Aug. 31, only 23 days after being enshrined on Aug. 8 in Canton, Ohio.
- Walking onto a yacht in Boca Raton, Fla., for a supposed business meeting, only to be greeted by Hall of Famer Randy Moss, who informed him of his first-ballot selection.
- Playing golf in the WM Phoenix Open Pro-Am at TPC Scottsdale on Feb. 4 and then walking on stage at NFL Honors in San Francisco the following evening with the four other 2026 enshrinees: quarterback Drew Brees, linebacker Luke Kuechly, kicker Adam Vinatieri and running back Roger Craig, a seniors candidate.
- Being fitted for his signature Gold Jacket and Ring of Excellence in the days following NFL Honors and also being introduced on the field at the end of the first quarter of the Super Bowl.
- Finally, meeting with Phoenix-area media at Dominick’s Steakhouse in Scottsdale two days after the Super Bowl along with restaurant owner Jeff Mastro, to promote the 16th and final Supper Club on May 18 that has helped raise millions of dollars since the inception of the Larry Fitzgerald Foundation in 2005.
That was only one year after he was selected by the Arizona Cardinals in the first round (third overall) of the 2004 NFL draft.
It’s somewhat unusual for a player to begin a foundation so early in his career when they are focusing on making an impact and simply surviving on the field.
Asked about that by Cards Wire, Fitzgerald explained, “I grew up in a home where my mom (Carol) was part of non-profits, so I saw it as a youngster. But when I got here to Arizona, I saw Anquan Boldin doing it. I saw Kurt Warner doing it. I saw Emmitt Smith doing it. The guys who I was around were really thoughtful in terms of how they wanted to engage with the community.
“(Then-head coach) Dennis Green, even on Tuesdays, he called it Community Tuesdays. It was our off day, so you wanted to come in, get a workout in in the morning and go out and show your face in the community. He didn’t care what it was, but he wanted you to show up and go be leaders in this area so that was something that was always kind of pushed on me. So I knew at 21, my second year, that I wanted to build something and I’ve had a lot of help doing it.”
To that end, Fitzgerald said the two decades of work have exceeded his hopes and dreams.
“It’s gone to a level that I wouldn’t have expected,” he admitted. “I credit Danielle (Frost), who’s our executive director for a lot of that growth and partnerships with Jeff and his family to be able to host our event. This is our 12th year doing it here. Where we did it before then paled in comparison to what we’ve been able to accomplish here.
“And so, like anything in life ... You can’t write a great article without wonderful editors, without distribution. It takes a team to be able to do things that we all choose to do. I’m a product of that.”
Now, of course, he’s not only Larry Fitzgerald anymore. He’s Hall of Famer Larry Fitzgerald. Or will be officially after the enshrinement ceremony. And that carries a lot of weight.
What does he envision for the future?
“What we’ve accomplished as a foundation will continue to live on,” he said. “Our goal is that it will be long, long after me. That’s the goal. The partnerships that we’ve developed in this community, around the country, really have been fruitful, expanded my horizons and thinking in ways that I didn’t think about 10 years ago. And so, my perfect world is that we continue to do well and execute the way we’ve been executing.”
At that point, Mastro stated simply, that even after The Last Supper Club, “We’re here for whatever Larry needs.”
Which is surely true for legions of people in the area.
The accomplishments are lengthy, much of which is traced to the loss of his mom to breast cancer in 2003 at the age of 47.
Just in the last three years of the Breast Believe campaign, there have been 800 free mobile mammograms impacting thousands of women and families with support and resources.
In October, the foundation made the largest gift in its history ($1 million) “to sustain and expand breast health services for patients at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center on the campus of Banner – University Medical Center Phoenix.”
The Laura Dreier Breast Center at the hospital was then renamed the Carol Fitzgerald Breast Health Center.
In addition, the Foundation has coding labs in schools and STEM programming, working to “bridge the digital divide through STEM learning via coding, robotics and AI integration” along with numerous other assistance for youth.
Reflecting on the moment he saw Moss in Florida while being interviewed during the SiriusXM NFL Radio Hall of Fame Selection Show shortly after being introduced at NFL Honors, Fitzgerald said, “I met Randy in 1998 when I was a ball boy (with the Vikings). I worked with the receivers personally. So our relationship developed. I was a little snotty-nosed kid that was always around him and Cris Carter. I wanted to emulate everything. I would ask him what I should do after practice to work out. If they would send me to run stadiums, I would run stadiums. Do whatever they tell me to do. And he let me drive his car to high school prom. I wore the same size shoes as him when I was in high school and so all of his old cleats and shoes he would give me. I had the best Jordan collection any kid you could ever imagine. Just unbelievable.”
He got emotional when adding, “I think the one thing that really just hit me the hardest is I know Randy's had a really difficult last year and that was the first time I've seen him with his cancer in remission. It just made me very happy to see him healthy and that he would take the time to get on a plane after everything he's done to welcome me and it made me feel very appreciated.”
There were more tears when he was then asked about his mom and the impact she and his dad (Larry Sr.) had on his life and career.
“Obviously, wish Mom could be here, but I know she's watching. Her hands have been on me in all our lives for 20-plus years,” he said. “But my dad’s made so many sacrifices for our family. He took me to my first Hall of Fame. Pro Bowls. Got me my first job. I got a chance to work for Dennis Green, then Dennis Green drafted me a few years later. So many people played an important role, but none more important than my father. And I was really happy to be able to share this moment with him tonight.”
Finally, asked if he ever could have imagined retiring with the second-most receptions (1,432) and receiving yards (17,492) in league history behind only Jerry Rice, he concluded, “If you really think about it, it's hard to conceptualize. Not only doing that, but doing it in the same place with the different players that I played with. The different coaches. It makes me really happy. It’s special.”
So, obviously, is Larry Fitzgerald.
For more information on supporting Fitzgerald’s efforts, go to TheLarryFitzgeraldFoundation.org and follow him and the Foundation on Instagram at @LarryFitzgerald and @TheLarry FitzgeraldFoundation
Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire's Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.
This article originally appeared on Cards Wire: Larry Fitzgerald's 'last supper' event: A look at his legacy
Continue reading...
