Terry Bradshaw: Encyclopedia II - Terry Bradshaw - NFL career

Terry Bradshaw - NFL career

Bradshaw became a starter one year after he was drafted in 1971. During his first several seasons, the 6'3" (190 cm), 215 lb. (97 kg) 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", perhaps the most famous play 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 24-7 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.

Before Super Bowl X between the Steelers and the Dallas Cowboys, Cowboys linebacker Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson famously ridiculed Bradshaw by saying, "He couldn't spell 'cat' if you spotted him the 'c' and the 't'.". But instead, Bradshaw got his revenge by throwing the winning touchdown pass with a little more than 3 minutes remaining on a 64-yard pass to Swann to beat the Cowboys 21-17. 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 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. He was also named the Most Valuable Player in Super Bowl XIII where he completed 17 of 30 passes for 318 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-31 win over the Cowboys.

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.

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 also selected to play in three Pro Bowl games.

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

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "NFL career", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki