Football Greats - Terry Bradshaw

Terry Paxton Bradshaw, currently a football analyst and co-host for FOX’s NFL Sunday, was a celebrated quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Born on September 2, 1948, in Shreveport, Louisiana, Bradshaw attended Woodlawn High School, where he set a record for throwing javelin. He succeeded in leading the Steelers to four Superbowl victories, the first player to receive four championship rings, and this feat alone was enough to justify his induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989, the first year he was eligible.

Prior to his professional career, Bradshaw was a student at Louisiana Tech, and in 1969, the scouts regarded him and the most promising college football player. As a junior, he was ranked number one over all in the NCAA, leading his team to an astounding 9-2 season and a victory over Akron in the Rice Bowl. His senior year did not look quite as impressive, but this was due partly to his team only playing ten games and partly due to his being taken out at half time because he’d brought his team to an enormous lead. With his stellar college career, he earned himself a place in the College Football Hall of Fame in 1996.

He was the first pick overall in the 1970 NFL draft, and was taken by the Pittsburgh Steelers. A year after being drafted, he became starting quarterback for the Steelers, and the 6’3”, 215-pound quarterback had a here-today, gone-tomorrow performance. After a few seasons, he managed to adjust to the professional circuit and found his rhythm, becoming the quarterback to beat in the NFL.

Bradshaw’s finest season was in 1978. He received the league’s Most Valuable Player Award, and named All-Pro and All-AFC. In his entire 14-season career, all of which was spent with the Steelers, Bradshaw completed 2,025 passes for almost 28,000 yards and 212 touchdowns. He also compiled 444 rushes and 32 touchdowns and played in three ProBowls.

The Steelers do not officially retire jerseys; however, the number twelve that Bradshaw wore throughout his career has not been reissued to another player to date, and it is generally understood that it never will be. Bradshaw retired from football in 1983 and immediately signed on with CBS as an analyst. Later, he was promoted to a studio analyst on The NFL Today in 1990, then moved on to act as somewhat of a comic backing for the NFL Sunday crew.

When the New Orleans Saints were forced out of the Superdome in 2005 due to Hurricane Katrina, the team had to operate most of their season out of San Antonio’s Alamodome, and there was talk of relocating the team there permanently. However, as a Louisiana native, Bradshaw didn’t want his home state to lose their team, and he became interested in the purchase of the team until it was agreed that the team would not move.

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