John Brodie

John Riley Brodie (August 14, 1935 – January 23, 2026) was an American professional football player who was a quarterback for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL) for 17 seasons. He had a second career as a Senior PGA Tour professional golfer and was a television broadcaster for both sports. Brodie excelled at college football and golf for Stanford University, earning consensus All-American honors in football as a senior in 1956. He was selected by the 49ers in the first round of the 1957 NFL draft with the third overall pick. He started a total of 17 games in his first four seasons combined before the trade of Y. A. Tittle saw Brodie tabbed as the primary starter for the next decade starting in 1962. Brodie won three passing titles for San Francisco to go along with leading the league in passing touchdowns once. He was named the NFL Most Valuable Player (MVP) in 1970 after leading the 49ers to a 10–3–1 record and their first playoff appearance in 13 years. Brodie led the team to three consecutive NFC West divisional titles but lost each time in the playoffs. He retired in 1973 to focus his time on the Church of Scientology, which he later disavowed. A two-time Pro Bowler, Brodie retired ranked third in career passing yards in NFL history.