Fritsch: Tuffy arrives, Fritsch departs

“They called him ‘Tuffy’ in his playing days — this Mr. Gene Ronzani, who today became the second head coach in the 31-year history of the Green Bay Packers,” Green Bay Sportswriter Art Daley told Press-Gazette subscribers in February 1950. “And everybody will admit, 40-year-old Gene is faced with a ‘tuff’ job — bringing the Packers out of the mud of the second division.”

And make things even tougher, Ronzani had played with the rival Chicago Bears and then joined the Chicago coaching staff before coming to Green Bay.

That July, Fritsch signed for another season with Ronzani and the Packers, and the following month, he, his wife, and daughter, Mary, welcomed new family member, Theodore (Ted Jr.)

On the field, Fritsch continued to perform but struggled with knee issues.

At the end of the season, after four years at the top in scoring for the team, Fritsch landed second.

The Packers finished fifth in a tie with San Francisco in the National Conference that season.

In July 1951, Packers officials announced Fritsch’s signing for the upcoming season, but in late September he was placed on waivers as the Packers worked to get down to a 33-man roster.

And just like that, Fritsch became a Packer alumnus.

“We all lose a step, I guess. You know, I’m assuming, and nobody plays forever. It was a decision the coach made regarding players,” said Ted Jr., a former professional football player and coach himself. “I don’t have the particulars, so I’m not really sure. Having gone through that myself personally [chuckles] you know, it comes to the end of the road, somebody’s got to tell you you’re done. And in any player’s mind, you’re not done until you mentally think you’re done, and it probably was the same way with my dad. He probably felt he still had some good years left.

“He had a great understanding of what he had to do to change a situation, and he had a good understanding behind the fact that there are some things you can’t change and you got to move on. And, you know, to dwell on the negative, to dwell on any ill feeling—and I’m kind of getting into what he lectured me about all those years when I was young and wet behind the ears and thought I knew everything, but really knew nothing — that dwelling on the things that you can’t change it’s just wasted time.”

To be continued