Tom Brady, Pittsburgh Steelers, & the Curious Case of a 4 Decade Old Surgery

Before Tom Brady became the undisputed GOAT of the NFL, Terry Bradshaw was the original poster boy of the league with 4 Super Bowl wins. The Pittsburg Steelers QB was so famous throughout America that he could barely step out and do normal activities like checking into a hospital. But did you know that Bradshaw’s inability to check into a hospital had a Tom Brady connection to it?

41 years ago, Terry Bradshaw, before his final playing year, decided to undergo surgery to cure his tennis elbow problem. At that time, he was residing at his farmhouse in Shreveport. So to get the desired treatment, the 4 time Super Bowl Winner entered a north Louisiana hospital. He was soon admitted to treat the elbow issue but with a different name. The pseudonym under which he got admitted was, Tom Brady. Yes, you read that right.

41-YEARS AGO TODAY:

Legendary #Steelers QB Terry Bradshaw needed shoulder surgery but he did not want to draw attention to himself so he assumed a pseudonym, TOM BRADY….

@TomBrady was only 6-years old at the time. pic.twitter.com/npZbBgorwK

— MLFootball (@_MLFootball) March 4, 2024

And the funny part about it all is the fact that Tom Brady was just 6 years old back then. So it was just sheer coincidence for Terry to have chosen Tom Brady as his alias to check-in. Unfortunately for Bradshaw, his pseudonym didn’t last long. As his greeting and cheering up the kids in the hospital became news and eventually gave away his alias. The incident soon got published in newspapers.

All said and done, the choice of “Tom Brady” as a pseudonym by Bradshaw is truly eerie. While one can get the phonetic similarity between the names, the fact that TB12 went on to become the GOAT makes this mindblowing.

Tom Brady – The GOAT

Many consider Tom Brady the greatest football player of all time and rightly so. For starters, the former Tampa Bay QB has won a record 7 Super Bowl rings. TB12 also holds the record for 5 NFL MVP awards, thanks to him having the most pass completions (7,753), passing yards (89,214), and passing touchdowns (649) in NFL history. Before Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana, fans couldn’t fathom a player winning more than 4 Super Bowls. However, TB12 flipped the game and owned it.

The most impressive aspect of Tom Brady is his intelligence. Despite not being gifted physically in terms of strength or pace, Tom Brady managed to become the best through sheer accuracy and smart play. Some of his plays have been otherworldly often prompting many to liken him to an alien. Jokes aside, Brady is super blessed by the football Gods and one might wonder if former GOAT Terry Bradshaw using Tom Brady as an alias was a good omen for TB12?

The closest competitor to Brady’s GOAT status today is Patrick Mahomes. The KC Chiefs QB in his first seven seasons has already won three Super Bowls and beats Tom Brady in many metrics when compared with Brady’s first seven years in the NFL. While Mahomes still has a mountain to climb before reaching Brady’s level, he sure has the skills required to achieve the unachievable.