Pat Fitzgerald's one and only game for Collingwood came at the relatively old age of 25. Just four years later he was dead, the victim of a cruel piece of misfortune that cut short the life of a truly gifted athlete, and part of a story of extended family tragedy.

Although we remember him as a Collingwood footballer, however briefly, it was in the field of athletics that Pat Fitzgerald made a far bigger name.

A Bairnsdale boy, he was a wonderful sprinter who was reputed to have run a world record time for the 100-yard sprint at the annual sports meeting at Xavier College in Kew in 1897. Pat had been a student at Xavier in 1889/90, and was one of half dozen or so 'old boys' who competed at the school's 1897 sports carnival as a 23-year-old.

According to newspaper reports, he mistook the time of the event and arrived just as the other runners were on the blocks. The starter held them for a few extra minutes and Pat was changing as he ran to join them. But he then blitzed the field to win by 18-20 yards, in a time of 9.5 seconds, which would have broken the world record by three-tenths of a second.

The Age reported that 'Fitz' himself was amongst those astonished at the result. But others were harsher. A reporter from The Sportsman was clearly a sceptic, penning a piece titled 'That alleged world record'. He interviewed Pat for the piece, and the runner acknowleged there had been a strong tail wind. The writer also spoke to the timekeepers, one of whom conceded that his watch may have been a little faulty, and the other that he might have missed the start. This was enough for the writer to conclude that Pat had been incapable of running such an 'impossible' time. It was, in short, a hatchet job of a piece. "The much-boomed worldbeater was nothing beyond the ordinary," the piece concluded.

But there was another bombshell within that story. Pat revealed that he had lost the sight in his eyes for a couple of years, and that this had been his first race since he had regained it (it was not explained what caused the temporary loss of eyesight).

The time was never officially recognised but 'Fitz' still got plenty of mileage out of the achievement and he continued to produce many fine performances in different settings. He was a highly successful sprinter, winning a number of races, including the Maryborough Handicap (now known as the Maryborough Gift) in 1899. 

A few months later, he tried out with the Magpies in the VFL. He'd been a good footballer with Bairnsdale at home, and had continued playing footy after he'd moved to Melbourne, first at Xavier and then for South St Kilda.

He did so well in the practice matches pre-1899, including one the Magpies played against a combined juniors side, that he was chosen to make his senior debut on the wing against Geelong in the opening round of the season.

On the night before that game, The Herald said: "A new flier in the Magpie flock – Fitzgerald – has quite satisfied the selection committee. He is speedy and reliable." "He is a fine, big fellow, some 6ft tall and well proportioned," The Sportsman had noted in 1897. "Just the stamp of a man you'd think could 'go'."

Unfortunately the critics were less kind the following week: "Cullen for Essendon, and Fitzgerald (Collingwood) new wing men for the League this season did very little last Saturday," noted The Herald. "Each has yet much to learn." 

And so it proved. Speed was understandably Fitz's biggest asset, and the wide open spaces of the wing suited him perfectly. But he didn't get enough chances to show off his strengths in that game against the Pivotonians, and was dropped the next week, never to appear again. 

He seems to have focused mostly on his athletic pursuits again thereafter. But in March of 1903, he was thrown from his horse while riding home to Bairnsdale from Omeo with a friend from his Xavier days. He received severe injuries, and died at 3 o'clock the next morning. He was just 29.

But this is where the story becomes even sadder. His older brother John died just a few weeks later, of consumption, at age 35. The boys' father had died in 1901 and, to complete the sorry picture, their mother would die in 1904. It's believed only one child, a daughter, remained of the family.

After Pat died in 1903, a local newspaper said: "News of the death caused a most painful sensation in Bairnsdale, where the deceased was born and had lived most of his life. A few years ago he was one of the best sprinters in the State, and held the record for a hundred yards. He played for Collingwood Football Club three seasons ago." 

Even alongside a purported world record, Pat Fitzgerald's one game for Collingwood still carried weight as a proud achievement. All Magpie fans would understand why.

- Michael Roberts