John Brodie

:"This article is about an American Football player. For the English football (soccer) player of the same name, see here."Infobox NFLretired


caption=Brodie as featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated, September 1971.
position=Quarterback
number=12
birthdate=birth date and age|1935|8|14
San Francisco, California
deathdate=
debutyear=1957
finalyear=1973
draftyear=1957
draftround=1
draftpick=3
college=Stanford
teams=
* San Francisco 49ers (1957-1973)
stat1label=TD-INT
stat1value=214-224
stat2label=Yards
stat2value=31,548
stat3label=QB Rating
stat3value=72.3
nfl=BRO084456
highlights=
* 2x Pro Bowl selection (1965, 1970)
* 2x All-Pro selection (1965, 1971)
* 1970 AP NFL MVP
* 1970 UPI NFC Player of the Year
* San Francisco 49ers #12 retired
CollegeHOF=50042

John Riley Brodie (born August 14, 1935) is a former professional American football quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers, and had a second career as a Senior PGA Tour professional golfer.

Brodie was born in San Francisco, California. He grew up in the Montclair district of Oakland and attended Montclair Grammar (later Elementary) School and Oakland Technical High School and was a standout athlete even then.He went on to attend Stanford University, where he was admitted to the Zeta Psi fraternity. He graduated in 1956, and was selected as a consensus All-American the same year. He first appeared with the 49ers as a rookie in 1957, seeing limited action. He got more playing time in 1958 through 1960, sharing time with Y.A. Tittle, and became the starter in 1961, holding that role through 1973.

He was among the leading passers in the league throughout the 1960s. His best statistical year was 1965 when he led the League in passing average (3,112 yards) and touchdowns (30). He appeared in the Pro Bowl in 1965 and 1970. Also, in 1970, he received the NFL's Most Valuable Player Award. When Brodie retired from the NFL, he ranked third in career passing yards, behind only Johnny Unitas and Fran Tarkenton.

For many years Brodie was affiliated with the Church of Scientology and was one of their leading celebrity spokespersons. His experience with them soured during a Sea Org power struggle in which several of Brodie's friends were expelled and/or harassed, and Brodie resigned in solidarity with them. Said Brodie, "There were many in the church I felt were treated unfairly". cite news | first=Joel | last=Sappell | coauthors= Welkos, Robert W. | url=http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-scientology062590b,1,279442.story?coll=la-news-comment | title=The Courting of Celebrities| work=Los Angeles Times | page=A18:5 | date=1990-06-25 | accessdate=2006-06-06 Additional convenience link at [http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf/la90/la90-2c.html] .] Prior to this, Brodie was one of the first 25 Scientologists to achieve the level of OTVII in the church. Mimi Rogers served as his auditor.

After he retired from his football career, Brodie served as an NFL football and golf analyst for NBC Sports and competed as a professional golfer on the Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour) from 1985 to 1998. He had one win and 12 top-10 finishes.

One of his daughters is [http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2003/07/14/DD44367.DTL Erin Brodie] , who found some fame on television in 2003, while another daughter is married to former NFL quarterback Chris Chandler.

In 2006, Brodie's number 12 jersey was brought out of retirement and worn by Trent Dilfer, backup quarterback for the 49ers. Dilfer, a close personal friend of Brodie, hopes to bring attention to Brodie's bid for enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986.

enior PGA Tour wins

*1991 Security Pacific Senior Classic

ee also

*Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame
*List of NFL on NBC commentator pairings

References

External links

* [http://www.pgatour.com/players/00/11/31/ Profile on Champions Tour's official site]
* [http://www.footballcardgallery.com/player/John+Brodie John Brodie football cards]