Hall of Fame
Position: Quarterback
Years: 1966-1969
Place of Birth: Shreveport, LA
Date of Birth: Sep 02, 1948
Jersey Number: 12
Height: 6-3
Weight: 214
High School: Shreveport, LA (Woodlawn HS)
Known as the "Blonde Bomber," Terry Bradshaw lettered four years at Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs went 4-16 his first two years and 17-4 the last two. In his junior year, 1968, Louisiana Tech went 9-2, including a 33-13 victory over Akron in the Grantland Rice Bowl. The team was second in the Gulf States Conference. Bradshaw had 2890 yards of total offense, ranking No. 1 in NCAA's college division. He was fourth in the nation in passing with 176 completions. In 1969, Bradshaw's senior year, Louisiana Tech won the conference. He had 2314 yards of total offense, ranking third nationally, and 136 pass completions. One reason for the slight decline in statistics was Tech's changing from 10 games to 9 in regular season. Furthermore, Bradshaw had less playing time because of the many lop-sided victories.
In both 1968 and 1969 he was named quarterback on the Football Coaches All-America, college division, and was Athlete of the Year in the Gulf States Conference. He played in the Senior Bowl and was its most valuable player. In his final home game, Nov. 22, 1969, he left the field with seven minutes to play. The crowd gave him a standing ovation. He held 25 school and conference records.
Louisiana Tech retired his jersey, No. 12; the announcement of this was made by the university president. A press release stated, "There will never be another one like him in this school or this conference."
Bradshaw was the first player chosen in the pro draft. He played 14 years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, 1970-1983, and quarterbacked them to Super Bowl wins following the 1974, 1975, 1978, 1979 seasons. He was Super Bowl most valuable player twice. After his playing days, Bradshaw became a network TV analyst for the pro football season.
