John Brodie facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
John Brodie

Brodie, circa 1966
No. 12
Position:	Quarterback
Personal information
Born:	(1935-08-14) August 14, 1935 (age 89) Menlo Park, California, U.S.
Height:	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
Weight:	198 lb (90 kg)
Career information
High school:	Oakland Tech (Oakland, California)
College:	Stanford
NFL Draft:	1957 / Round: 1 / Pick: 3
Career history
San Francisco 49ers (1957–1973)
Career highlights and awards
NFL Most Valuable Player (1970) NFL Comeback Player of the Year (1965) First-team All-Pro (1970) Second-team All-Pro (1965) 2× Pro Bowl (1965, 1970) 2× NFL passing touchdowns leader (1965, 1970) 3× NFL passing yards leader (1965, 1968, 1970) NFL passer rating leader (1970) 2× NFL completion percentage leader (1958, 1965) San Francisco 49ers Hall of Fame San Francisco 49ers No. 12 retired Consensus All-American (1956) 2× First-team All-PCC (1955, 1956)
Career NFL statistics
Games played: 201 Starts: 158 Passing: 2,469 for 4,491 Completion percentage: 55.0% TD–INT: 214–224 Passing yards: 31,548 Passer rating: 72.3 John Brodie Personal information Full name John Riley Brodie Nationality  United States Spouse Sue Brodie ​ (m. 1957)​ Children 5 Career College Stanford Status Professional Former tour(s) Senior PGA Tour Professional wins 1 Number of wins by tour Champions Tour 1 Best results in Major Championships The Masters Tournament DNP U.S. Open CUT: 1959, 1981 The Open Championship DNP PGA Championship DNP
Player stats at PFR
College Football Hall of Fame

John Riley Brodie (born August 14, 1935) is a famous American athlete. He played American football as a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers in the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. After his football career, he became a professional golfer on the Senior PGA Tour. He also worked as a television announcer for both sports.

John Brodie was a top player in the NFL. He led the league in passing yards and touchdowns in different seasons. He also had very few sacks and interceptions. When he retired, he was one of the best passers in NFL history. He was named the league's Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1970 and was chosen for the Pro Bowl twice.

John Brodie's Early Life and School

John Brodie was born in Menlo Park, California. He grew up in Oakland, California, and went to Montclair Grammar School. He was a great athlete at Oakland Technical High School and finished school in 1953.

College Days and Sports Choices

Brodie went to Stanford University for college football. In his final year, 1956, he was recognized as an All-American player. He also played on Stanford's golf team. This meant he sometimes missed football practice in the spring.

John Brodie almost chose golf as his main career. After college, he even played in some professional golf tournaments. He later explained that it was hard to be a top player in two sports at once. He decided to focus on football.

John Brodie's Professional Sports Career

Becoming a Football Star

John Brodie before the 1961 season.

The San Francisco 49ers picked John Brodie as the third player overall in the 1957 NFL Draft. He played a little in his first year. From 1958 to 1960, he shared playing time with another quarterback, Y. A. Tittle. In 1961, Brodie became the main starting quarterback for the 49ers and kept that role until 1973.

Brodie was one of the best passers in the NFL throughout the 1960s. His best year was 1965. He led the league with 3,112 passing yards and 30 touchdowns. This led to his first of two Pro Bowl selections.

After his great 1965 season, other teams tried to sign Brodie. The Houston Oilers from the rival American Football League (AFL) offered him a lot of money. However, the 49ers made him a better offer, and Brodie decided to stay in San Francisco. This was around the time the NFL and AFL decided to merge.

Brodie's MVP Season in 1970

The 1970 season was amazing for John Brodie. He led the entire NFL in many ways. He had 24 touchdown passes, 223 completions, and 2,941 passing yards. His passer rating was very high at 93.8. He also had very few sacks, only eight all season. Brodie's passes were rarely intercepted, with only 2.6% of them being caught by the other team.

Because of his outstanding performance, Brodie won the 1970 NFL Most Valuable Player Award. The 49ers also had the best offense that year and won their first playoff game ever.

Brodie playing for the 49ers around 1972–73.

When Brodie retired from the NFL after the 1973 season, he was third in career passing yards. Only Johnny Unitas and Fran Tarkenton had more. He was also among the top ten players for most touchdown passes for many years.

After retiring from playing football, Brodie worked as a football and golf analyst for NBC Sports. He was a main analyst for NFL games and even called Super Bowl XIII in 1979.

Golf Career After Football

John Brodie also played as a professional golfer on the Senior PGA Tour (now called the Champions Tour) from 1985 to 1998. He won one tournament and finished in the top ten twelve times. He earned over $735,000 in golf. He holds a record for the longest time between playing in the U.S. Open golf tournament, playing in 1959 and then again in 1981.

In 2000, Brodie had a major stroke, which made it hard for him to speak.

In 2006, the 49ers brought Brodie's number 12 jersey out of retirement. Backup quarterback Trent Dilfer wore it. Dilfer was a friend of Brodie and wanted to help bring attention to Brodie's chance to be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

John Brodie's Personal Life

A football signed by Brodie, given to President Gerald Ford.

John Brodie married Sue in 1957. They have five children—four daughters and one son—and 12 grandchildren. One of his daughters, Erin, was on a TV show called For Love or Money in 2003. Another daughter, Diane, was married to former NFL quarterback Chris Chandler.

During the 1969 football season, Brodie had a sore arm that made him miss some games. He tried different ways to feel better. He was introduced to a group that used special techniques, and he felt his arm improved. For some years, Brodie was a public supporter of this group. However, he later stopped this public role because he felt some of his friends were treated unfairly by the group's leaders. He still respected the teachings but disagreed with how some people were treated.

Awards and Honors for John Brodie

• In 1970, John Brodie won the NFL Most Valuable Player Award.
• In 1986, he was added to the College Football Hall of Fame.
• In 2010, Brodie was inducted into the African-American Ethnic Sports Hall of Fame. He was the first European-American person to receive this honor.