Terry Bradshaw

For the baseball player, see Terry Bradshaw (baseball).
Terry Bradshaw

refer to caption

Bradshaw at The Pentagon, 2004
No. 12
Position: Quarterback
Personal information
Date of birth: (1948-09-02) September 2, 1948
Place of birth: Shreveport, Louisiana
Height: 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Weight: 218 lb (99 kg)
Career information
High school: Shreveport (LA) Woodlawn
College: Louisiana Tech
NFL Draft: 1970 / Round: 1 / Pick: 1
Career history
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics
Pass attempts: 3,901
Pass completions: 2,025
Percentage: 51.9
TD–INT: 212–210
Passing yards: 27,989
Passer rating: 70.9
Player stats at NFL.com

Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948) is a former American football quarterback who played professionally in the National Football League (NFL). Since 1994, he has been a TV analyst and co-host of Fox NFL Sunday. Bradshaw is also an actor, having participated in many television shows and films, most notably starring in the movie Failure To Launch. He played for 14 seasons with Pittsburgh, won four Super Bowl titles in a six-year period (1974, 1975, 1978, and 1979), becoming the first quarterback to win three and four Super Bowls, and led the Steelers to eight AFC Central championships. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989, his first year of eligibility.

A tough competitor, Bradshaw is known for having one of the most powerful arms in NFL history. He also called his own plays throughout his football career.[1] His physical skills and on-the-field leadership played a major role in the Pittsburgh Steelers' history. During his career, he passed for more than 300 yards in a game only seven times, but three of those performances came in the postseason, and two of those in Super Bowls. He played very well in the Super Bowl, and in four career Super Bowl appearances, he passed for 932 yards and 9 touchdowns, both Super Bowl records at the time of his retirement. In 19 post-season games, he completed 261 passes for 3,833 yards.

Early years

Bradshaw was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, the second of three sons of William "Bill" Marvin Bradshaw (1927–2014), a son of John and Margie Bradshaw, a native of Sparta, Tennessee, a veteran of the United States Navy, a former vice president of manufacturing of the Riley Beaird Company in Shreveport, and a Southern Baptist layman.[2] His mother is the former Novis Gay (born 1929),[3][4] one of five children of Clifford and Lula Gay of Red River Parish, Louisiana.[5]

Bradshaw in 1967

The work ethic was particularly strong in the Bradshaw household. Bradshaw spent his early childhood in Camanche, Iowa, where he set forth the goal to play professional football. Terry's childhood best friend was Darry Duncan. When he was a teenager, Bradshaw returned with his family, including his two brothers, Gary and Craig Bradshaw, to Shreveport,[6] where he attended Woodlawn High School and played under assistant coach A. L. Williams and led the Knights to the 1965 AAA High School Championship game. His team then lost to the Sulphur Golden Tornadoes 12–9. While at Woodlawn, he set a national record for throwing the javelin 245 feet (74.68 m).[7] His exploits earned him a spot in the Sports Illustrated feature Faces In The Crowd. Bradshaw's successor as Woodlawn's starting quarterback was another future NFL standout, Joe Ferguson of the Buffalo Bills. Bradshaw's Steelers would defeat Ferguson's Bills in a 1974 divisional playoff game.

Bradshaw decided to attend Louisiana Tech University in Ruston. He has much affinity for his alma mater. He is a member of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. He was active in the Fellowship of Christian Athletes and spoke before many athletic banquets and other gatherings.[8] Initially, he was second on the depth chart at quarterback behind Phil "Roxie" Robertson, who would later become famous as the inventor of the Duck Commander duck call and television personality on the A&E program Duck Dynasty.

In 1969 he was considered by most professional scouts to be the most outstanding college football player in the nation. As a junior, he amassed 2,890 total yards, ranking No. 1 in the NCAA, and led his team to a 9–2 record and a 33–13 win over Akron in the Rice Bowl. In his senior season, he gained 2,314 yards, ranking third in the NCAA, and led his team to an 8–2 record. His decrease in production was mainly because his team played only 10 games that year, and he was taken out of several games in the second half because his team had built up a huge lead.

NFL career

Pittsburgh Steelers

In the 1970 NFL Draft Bradshaw was the first overall player selected by the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers drew the first pick in the draft after winning a coin flip tiebreaker with the Chicago Bears due to both teams having identical 1–13 records in 1969.[9] In either case, Bradshaw was hailed at the time as the consensus No. 1 pick.

Bradshaw became a starter in his second season after splitting time with Terry Hanratty in his rookie campaign. During his first few seasons, the 6'3", 215-pound quarterback was erratic, threw many interceptions (he threw 210 interceptions over the course of his career) and was widely ridiculed by the media for his rural roots and perceived lack of intelligence.[10]

It took Bradshaw several seasons to adjust to the NFL, but he eventually led the Pittsburgh Steelers to eight AFC Central championships and four Super Bowl titles. The Pittsburgh Steelers featured the "Steel Curtain" defense and a powerful running attack led by Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier, but Bradshaw's strong arm gave them the threat of the deep pass, helping to loosen opposing defenses. In 1972, he threw the "Immaculate Reception" pass to Franco Harris to beat the Raiders in the AFC Divisional playoffs, which is among the most famous plays in NFL history.

Bradshaw temporarily lost the starting job to Joe Gilliam in 1974, but he took over again during the regular season. In the 1974 AFC Championship Game against the Oakland Raiders, his fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Lynn Swann proved to be the winning score in a 24–13 victory. In the Steelers' 16–6 Super Bowl IX victory over the Minnesota Vikings that followed, Bradshaw completed 9 of 14 passes and his fourth-quarter touchdown pass put the game out of reach and helped take the Steelers to their first Super Bowl victory.

In Super Bowl X following the 1975 season, Bradshaw threw for 209 yards, most of them to Lynn Swann, as the Steelers beat the Dallas Cowboys, 21–17. His 64-yard touchdown pass to Swann (that traveled roughly 70 yards in the air)—which was released a split-second before defensive tackle Larry Cole flattened him causing a serious concussion—late in the fourth quarter is considered one of the greatest passes in NFL history.

Neck and wrist injuries in 1976 forced Bradshaw to miss four games. He was sharp in a 40–14 victory over the Baltimore Colts, completing 14 of 18 passes for 264 yards and three touchdowns, but the Steelers' hopes of a three-peat ended when both of their 1,000-yard rushers (Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier) were injured in the win over the Colts, and the Steelers subsequently lost to the Oakland Raiders in the AFC Championship game, 24-7. Jack Lambert asserted that that 1976 Steelers team was the best team that he ever played on, including the 4 Super Bowl teams of which he was a part of.

Bradshaw had his finest season in 1978 when he was named the NFL's Most Valuable Player by the Associated Press after a season in which he completed 207 of 368 passes for 2,915 yards and a league-leading 28 touchdown passes. He was also named All-Pro and All-AFC that year, despite throwing 20 interceptions.

Bradshaw in 1979

Before Super Bowl XIII, a Steelers-Cowboys rematch, Cowboys linebacker Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson famously ridiculed Bradshaw by saying, "He couldn't spell 'Cat' if you spotted him the 'c' and the 'a'." Bradshaw got his revenge by winning the Most Valuable Player award, completing 17 of 30 passes for a then-record 318 yards and four touchdowns in a 35–31 win. Bradshaw has in later years made light of the ridicule with quips such as "it's football, not rocket science."

Bradshaw won his second straight Super Bowl MVP in 1979 in Super Bowl XIV. He passed for 309 yards and 2 touchdowns in a 31–19 win over the Los Angeles Rams. Yet the game was far closer and more interesting than the final score suggests. Early in the 4th quarter, with Pittsburgh down 19–17, Terry would again turn to the long pass to help engineer a victory: a spectacular 73-yard touchdown to John Stallworth. Mr. Bradshaw would share the Sports Illustrated magazine's "Sportsmen of the Year" award with Willie Stargell that season.

After two seasons of missing the playoffs, Bradshaw played through pain—he needed a cortisone shot before every game because of an elbow injury sustained during training camp—in a strike-shortened 1982 NFL season. He still managed to tie for the most touchdown passes in the league with 17. In a 31–28 playoff loss to the San Diego Chargers, Bradshaw's last postseason game, he completed 28-of-39 passes for 325 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions.

After undergoing off-season elbow surgery, Bradshaw was idle for the first 14 games of the 1983 NFL season. Then on December 10, 1983, against the New York Jets, he felt a pop in his elbow while throwing his final pass, a 10-yard touchdown to Calvin Sweeney in the second quarter of the Steelers' 34–7 win. Bradshaw later left the game and never played again. The two touchdowns Bradshaw threw in what would be the final NFL game played at Shea Stadium (and the last NFL game in New York City to date) allowed him to finish his career with two more touchdowns (212) than interceptions (210) for his career.

After football

In July 1997, Bradshaw served as the presenter when Mike Webster, his center on the Steelers' four Super Bowl title teams, was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

In 2006, despite the Steelers being one of the teams playing in the game, Bradshaw did not attend a pregame celebration for past Super Bowl MVP's during Super Bowl XL in Detroit, Michigan. According to reports, Bradshaw (along with three time MVP and close friend Joe Montana) requested a US$100,000 guarantee for his appearance in the Super Bowl MVP Parade, and associated appearances. The NFL could not guarantee that they would make that much and refused. A representative for Bradshaw has since denied this report. After an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno (February 6, 2006) Bradshaw stated that the reason why he did not attend the MVP parade was that he was spending time with family, that he hates the crowds and the Super Bowl media circus, and also that the only way he would attend a Super Bowl is when Fox is broadcasting the game (it was ABC who broadcast Super Bowl XL), though Bradshaw attended several press conferences in Detroit days earlier. Bradshaw also stated that money was not an issue.

In April 2006, Bradshaw donated his four Super Bowl rings, College Football Hall of Fame ring, Pro Football Hall of Fame ring, Hall of Fame bust, four miniature replica Super Bowl trophies, and a helmet and jersey from one of his Super Bowl victories to his alma mater, Louisiana Tech.

Broadcasting career

Bradshaw retired from football on July 24, 1984,[11] and quickly signed a television contract with CBS to become an NFL game analyst in 1984, where he and play-by-play announcer Verne Lundquist had the top rated programs. Prior to his full-time work for them, he served as a guest commentator for CBS Sports' NFC postseason broadcasts from 1980–82.

Bradshaw was promoted into television studio analyst for The NFL Today in 1990 (which he hosted with Greg Gumbel through the 1993 season), and Fox NFL Sunday, where he normally acts as a comic foil to his co-hosts. On Fox NFL Sunday he hosts two semi-regular features, Ten Yards with TB, where he fires random questions at an NFL pro, and The Terry Awards, an annual comedic award show about the NFL season. As a cross-promotional stunt, he also hosted two consecutive Digi-Bowl specials in 2001 and 2002 on Fox Kids, providing commentary from the NFL on Fox studio in-between episodes of Digimon: Digital Monsters; the 2002 special was the final one as the Fox Kids block ended the same year. He appeared on the first broadcast of NASCAR on FOX where he took a ride with Dale Earnhardt at Daytona International Speedway the night before Earnhardt was killed in a last lap crash in the Daytona 500.

Bradshaw has the reputation of being the "ol' redneck", but, in co-host and former NFL coach Jimmy Johnson's words, the act is a "schtick."[12] According to Johnson, Bradshaw deflects such criticism by stating that "he's so dumb that he has to have somebody else fly his private plane."[12]

Bradshaw has also garnered the reputation for criticizing players and teams.[13] Following Super Bowl XLVI he was confronted by Ann Mara, wife of the late Wellington Mara, and "heckled" for not picking the Giants to win on Fox NFL Sunday.[13]

Business career

During the early part of his career with the Steelers, Bradshaw was a used car salesman during the off-season to supplement his income, as this was still during the days when most NFL players didn't make enough money to focus solely on football.[14][15]

Bradshaw has also written or co-written five books and recorded six albums of country/western and gospel music. His cover of "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" hit Top 20 on Billboard's country chart (and No. 91 on the Hot 100) in 1976; two other tunes ("The Last Word In Lonesome Is Me" and "Until You") also made the country charts.[16]

In 2001, Bradshaw entered the world of NASCAR by joining with HighLine Performance Group racing team to form FitzBradshaw Racing. He also is the spokesman for Jani-King international, Inc. Bradshaw ended his ownership in 2006.[17]

Among U.S. consumers, Bradshaw remains one of pro football's most popular retired players. As of September 2007, Bradshaw was the top-ranked former pro football player in the Davie-Brown Index (DBI), which surveys consumers to determine a celebrity's appeal and trust levels.[18]

On November 5, 2007, during a nationally-televised Monday Night Football game, Bradshaw joined former teammates including Franco Harris and Joe Greene to accept their position on the Pittsburgh Steelers 75th Anniversary All-Time Team.

Personal life

Bradshaw has been married four times. He was first married to Melissa Babish (Miss Teenage America, 1969)[19] from 1972 to 1973; to ice skater JoJo Starbuck from 1976 to 1983; and to prominent family attorney Charla Hopkins, who is the mother of his two daughters, Rachel and Erin, from 1983 to 1999. His daughter Erin shows champion paint and quarter horses and is an honors graduate of the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. His daughter Rachel is a graduate of Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, and appeared on Nashville, a reality show about musicians trying to make it in Nashville, and is the widow of former Tennessee Titans kicker Rob Bironas. The first three of Bradshaw's marriages have all ended in divorce, a subject he ridicules frequently on his NFL pre-game show. Bradshaw was married for the fourth time, on July 8, 2014, to Tammy, his girlfriend of fifteen years.

After his NFL career ended, Bradshaw disclosed that he had frequently experienced anxiety attacks after games. The problem worsened in the late 1990s after his third divorce, when he said he "could not bounce back" as he had after the previous divorces or after a bad game. In addition to anxiety attacks, his symptoms included weight loss, frequent crying, and sleeplessness. He was diagnosed with clinical depression. Since then he has taken Paxil regularly. He chose to speak out about his depression to overcome the stigma associated with it and to urge others to seek help.[20]

In October 2002, Bradshaw returned to the Steelers sideline for the first time in twenty years for a Monday night game between the Steelers and the Indianapolis Colts. In 2003, when the Steelers played the 1,000th game in franchise history, Fox covered the game at Heinz Field, and Bradshaw returned to cover the game. In addition to appearing to take his position on the Steelers All-Time Team in 2007 as part of the team's 75th anniversary festivities, he also was on the sideline for the 2007 home opener, where the Steelers earned their 500th regular season win.

Politically, Bradshaw is a long-time supporter of the Republican Party.[21] In 2012, he went on record on Fox News as supporting the candidacy of Newt Gingrich for the Republican Presidential Nomination.[22] In the same interview, he also labeled linebacker Terrell Suggs "an idiot" for making comments critical of Denver quarterback Tim Tebow's public remarks about his Christian faith, saying Suggs "better be careful; if I were him I'd be on my hands and knees tonight asking for forgiveness because that's totally unacceptable."[22]

Acting

He has appeared in numerous television commercials. Bradshaw also had cameo appearances in many shows as himself, including Everybody Loves Raymond, Married... with Children, The Larry Sanders Show and The League. He also appeared on Malcolm in the Middle with Howie Long as the trashy coach of a women's ice hockey team. He hosted a short-lived television series in 1997 called Home Team with Terry Bradshaw.

In addition to his television work, Bradshaw has appeared in several movies, including a part in the 1978 film Hooper which starred Burt Reynolds, Jan-Michael Vincent, and Sally Field, and 1981's appearance in The Cannonball Run. In 1980, he had a cameo in Smokey and the Bandit II which starred Burt Reynolds, Jerry Reed, and Sally Field. He made a guest appearance in The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. in 1994, playing Colonel Forrest March, a rogue U.S. Army officer who gave orders to his squad (played by NFL members Ken Norton, Jr., Carl Banks, and Jim Harbaugh) in a huddle using football diagrams.

Bradshaw appeared on Jeff Foxworthy's short-lived sitcom, The Jeff Foxworthy Show as a motivational speaker for people needing to change their lives. Bill Engvall's character is affected by Bradshaw's rantings about witchcraft and voodoo in his pre-game warm-ups.

On October 11, 2001, Bradshaw received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, the first and only NFL player (as of May 31, 2008) to do so.[23][24]

In 2006, Bradshaw returned to the silver screen in the motion picture Failure to Launch. He and Kathy Bates played the parents of Matthew McConaughey's character. In one notable scene he appeared nude, a move which Jay Leno spent an entire segment mocking during an appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He mentioned on May 23, 2008, on The Tonight Show that he has been a guest 37 times, and that 34 of them were on a Friday, which happens to be the lowest watched night of television. He pleasantly joked with Jay about being a 'filler' guest. He made a similar reference in an appearance on March 15, 2010, stating he was asked to guest because of a cancellation. Jay stated that at least he was not appearing on Friday, which hosts the more well-known celebrity guests. As of December 28, 2012, Bradshaw has made 50 appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. He is also a devout Christian and wrote the book Terry Bradshaw: Man of Steel with broadcaster Dave Diles.[25] Since 2010, Bradshaw has been hosting television shows produced by United States Media Television.

He is currently filming a supporting role in the comedy film Bastards.[26]

Football stats

Key to abbreviations
GP = Games played
Att = Passes attempted
Com = Passes completed
Pct = Completion percentage
Yds = Yards
TD = Touchdowns
Int = Interceptions
Long = Longest pass play of season
Passer rat = Passer rating
W/L record = Won/Loss record
NCAA collegiate career stats
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
Season Passing Rushing
Comp Att Yards Pct. TD Int Passer rat. Att Yards Avg TD Record
1966 11 34 14 42.0 0 3 76.5 26 -74 -2.8 0 1–9
1967 78 139 981 64.9 3 10 108.1 31 -118 -3.8 0 3–7
1968 176 339 2,890 57.9 22 15 136.1 87 97 1.1 0 9–2
1969 136 248 2,314 57.9 14 14 140.6 77 177 2.2 11 8–2
NCAA career totals 424 807 4,459 52.5 39 42 126.7 221 75 0.3 11 21–20
NFL career passing statistics
Pittsburgh Steelers
Year GP Att Com Pct Yards YDS/G Long TD Int Passer rat. Record
1970132188338.11,410108.59062430.45–9
19711437320354.42,259161.4 — 132259.76-8
19721430814747.71,887134.8 — 121264.111-3
1973101808949.41,183118.3 — 101554.510-4
197481486745.378598.1 — 7855.210-3-1
19751428616557.72,055146.85918988.012–2
1976101929247.91,177117.75010965.410–4
19771431416251.62,523180.265t171971.49–5
19781636820756.32,915182.270282084.714–2
19791647225954.93,724232.865t262577.012–4
19801542421851.43,339222.668t242275.09–7
19811437020154.32,887206.290t221483.98–8
1982924012752.91,768196.474t171181.46–3
198318562.57777.02420133.910–6
Career totals1683901202551.927,989166.690t21221070.9132-68-1
Super Bowl statistics
Super Bowls Comp Att Pct Yards TDs INTs Passer rat. Result
IX 9 14 64.3 96 1 0 108.4 W 16–6
X 9 19 47.4 209 2 0 122.5 W 21–17
XIII 17 30 56.7 318 4 1 119.2 W 35–31
XIV 14 21 66.7 309 2 3 101.9 W 31–19
Totals 49 84 58.3 932 9 4 112.7 W/L record 4–0

Discography

Albums

Year Album Label
1976 I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry Mercury
1981 Until You Benson
Here in My Heart Heart
1996 Sings Christmas Songs for the Whole World Dove
Terry & Jake (with Jake Hess) Chordant

Singles

Year Single Chart positions Album
US Country US CAN Country
1976 "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" 17 91 17 I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry
"The Last Word in Lonesome Is Me" 90 — —
"Here Comes My Baby Back Again" — — —
1980 "Until You" 73 — — Until You

Guest appearances

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Super Bowl Reflections: Terry Bradshaw" from the official game program for Super Bowl XXXIII between the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons, which was played on January 31, 1999 in Miami, reprinted at Steelers.com, retrieved March 2, 2013.
  2. ↑ "Wiolliam Bradshaw". Shreveport Times, February 2, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2014.
  3. ↑ Casting Call: Terry Bradshaw - FLW Outdoors
  4. ↑ Dulac, Gerry (October 22, 2002). "Bradshaw embraced in return to Steelers". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
  5. ↑ "Reginald L. "Reggie" Gay obituary (Bradshaw's maternal uncle)". rose-neath.com. Retrieved April 24, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Dan Smith, "Terry Bradshaw" (1989)" (PDF). profootballresearchers.org. Retrieved April 23, 2013.
  7. ↑ "Terry Bradshaw" Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame (inducted 1988), retrieved March 21, 2013.
  8. ↑ "Pro Star to Speak at Blue and Gold Banquet", Minden Press-Herald, Minden, Louisiana, February 16, 1972, p. 1
  9. ↑ "Former Bears coach and Halas successor dead at 77". Chicago Tribune.
  10. ↑ "Blowing Bubbles". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. November 9, 1970.
  11. ↑ https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=gWscAAAAIBAJ&sjid=4U4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=7032%2C4792109
  12. 1 2 Five Questions With Jimmy Johnson
  13. 1 2 Treadway, Daniel (January 23, 2012). "Wife Of Late Giants Owner Yells At Terry Bradshaw". Huffington Post.
  14. ↑ NFL on Fox, Philadelphia Eagles vs. Pittsburgh Steelers, 08/19/2011
  15. ↑ http://www.mlive.com/sports/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/07/scott_decamp_column_nfl_hall_o.html
  16. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (2008). Hot Country Songs 1944 to 2008. Record Research, Inc. p. 58. ISBN 0-89820-177-2.
  17. ↑ Pockrass, Bob (January 31, 2014). "NFL and NASCAR: Former NFL stars who dabbled in stock-car racing". Sporting News. Retrieved March 2, 2014.
  18. ↑ Marketing and Promotions News and Articles
  19. ↑ "Video". CNN. August 23, 2007.
  20. ↑ Morgan, John (January 30, 2004). "Terry Bradshaw's winning drive against depression". USA Today.
  21. ↑
  22. 1 2
  23. ↑ Terry Bradshaw - Yahoo! TV
  24. ↑ Terry Bradshaw
  25. ↑ "Are You Ready for Some Football". Retrieved June 17, 2015.
  26. ↑ McNary, Dave (August 13, 2015). "J.K. Simmons, Terry Bradshaw Join Ed Helms-Owen Wilson Comedy 'Bastards'". variety.com. Retrieved October 13, 2015.

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