Bradshaw, Terry P.
Football
b. Sept. 2, 1948, Shreveport, LA
The first quarterback to take a team to four Super Bowl victories, Bradshaw played at Louisiana Tech and was the first player chosen in the 1970 NFL draft, by the Pittsburgh Steelers. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Bradshaw became a starter in 1971.
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.
A tough competitor, Bradshaw excelled in big games. During his career, he passed for more than 300 yards only seven times, but three of those performances came in post-season play, two of them in the Super Bowl.
Although he temporarily lost the starting job to Joe Gilliam in 1974, Bradshaw took over again during the season and helped take the Steelers to their first Super Bowl victory, a 16-7 win over the Minnesota Vikings, in which he completed 9 of 14 passes.
The following year, Bradshaw threw a 64-yard touchdown pass to Lynn Swann with a little more than 3 minutes remaining to beat the Dallas Cowboys 21-17 in Super Bowl X.
Bradshaw had his finest season in 1978, when he won the Bert Bell Trophy as the NFL player of the year. He completed 207 of 368 passes for 2,915 yards and a league-leading 28 touchdowns. He was also most valuable player in the Super Bowl, completing 17 of 30 passes for 318 yards and 4 touchdowns in a 35-31 victory over Dallas.
He won his second straight most valuable player award in Super Bowl XIV, following the 1979 season. The Steelers beat the Los Angeles Rams 31-16, with Bradshaw passing for 309 yards and 2 touchdowns on 14 completions in 21 attempts.
Bradshaw retired after the 1983 season.
