Babe Ruth League President/CEO Steven Tellefsen said," Jim "Fitz" Fitzgerald has been involved with our program for over 20 years. He is a very dedicated volunteer and plays a major role in the success the organization enjoys today. It is a proud moment to have a person of his caliber inducted into the Hall of Fame."
Jim was one of the founding fathers of the Babe Ruth League in 1956, in the era of the Little Bigger League. He wrote thousands of articles for Babe Ruth Baseball that appeared in various newspapers. He wrote on all levels of the Babe Ruth program, local, district, state, regional, and even national.
Jim was one of the supporters of Babe Ruth Day, an annual event held at Fenway Park. He assisted in the coaches' clinics, public relation seminars, umpire workshops, "go for the wall," Jimmy Fund Drives with the Boston Red Sox, and a majority of Babe Ruth Tournaments held throughout the state and country.
Jim was a very warmhearted man. He was a bachelor, yet in essence, the Godfather to hundreds of kids that participated in Babe Ruth Baseball. Every night after a baseball game, he took players out for a good meal or ice cream. After each season, Jim would even select a few players to go on vacation with him. He would take the kids to the New York Worlds Fair, Expo, Babe Ruth Tournaments, and multiple vacation locations.
Fitzgerald's dedication spread further than just on the ball field. He always did everything in a quiet way. He wanted no credit or publicity for anything he did. He helped those who needed it, and that satisfaction was the only award he could ask for. Jim "Fitz" was at times compared to Babe Ruth himself. He passed away from cancer, and continued helping out the youth until the very end.