Many are aware of Terry Bradshaw’s Hall of Fame football career and subsequent role as an announcer and host for Fox Sports NFL broadcasts. But Bradshaw has also enjoyed success as an actor and singer during his more than 40 years as a public personality. This engaging read opens by briefly setting the stage for the Louisiana-born Bradshaw’s college football career; Abrams, a cultural historian, moves quickly to Bradshaw's years with the NFL's Pittsburgh Steelers. It was during the height of Bradshaw’s success on the playing field that his singing and acting careers began. Both are covered in detail, providing insights into these lesser-known aspects of Bradshaw’s life. When an elbow injury ended his football career, Bradshaw moved into the broadcast booth, and he continues to enjoy success as a host or cohost in a variety of sports and outdoor-related television programs. The author closes with an examination of Bradshaw’s “good old boy” public persona and how it may have impacted perceptions of the southern United States in other regions of the country. This book would be a welcome addition to sports and cultural history collections. Summing Up: Recommended. All readers.

Choice Reviews

Historian and author Abrams (The Bullets, the Wizards, and Washington, D.C., Basketball) carefully details Bradshaw’s long career, from his working-class Louisiana childhood to his current status as a football legend (four-time Super Bowl–winning quarterback), TV sports commentator, and performer in movies and television. Abrams provides an exhaustive look at the highlights of Bradshaw’s career with the Pittsburgh Steelers and is especially good in discussing the team’s win over the Dallas Cowboys in 1979’s Super Bowl XIII ('Even today, the NFL lists the game as one of its greatest'). Abrams describes how Bradshaw has carefully crafted his down-home everyman public image—in movies, commercials, and as a sports commentator. Abrams delivers an excellent look at how Bradshaw combined his Southern roots with his extensive knowledge of football to reshape the 'stodgy' pregame sports programs of CBS and Fox.

Publishers Weekly

In this second title in the 'Sports Icons and Issues in Pop Culture' series, archivist Abrams (Capital Sporting Grounds) covers Hall of Fame quarterback Terry Bradshaw’s professional football career in three perfunctory chapters. The real focus of this book is the development of the player’s celebrity and exploitation of that persona via pop culture. Abrams examines Bradshaw’s music albums, television and movie roles, commercial advertising campaigns, and books as they interact with American culture and how each was received both by critics and the public. An important subtheme is how Bradshaw’s Southern background (he was born and raised in Louisiana) helped shape his image, and how his popularity contributed to the evolution of the overall perception of the South.... VERDICT A unique take on Bradshaw’s life and career primarily of interest to students of pop culture.

Library Journal

The book is a great account of the Hall of Fame QB, and his transition from throwing passes to the likes of Lynn Swann and John Stallworth, to trading barbs with the likes of Michael Strahan on the set of Fox Football Sunday…. The book gives some great insight as to the rise of Bradshaw, as well as his fight and struggle along the way to becoming the celebrity he is today and has been in the public spotlight for close to the last 50 years. The author carefully talks about how Bradshaw has become a lot more in his life than a guy throwing a football, he speaks in great detail of how multi-talented Bradshaw is, and how he’s been able to market that after his final touchdown pass was thrown in 1983 against the New York Jets. If you’re looking for a great Steelers read this winter while the black and gold are looking to reach a seventh Lombardi, try this 328-page account of Bradshaw, you won’t be disappointed.

Steelers Gab

It is a very interesting story of [Bradshaw's] evolution from NFL Quarterback to a multi faceted career that continues to this day. Mr. Abrams does an excellent job in tracing the areas of Bradshaw's post NFL career especially when looking at his broadcasting career. His transition from the color commentator to pre game host is a fascinating read.... If you are looking for an interesting read on Terry Bradshaw from his beginnings as a football player in Shreveport, Louisiana to his reshaping the television world of pre game NFL shows, this book will be for you. I found it to be an enjoyable and informative read.

Gridiron Greats

Terry Bradshaw is not only a Super Bowl winning quarterback, NFL Hall-of-Famer, and an actor/broadcaster, he is, as Abrams adroitly argues, an entertainer who has helped convey a positive portrayal of the southern “good old boy” personae to a broad audience. Abrams’ work is more than biography: it examines how Bradshaw used his talents (on the field and off) so as to develop a character who has generated a more positive perception of Southerners throughout the entire nation.

Jorge Iber, Texas Tech University