Brett L Abrams - Terry Bradshaw: From Super Bowl Champion to Television Personality

From Super Bowl Champion
to Television Personality

Brett L. Abrams

ROWMAN & LITTLEFIELD

Lanham Boulder New York London

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Abrams, Brett L., 1960 author.

Title: Terry Bradshaw : From Super Bowl Champion to Television Personality / Brett L. Abrams.

Description: Lanham, Maryland : Rowman & Littlefield, 2017. | Series: Sports Icons and Issues in Popular Culture | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Description based on print version record and CIP data provided by publisher; resource not viewed.

Identifiers: LCCN 2017006185 (print) | LCCN 2017017333 (ebook) | ISBN 9781442277649 (electronic) | ISBN 9781442277632 (hardcover : alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: Bradshaw, Terry. | Pittsburgh Steelers (Football team)Biography. | Football playersPennsylvaniaPittsburghBiography | Quarterbacks (Football)PennsylvaniaPittsburghBiography. | Television personalitiesUnited StatesBiography.

Classification: LCC GV939.B68 (ebook) | LCC GV939.B68 A37 2017 (print) | DDC 796.332092 [B] dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017006185

TM The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.

Printed in the United States of America

When series editors Bob Batchelor and Norma Jones offered me the opportunity to submit a book proposal for Rowman & Littlefields Sports Icons and Issues in Popular Culture series, I wondered how many athletes fit this category. I spoke with several friends, and we played an equivalent of a bar game, naming different athletes, determining if they had iconic status, then figuring out whether they had a significant impact on popular culture.

Among the people we mentioned were Jim Brown, Martina Navratilova, Billie Jean King, Muhammad Ali, and Terry Bradshaw. These icons had fantastic careers and played a role in popular culture. Growing up in the 1970s, I had seen most of these athletes playing their sport near the top level and had an awareness of their roles in the larger popular culture.

Bradshaw stood out because he hails from the South. I lived my formative years in New Jersey and knew little of the Southern United States until I moved to Washington, D.C., two decades ago. After many encounters with transplanted Southerners, my interest peaked. This book on Terry Bradshaw provided the chance to learn more about the South and shake off existing antiquated perceptions I may have held.

The former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and current cohost of Fox NFL Sunday has written five books, so a lot is already known about his activities. What has received less attention are the images Bradshaw formed as he pursued those activities and the reactions of fans and less enthusiastic observers.

Unfortunately, Mr. Bradshaw declined to participate in this project. Fortunately, many people who have been involved in his life graciously volunteered their time and effort to help me with this endeavor. The people of the great state of Louisiana proved extremely helpful. Shawn Ryder pointed me to the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame and its chairman, Doug Ireland. I had wonderful and informative conversations with Bradshaws high school football and track coach, A. L. Williams, and journalists Nico Van Thyn, Bob Griffith, Louis Brewer, and Jerry Byrd and his wife Barbara. I received able help from Kristi Baronette of the Calvary Baptist Church in Shreveport, Louisiana.

Many people provided helpful insights into the various businesses that Bradshaw has pursued. I am grateful to Gerry Mullins and Bert Jones for the time and effort they provided regarding professional football. Bobby and Scarlett Walden were very kind and helpful. Terry ONeil and Vern Lundquist offered keen insights into the television arena and fun personal stories. Author Richard Hyatt gave me a fan and expert view of the world of Southern gospel.

Fans served as a cornerstone of this book because their reactions provided an understanding about specific images Bradshaw has portrayed and Bradshaws longevity as an entertainer. Some of these fans included Ernest Bryant, Thomas Cotter, Jeffrey Landou, Sam McClure, Mark Osele, and Dexter Germany.

Many libraries and research institutions helped me pinpoint Bradshaw-related items in their enormous collections. Im particularly grateful to Kristine Krueger from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Margaret Herrick Library; Marilyn Holt from the Pennsylvania Department in the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh; Amy Kastigar from the Ohio County Public Library in Wheeling, West Virginia; and Suzanne Wise at the Appalachian State University Library in Boone, North Carolina.

I appreciate the willingness of my family and friends to listen and exchange ideas as I worked on this project. Of course, my parents and my longtime husband have been highly supportive. Deon Hankins and John Powell have provided inestimable insight and encouragement. Brian Rohal proved invaluable with great insight into the many draft chapters he read.

Terry Bradshaw in the Entertainment Industry

The Super Bowl. Its the great American event, with football, pregame shows, halftime extravaganzas, and commercials for products vying for the attention of millions of television viewers. Terry Bradshaw has done it all. On the field, he won four Super Bowls with the Pittsburgh Steelers and twice earned the Most Valuable Player Award. Reporting in the studio, he has been a commentator and studio analyst in the pregame shows for CBS and Fox television. During the 2001 Super Bowl halftime show, even though he made country and gospel albums for more than three decades, he shocked many by singing the Beatles A Hard Days Night with Sir Paul McCartney. Bradshaw has appeared in regional and national advertisements for everything from websites to movies. In the featured television program or movie airing in the prime slot after the big game, Bradshaw has played characters in television comedies and dramas, costarred with Burt Reynolds in his popular road movies, and bared his buttocks in a romantic comedy.