In 1969, Terry Bradshaw was considered by most pro scouts to be the most outstanding college senior. As such, he was the first player selected in the 1970 National Football League Draft. It took the 6-3, 215-pound Louisiana Tech graduate a few seasons to adjust to the pro game but once he did, he became the dominant quarterback of the NFL and led the Pittsburgh Steelers to eight AFC Central championships, and an unprecedented four Super Bowl titles in a six-year period from 1974 to 1979.
Bradshaw, who was born September 2, 1948, in Shreveport, Louisiana, had a powerful throwing arm and called his own plays throughout his pro career. His physical skills and on-the-field leadership played a major role in every one of Pittsburgh's championship seasons. In the 1974 AFC Championship Game against Oakland, his fourth-quarter touchdown pass to Lynn Swann proved to be the winning score in a 24-7 victory. In the Steelers’ Super Bowl IX victory over Minnesota that followed, his fourth-quarter touchdown pass put the game out of reach. In Super Bowl X, Bradshaw again threw the winning touchdown pass on a 64-yard bomb to Swann. He was named the Most Valuable Player in both Super Bowl XIII (35-31 over Dallas) and Super Bowl XIV (31-19 over the Los Angeles Rams).
In four Super Bowls, he passed for an impressive 932 yards and 9 touchdowns. In 19 postseason games, he completed 261 passes for 3,833 yards. 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. Bradshaw, who was named the NFL’s Most Valuable Player by the Associated Press and others in 1978, was also named All-Pro and All-AFC that year. He was selected to play in three Pro Bowl games.