Terry Bradshaw, who was born on September 2, 1948, in Shreveport, Louisiana, was awarded an All-American while playing at Louisiana Polytechnic Institute. Bradshaw, the first player chosen in the 1970 NFL draft, went on to great success with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
During his 14-year NFL career, he helped lead his club to three Super Bowl victories and collected four Super Bowl rings. Following his Hall of Fame career, he went on to become a prominent television personality and NFL analyst.
Early Years
Terry Paxton Bradshaw, a former professional football player, television host, author, and actor, was born on September 2, 1948, in Shreveport, Louisiana. Bradshaw, a former NFL quarterback, has spent much of his life playing, reporting, and commenting on football. While playing for Louisiana Polytechnic Institute, he was named an All-American and was taken first overall in the 1970 NFL draft by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Pittsburgh Steelers and Super Bowl Championships
Bradshaw struggled to find his footing with the team during his first few years. Some mocked his intelligence, calling him “dumb” and the “Bayou Bumpkin,” but he proved to his opponents and doubters that he was a force to be reckoned with by guiding the Steelers to a Super Bowl victory over the Minnesota Vikings in 1974.
The next year, he and his teammates defeated the Dallas Cowboys in the Super Bowl. In 1978, these two teams met in Super Bowl XIII, with the Steelers winning by a tight margin of 35 to 31. For his achievements on the field, Bradshaw was named Super Bowl Most Valuable Player and NFL Player of the Year.
Bradshaw continued to be a successful quarterback for the Steelers, thanks to his cannon arm. In 1980, he received the Super Bowl MVP Award again after assisting his team in defeating the Los Angeles Rams. Unfortunately, he started having problems with the muscles in one of his elbows. Bradshaw had surgery to repair the problem, but he returned before he was fully recovered and suffered irreparable damage, causing him to retire after only one game in 1983.
In his first year of eligibility, Bradshaw was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989.
Sports Commentator
Bradshaw was a guest commentator for CBS Sports for many years before becoming one of the network’s game analysts. He eventually joined the cast of The NFL Today. Bradshaw left CBS after ten years to join Fox Sports in 1994. He joined Fox NFL Sunday as a co-host and analyst. Bradshaw has developed as one of football’s most popular commentators, because to his smart strategic mind and pleasant sense of humor.
Author, Singer and Actor
Bradshaw is an author, singer, actor, and motivational speaker in addition to his broadcast career. He is the author of several best-selling books, including It’s Only a Game (2001). He is a born-again Christian who has recorded gospel and country music, and he had a Top 10 success in 1976 with his cover of Hank Williams’ “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.”
Bradshaw has also appeared in a number of films and television shows, including Failure to Launch (2006), in which she co-starred with Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker. Beginning April 2016, he co-hosted the reality travel show Better Late Than Never with William Shatner, Henry Winkler, and George Foreman.
The media celebrity stated in January 2019 that he would be launching his Terry Bradshaw Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey in collaboration with Silver Screen Bottling Company.
Personal Life
Bradshaw has two children with Charla Hopkins, his third wife. In 2014, he married his fourth wife, Tammy.
