APTER An unlikely Football Star om Brady grew up around sports in San Mateo California near the San Francisco Bay area His parents Tom Sr and Galynn took him to professional football and baseball games from an early age His three older sisters were star softball players Born on August 3 1977 Tom Jr was four years old in 1981 when the local San Francisco 49ers played one of the greatest play off games in NFL history Tom s parents took him to that game and the 49ers beat the Dallas Cowboys on a last minute throw from Joe Montana to Dwight Clark Many years later Tom would be compared with Hall ofFame quarterback Montana Sports were a big part of Tom's early life With his older sisters as an influence Tom developed a competitive drive that would seem to mark him as a future athlete There was just one problem he did not always seem particularly
An unlikely Football Star Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers shown here in 1981 at the game young Tom Brady attended was a four time Super Bowl winner and Brady s boyhood idol
TOM BRADY SUPER BOWL CHAMPION A Late Beginner Young Tom was a slow runner and early in high school he was a little overweight The combination of those things led him initially to play Though he found stardom in the National Football League Brady was first drafted by a professional baseball
An unlikely Football Star baseball instead of football His position in baseball was one often QUICK FACT given to players who cannot run very fast catcher As a child Tom Brady had a huge It was behind the plate that Tom collection of baseball cards first really blossomed as an athlete becoming a good enough catcher to eventually be drafted by a major League Baseball team the Montreal Expos Catchers help decide what pitches to throw the other team's batters and this experience of study ing the opposition and calling the plays would serve Tom well in the athletic role he really wanted quarterback in football Tom did not make the varsity football team until his junior year at Junipero Serra High School but once on the team he quickly became a starter He established himself as a team leader because of his knowl edge of the game as well as his commitment to putting in the effort it takes to get in top physical condition He also worked on the way he threw to get the most out of his talent The extra effort paid off By the end of his senior year in high school Tom was an All State quarterback He had also attracted the attention of several major colleges including Big Ten Conference power Michigan Fighting for Playing time When Tom Brady accepted a scholarship from Michigan he expected to continue the success he had enjoyed as a high school quarterback However big schools such as Michigan have more than one player for each position and each has to compete for playing time For Brady this process was a slow one and he did not play during his first year at Michigan The next year Brady was on the team but as a third string quarterback who saw limited playing time The year after that Brady was a backup again and began to grow impatient He complained
