Terry Bradshaw

Terry Bradshaw
Image:Terry Bradshaw.jpg
Date of birth	September 2 1948 (age 59)
Place of birth	Shreveport, Louisiana
Position(s)	Quarterback
College	Louisiana Tech
NFL Draft	1970 / Round 1/ Pick 1
Career Highlights
Pro Bowls	1975, 1978, 1979
Awards	1979 Super Bowl MVP 1978 AP NFL MVP 1978 Bert Bell Award 1978 Super Bowl MVP
Honors	NFL 1970s All-Decade Team College Football HOF
Stats
Statistics	CBS.com DatabaseFootball
Team(s)
1970–1983	Pittsburgh Steelers
College Hall of Fame
Pro Football Hall of Fame, 1989

Terry Paxton Bradshaw (born September 2, 1948), is a former American football quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers in the National Football League (NFL). He is currently a football analyst and co-host of FOX NFL Sunday. In a six-year span, he won an unprecedented four Super Bowl titles with Pittsburgh (1975, 1976, 1979 and 1980), becoming the first quarterback to do so, and led the Steelers to eight AFC Central championships. He was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989 in his first year of eligibility.

A tough competitor, Bradshaw had a powerful – although at times erratic – throwing arm and called his own plays throughout his pro career. His physical skills and on-the-field leadership played a major role in Pittsburgh sports history. Bradshaw also excelled in big games. During his career, he passed for more than 300 yards in a game only seven times, but three of those performances came in post-season play, two of them in Super Bowls. In four career Super Bowls he passed for an impressive 932 yards and 9 touchdowns, both Super Bowl records at the time of his retirement. In 19 postseason games he completed 261 passes for 3,833 yards.

High school and college

Bradshaw was born in Shreveport, Louisiana. He attended Woodlawn High School and led the Knights to the AAA High School Championship game where they lost to the Sulphur Tors 12-9. While at Woodlawn, he set a national record for throwing the javelin with 245 feet. His exploits earned him a spot in the Sports Illustrated feature Faces In The Crowd.

He originally signed with LSU, but later decided to enroll at Louisiana Tech after failing to earn a high enough score on the ACT college-entrance exam [1]. In 1969 he was considered by most pro scouts to be the most outstanding college football player. As a junior, he amassed 2,890 total yards, ranking #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 only played 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. He was also a member of Tau Kappa Epsilon Fraternity before being the first player selected in the 1970 NFL Draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 1996, Bradshaw was voted into the College Football Hall of Fame.

NFL career

Bradshaw became a starter one year after he was drafted in 1970. During his first several seasons, the 6'3", 215 lb. 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.

It took Bradshaw a few seasons to adjust to the pro game but once he did, he eventually became the premier quarterback in the NFL, leading the Steelers to eight AFC Central championships and an unprecedented collection of Super Bowl rings. The Steelers featured the "Steel Curtain" defense and a powerful running attack led by Franco Harris, but Bradshaw's strong arm gave them the threat of the deep pass, helping to loosen opposing defenses. In 1972, he threw the pass leading to the "Immaculate Reception", among the most famous plays in NFL history.

Bradshaw temporarily lost the starting job to Joe Gilliam in 1974, but Bradshaw took over again during the regular season and 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 Swann, as the Steelers beat the Dallas Cowboys, 21-17. His 64-yard touchdown pass to Swann—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 with a 24-7 loss to Oakland in the AFC Championship game.

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.

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 't'." 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. Years later, Henderson, who struggled for years to conquer drug addiction, admitted he was high on cocaine at the time of the interview. 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. Bradshaw also shared 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 offseason elbow surgery, Bradshaw was idle for the first 14 games ofthe 1983 NFL season. Then against the New York Jets, he felt a pop in his elbow while throwing a touchdown pass, Bradshaw later left the game and never played again.

In his 14-season career, Bradshaw completed 2,025 of 3,901 passes for 27,989 yards and 212 touchdowns. He also rushed 444 times for 2,257 yards and 32 touchdowns. He was 107-51 as the staring quarterback and the Steelers reached the playoffs 10 times. His career postseason record as a starter was 14-5. He was also selected to play in three Pro Bowl games.

While the Steelers do not officially retire uniform numbers, Bradshaw's number 12 has not been issued by the team since he retired, and it is generally understood that no Steeler will wear that number in the foreseeable future.

In 1999, he was ranked number 44 on The Sporting News' list of the 100 Greatest Football Players.

After retiring

Bradshaw retired from football in 1983, and quickly signed a television contract with CBS to become a 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.

Bradshaw has also written or co-written five books and recorded six albums of country/western and gospel music. 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 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.

In November 2005, Bradshaw announced that he and a group of investors from Louisiana were interested in buying the New Orleans Saints. The Saints, who had been forced out of the Louisiana Superdome for the 2005 season by Hurricane Katrina, were operating out of San Antonio, Texas, and had to play most of their 2005 home games at the Alamodome there and at LSU's Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. Several actions and statements by Saints owner Tom Benson and several San Antonio and Texas officials fueled speculation that Benson wanted to move the team to San Antonio permanently. While the NFL opposed a move to San Antonio, there were rumors that they may allow the team to move to Los Angeles, which has been without an NFL team since 1995. Bradshaw, a Louisiana native, said that he did not want his home state to lose the Saints because of Katrina, and was willing to purchase the team to see to it that that would not happen. However, his plans fell through as Benson was unwilling to sell the team.

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 requested a $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 (February 6, 2006) Bradshaw stated that the reason why he did not attend the MVP parade was because 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. 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.

Personal life

Bradshaw has been married three times. He was married to Melissa Babich from 1972–73, to ice skater JoJo Starbuck from 1976–83, and to Charlotte Hopkins from 1983–99, who is the mother of his two daughters, Rachel and Erin. All three of Bradshaw's marriages have ended in divorce, a subject he ridicules frequently on his pre-game show. For example, on October 2, 2005, he began a Ten Yards with TB piece on the Eagles' Jeremiah Trotter by discussing Trotter's ejection from a game prior to the kickoff and joking, "Nobody's been thrown out of a house that quickly since my last divorce."

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. [2]

Bradshaw's anxieties about appearing in public, away from the controlled environment of a television studio, led to an unintentional estrangement from the Steelers. When team founder and owner Art Rooney died in 1988, Bradshaw did not attend his funeral. A year later, during his Hall of Fame induction speech, Bradshaw made a point of saluting his late boss and friend, pointing to the sky and saying, "Art Rooney... boy, I tell you, I loved that man."

Still, Bradshaw never returned to Three Rivers Stadium as long as the Steelers played there. When the last regular-season game was played there on December 23, 2000, Bradshaw was with the Fox NFL Sunday crew, doing their pregame show aboard the aircraft carrier USS Harry S Truman, while Fox covered the game live. Bradshaw expressed regret that he couldn't be there, but would later say privately that he didn't feel he could face the crowds. In 2004, when the Steelers played the 1,000th game in franchise history, Fox covered the game at Heinz Field, and Bradshaw returned to the Steeler sideline for the first time in 23 years.

Acting

He has appeared in numerous television commercials, including a 2004 Radio Shack ad. Bradshaw also had cameo appearances in many shows, including Everybody Loves Raymond and Married... with Children. 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 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 US 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 being a motivational speaker for people needed to change their life. Bill Engvall's character is affected by Bradshaw's character's speakings.

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.

A short-lived return to football

In 2006, Bradshaw signed a contract, as a "blatant publicity stunt", to become the fourth-string quarterback for the Daytona Beach Thunder of the American Indoor Football League. However, Bradshaw had to undergo back surgery and will miss the season.

Passing stats

Web references

• http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/spotlighthealth/2004-01-30-bradshaw_x.htm - Personal Life Section
• http://www.hickoksports.com/biograph/bradshwt.shtml - Intro, NFL Career Section
• http://www.profootballhof.com/hof/member.jsp?player_id=31 - Intro, NFL Career Section
• http://www.mcmillenandwife.com/bradshaw_fox_bio.html - After retiring section
• http://www.nola.com/news/t-p/frontpage/index.ssf?/base/news-4/113169397889570.xml - New Orleans Section
• AIFL: Thunder signs Terry Bradshaw—Really

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