John Brodie obit

49ers Mourn Passing of John Brodie

 He was not on the list.

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback John Brodie passed away today at the age of 90.

Statement from San Francisco 49ers Co-Chairman Dr. John York:

"The 49ers family is saddened to learn of the passing of one of the franchise's all-time great players, John Brodie. As a kid, my 49ers fandom began by watching John play quarterback on television. He displayed an incredible commitment towards his teammates and his support of the organization never wavered after his playing days. John became a dear friend of mine, and he will always be remembered as an important part of 49ers history. We express our deepest condolences to his wife, Sue, and the entire Brodie family."

A member of the Edward J. DeBartolo Sr. 49ers Hall of Fame inaugural class (2009), Brodie was originally drafted as the third overall selection by the San Francisco 49ers in the 1957 NFL Draft. He spent his entire 17-season career with San Francisco (1957-73) where he appeared in 201 games (159 starts) and threw for 31,548 yards and 214 touchdowns. His 17 seasons mark the longest tenure of any 49ers player, while his 31,548 passing yards are the second-most in franchise history and his 214 passing touchdowns are the third-most. Brodie also started in all five postseason contests he appeared in and had 973 passing yards with four touchdowns. A two-time All-Pro honoree (Second Team – 1965; First Team – 1970), two-time Pro Bowler (1966 & 1971) and NFL MVP in 1970, Brodie guided the 49ers to back-to-back NFC Championship Games (1970-71) and had his jersey number, 12, retired by the team in 1973. Brodie was also the 1965 recipient of the team's Len Eshmont Award, selected by his teammates for his inspirational and courageous play.

Born John Riley Brodie in San Francisco CA, on August 14, 1935, he attended Stanford University where he lettered in both football (1954-56) and golf (1955-56). Following his senior football season in 1956, Brodie was named an unanimous All-American. He was also inducted into the Bay Area Sports Hall of Fame in 1988.

He had a second career as a Senior PGA Tour professional golfer and was a television broadcaster for both sports.

In particular seasons, Brodie led the NFL in passing yardage, completions, passing touchdowns, and lowest percentage of passes intercepted. He was the league most valuable player (MVP) in 1970 and a two-time Pro Bowler. He retired ranked third in career passing yards in NFL history.

Born in Menlo Park, California, on August 14, 1935, Brodie grew up in the Montclair district of Oakland and attended Montclair Grammar (later Elementary) School. He was a standout athlete at Oakland Technical High School.

Brodie played college football across the San Francisco Bay at Stanford University. In his senior season of 1956, Brodie was a consensus All-American and played on the Stanford golf team, which kept him out of spring football drills.

He nearly chose golf for his sporting career, turning professional following completion of his time on the Stanford team and playing in several tournaments on the PGA Tour.

Brodie later said of his first golfing experience:

"You talk about pressure. I was always worried that I wasn't going to make the cut. Fact is there was only one time I was close enough to say I was in competition in the final round. I had to make up my mind. I couldn't be pro in two sports and do justice to either one."

Brodie was the third overall selection of the 1957 NFL draft and saw limited action as a rookie with the 49ers in 1957. He got more playing time in 1958 through 1960, sharing time with Y. A. Tittle; he became the starter in 1961 (Tittle was traded to the New York Giants), and continued in that role through 1973.

he 1970 season proved to be particularly stellar for Brodie. During that year, he led the entire NFL with 24 touchdown passes, 223 completions, 2,941 yards, and a passer rating of 93.8. while taking a league low eight sacks during the entire season. Brodie also paced NFL quarterbacks with a league-leading 2.6% of his passes resulting in interception. Brodie's outstanding season was rewarded when he received the 1970 NFL Most Valuable Player Award, and the 49ers had the number one offense by points, and ultimately won their first playoff game in franchise history.

When Brodie retired from the NFL at the end of the 1973 season, he ranked third in career passing yards, behind only Johnny Unitas and Fran Tarkenton. He ranked eighth in touchdown passes upon his retirement, and stayed in the top ten for most touchdown passes from 1970 to 1988. On each list, only he and one other player are not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame (Babe Parilli and John Hadl, respectively). The 49ers retired his No. 12 jersey.

In 2004, Brodie was named to the Professional Football Researchers Association Hall of Very Good in the association's second HOVG class.

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, hoped to bring attention to Brodie's bid for enshrinement in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

After he retired from football, Brodie served as an NFL football and golf analyst for NBC Sports. He spent two seasons (1977 and 1978) as the network's No. 1 NFL analyst, alongside play-by-play man Curt Gowdy, and called Super Bowl XIII in January 1979. Among the other notable NFL games he worked was the Epic in Miami, the January 1982 AFC playoff game between the San Diego Chargers and Miami Dolphins, with play-by-play man Don Criqui.

Brodie competed as a professional golfer on the Senior PGA Tour (now the Champions Tour) from 1985 to 1998. Brodie had one win and twelve top-ten finishes, earning a total of $735,000. He had the longest gap between appearances in the U.S. Open — missing the cut in both 1959 and 1981.

He suffered a major stroke in 2000, rendering speech difficult for him.

 

Career history

San Francisco 49ers (1957–1973)

Awards and highlights

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

Passing attempts          4,491

Passing completions    2,469

Completion percentage           55.0%

TD–INT          214–224

Passing yards  31,548

Passer rating    72.3

College Football Hall of Fame

 

Personal information

Full name        John Riley Brodie

Sporting nationality     United States

Spouse Sue Brodie ​(m. 1957)​

Children          5

Career

College            Stanford

Status   Professional

Former tour     Senior PGA Tour

Professional wins        1

Number of wins by tour

PGA Tour Champions 1

Best results in major championships

Masters Tournament    DNP

PGA Championship    DNP

U.S. Open       CUT: 1959, 1981

The Open Championship        DNP