John Riley Brodie (born August 14, 1935) is a former professional football player, who had a second career on the Senior PGA Golf Tour.

Brodie was born in Menlo Park, but grew up in Montclair where he attended Montclair Grammar (now Montclair Elementary). He graduated from Oakland Tech high school, where he was a multi-sport standout (All-OAL) in football, basketball and baseball. His coach said baseball was his best sport, whereas Brodie thought basketball was his best sport in high school where he played against Bill Russell and Frank Robinson.

In Paul Brekke-Miesner's Home Field Advantage, Brodie is quoted as saying:

"All I ever wanted to be was a ballplayer and my dad found Oakland, thank God."

Brodie played for Stanford where he received All-American honors in 1956. He played professionally for the San Francisco 49ers, where he was league MVP in 1970 and in the NFL Pro Bowl in 1965 and 1970. When Brodie retired, he was ranked 3rd in passing yards behind Johnny Unitas and Fran Tarkenton. In 49ers history, Brodie is second only to Joe Montana in passing yards, attempts, and completions. The 49ers retired his number 12 jersey, and he was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1986.

After retiring from football, Brodie played on the Senior PGA Golf Tour from 1981 to 1998, with one win and 12 top-10 finishes.

NFL and AFL Merger

Brodie was made a part of the AFL's maneuvers to force a merger with the NFL. Under the direction of Al Davis, the AFL made the NFL take notice by aggressively recruiting its quarterbacks, including Brodie. The Houston Oilers flew him to Texas, and offered him $750,000 a year, which was twice what the 49ers were paying him. The contract was written on a cocktail napkin. Once the merger happened, Houston said there was no deal, but Brodie bluffed and said he still had the napkin. It was resolved with Brodie getting paid and him staying with the 49ers.

Links and References

Edit tags