• Faith: Christian
• Career: Athlete
• Birthday:  September 02, 1948

Terry Bradshaw is a retired NFL quarterback who led the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl championships during six years between 1970 and 1983. He was named Super Bowl MVP twice and was inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame in 1989, which was his first year of eligibility.

Bradshaw is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. His arm strength, in particular, was considered legendary. He was named the Super Bowl MVP in 1979 and 1980, the league's MVP and first-team All-Pro in 1978, and played in the 1975, 1978 and 1979 Pro Bowls. Yet, he has suffered from ongoing anxiety and depression during most of his adulthood.

However, the emotional struggles did not appear to affect his ability to throw a football. He led the league in passing touchdowns twice during his years with the Steelers and was named to the NFL's All-Decade Team for the 1970s. He was also Sports Illustrated's Sportsman of the Year in 1979, was named to the Pittsburgh Steelers All-Time Team, and was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame and the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame.

In retirement, Bradshaw has kept busy, authoring or co-authoring five books, co-owning a NASCAR team, and releasing six country/western and gospel albums. He has appeared as himself in numerous television commercials and sitcoms, including Everybody Loves Raymond, Modern Family, and Married… with Children; appeared with his family in an E! reality show called The Bradshaw Bunch in 2020; and made appearances in several Burt Reynolds movies, including Hooper (1978) and The Cannonball Run (1981).

There are a few football accolades that Terry Bradshaw has not received, but despite his successes, he has continued to struggle with emotional problems.

Terry Paxton Bradshaw's childhood was simple in comparison to his adult life. The future Hall of Famer was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, on September 2, 1948, to William Marvin "Bill" Bradshaw, a farmer and welder, and his wife, Novis Gay Bradshaw. He is the second of the couple's three sons.

The Bradshaws moved to the small farming community of Camanche, Iowa, when Terry was a small boy. There, he learned about fishing, catching crawfish and coming to know God. He grew up in a strict Southern Baptist home, where his parents set curfews and shared regular Bible readings with their sons. He also attended church services and revivals with his family, lived modestly and learned the importance of hard work.

Terry Bradshaw excelled at sports from a young age but struggled academically because of undiagnosed ADHD. He decided to pursue a career in professional football at a fairly young age and played high school football after his family moved back to Shreveport. He led his team to the state football championship game in 1965 and also distinguished himself by setting a national record for a javelin throw that went 245 feet (74.68m).

Bradshaw was recruited to play college football and chose Louisiana Tech University, where he played second team behind Phil Robertson in the 1966 and 1967 seasons. The first-team quarterback was Phil Robertson, who later became famous for inventing the Duck Commander duck call and starring in the reality television show Duck Dynasty with his family.

When Robertson left Louisiana Tech, Bradshaw moved into the starting quarterback position and was soon recognized as the best college football player in the nation. He ranked first in total yards that year and third in the NCAA his senior year. He also held most of Louisiana Tech's passing records by the time he graduated and was the first overall pick in the 1970 NFL draft.

The Steelers selected Bradshaw, and he remained with the team until he retired from football. He became the starting quarterback during his second season in the NFL. With Bradshaw at quarterback, Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier at running back, and a defense led by several future Hall of Famers including "Mean" Joe Greene, Pittsburgh dominated the NFL in the mid-to-late 1970s.

But injuries began to plague Bradshaw, and the anxiety and depression he had suffered for many years worsened. After retiring from football in 1984, he became an NFL game analyst and took on hosting duties for Fox NFL Sunday in the mid-1990s. He has received three Emmys for his work in television sports and is the first NFL player to receive a star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

What more could he want or need? The answer finally became obvious to him.

Is Terry Bradshaw Religious?

Terry Bradshaw is a born-again Christian and has been one for many years. He had strong Christian roots but had drifted away from God and his faith, which he discussed in his first autobiography, Man of Steel. He explained that by 1974, the first of his four marriages had failed, and he frequently had serious anxiety attacks after games. He was also dealing with injuries and chronic depression.

He went on to remarry three times after his marriage to Melissa Babish, a former Miss Teenage America, ended in divorce. His second wife was an Olympic ice skating Olympian, JoJo Starbuck, while his third was attorney Charla Hopkins, with whom he has two daughters, Erin and Rachel. His fourth wife is Tammy Bradshaw, whom he married in 2014.

"I had separated myself from God," he wrote in Man of Steel. "I lived only for Terry Bradshaw, not for God. I tried to be one of the boys and went to every honky-tonk I could find and chased women and behaved in a way that was totally alien to anything I had ever known before… my whole life was out of control… I was trying to be someone else and was doing a rotten job of it."

The former quarterback's emotional struggles prevented him from returning to Pittsburgh for several important events, including funerals and football celebrations, for many years after retiring. His absence even caused a rift between him and some of his former teammates.

He was unsure whether he could deal with the crowds and attention, and he eventually reached the breaking point. One day, he put his head in his hands and began to cry. "Finally, I blurted out, 'Here I am, God. I've tried to handle it all by myself, and I just can't get the job done. So I'm placing my life in Your hands. I need some peace of mind, and I know You can give it to me.'"

He began to feel stronger mentally as well as physically and made the decision to "stay that way." Football glory eventually fades, but God's presence and love are eternal in those who accept them.