Tom Brady was born on August 3, 1977 in San Mateo, a wealthy California city located twenty miles south of San Francisco. His parents, Tom Sr. and Galynn, were both very big sports fans.

Not surprisingly, they raised all of their four children to partake in their passion of sports. Tom had three older sisters and all of them were all very athletic and also loved sports. Tom had no problem in following the family’s love for sports.

Tom grew up as a 49ers fan and he was absolutely crazy about them. When he was young, his parents took Tom to a lot of 49er games at Candlestick Park. One of Toms earliest childhood memories of the 49ers, was the 1981 NFC Championship Game against the Dallas Cowboys.

This was the beginning of Tom’s idol and favorite player, Joe Montana, into superstardom. When Montana found Dwight Clark in the back of the end zone with “the catch” his most famous comeback, the crowd went absolutely crazy. That is when Tom got his first inkling that it would be cool to be a pro quarterback just like his idol, Joe Montana some day.

As a youngster, Tom’s athletic ability did not show the aptitude of attaining such an aspiring goal. He was not that coordinated nor was he especially big or strong. What Tom did have going for him was that he was very competitive and he had a drive to improve and get better.

Tom's smarts and his never-say-die attitude helped him tremendously while playing youth sports. He flourished in baseball as a catcher. Tom could hit, run, throw, and he handled the pitchers better then anyone. Tom played baseball through high school as well as football and was drafted by the Montreal Expos in the 1995 MLB draft.

Even though Tom did not play organized football until high school, he always dreamed of being the next Joe Montana and playing professional football. Tom attended Junipero Serra High School, in San Mateo and they had their fair share of superstar athlete’s graduate, including football great Lynn Swann and baseball legend Barry Bonds.

As a freshman, Tom made the Junior Varsity team as the backup quarterback. Tom took over as the starter when an injury sidelined the starter. By his junior year in high school, he was starring on both the varsity football and baseball teams.

During his senior season, Tom began seeing the rewards of all of his hard work. Tom was getting national attention in 1994 as a quarterback, with All-America recognition by Blue Chip Illustrated and Prep Football Report as well as All-State and All-Far West performer awards. Tom ended his high school career with 3,702 yards passing and 31 touchdowns.

At that point, Tom decided that football was going to be his career choice and decided to give up baseball. Tom was a highly recruited football prospect who had his choice of schools nationwide. Even though there were many colleges close to home that were interested in Tom, he decided to accept a scholarship from the football powerhouse at the University of Michigan.

Tom arrived at the University of Michigan in 1995. He did not have a real good chance to play at all his first year. Michigan was under excessive pressure to produce a Big 10 championship. It had been two years since the Wolverines last went to the Rose Bowl, and the head coach, Gary Moeller, was fired prior to the season. Moeller’s replacement, defensive coordinator Lloyd Carr, was facing very high expectations along with an extremely difficult schedule.

Tom was red-shirted his freshman year as Carr decided to go with freshman quarterback Scott Dreisbach and sophomore quarterback Brian Griese. Michigan finished the regular season at 9-3, and the team never matured as much as Carr would have liked. The season ended at the Alamo Bowl with a heartbreaking 22-20 loss to Texas A&M.

Tom spent the next season as the Wolverines’ third string quarterback. The only action he saw on the field that season was mop-up duty in a couple of games. However, it gave him a chance to learn from the sidelines and develop a firm grasp of Michigan’s playbook. Tom also had the chance to practice with the first team, which helped his timing on the field and increased his confidence.

The next season, Tom was once again relegated to third string. When Griese won the starting quarterback job in camp, Tom pouted and even considered transferring to Cal, where he would have a better chance to not only play, but to start. However, with Michigan dominating its games, Tom got into three of the first four games in mop up duty.

Though he strongly desired a bigger role on the team, Tom grew to see Michigan as a good place to be. The team was in a national championship run, and he realized that there were worse situations than being a backup on a championship-caliber team. He also realized that advice from Carr, who suggested that he concentrate on improving his game, was the best recommendation he could have received.

Regrettably, Tom had an emergency appendectomy in October, which ended his season early. While he was recovering, Tom did a lot of thinking and made up his mind to stop pouting and he became determined to become the starting quarterback at Michigan.

In watching Brian Griese lead the Wolverines to a share of the national title with a 21-16 win over Washington State in the Rose Bowl from the sidelines, Tom dreamed about leading the team back to the national title game himself before he graduated.

Now that Griese had graduated, Tom was among the quarterbacks up for the starting job the following season. There were only two other quarterbacks standing in his way, Dreisbach and freshman Drew Henson. After a strong showing in camp, Tom was named the starter by Carr.

Things did not start out well for Tom and the Wolverines. They lost to Notre Dame in South Bend, and then they lost to Syracuse at home. Carr was not going to blame the loses all on Tom, so he stuck with him.

Because of his playmaking ability, Tom's teammates gained confidence in him and the rushing attack started to rack up big yards as well. Because of the improved rushing attack, it opened up the field for Tom, who in his next two games picked apart Indiana and Penn State to even their record at 2-2.

Tom had his best game statistically against archrival Ohio State. Tom completed 31 of 56 attempts for 375 yards and a touchdown, which set school records for completions, attempts, and yardage. However, Michigan lost the game 31-16.

From that point on, Michigan went undefeated and earned a trip to the Citrus Bowl. In that game Tom led the Wolverines to a 45-31 come-from-behind victory over Arkansas. An Academic All-Big Ten selection, Tom finished the season with 2,636 yards and 15 touchdowns.

Even after Tom’s solid season, and the fact he was voted one of Michigan’s team captains, Tom was not a shoe-in to start the following season. Drew Henson was considered to be a once-in-a-lifetime talent and he was eager to supplant Tom as the first-string quarterback.

The quarterback battle accentuated as the season opener against Notre Dame approached. Carr was unable to make up his mind and announced that the quarterbacks would split time and both see significant time under center. Tom was not happy about it, but he kept his mouth shut and prepared himself to be ready to make plays when called upon.

In the Notre Dame game, after splitting series with Henson in the first half, it was clear to Carr that he had to pick one of them to go the rest of the way. He chose Tom, who erased a 14-point deficit and led the team to an exciting 26-22 comeback win.

Though still splitting time with Henson, Tom continued to establish himself as the team’s true starter. After throwing for 842 yards and six touchdowns in leading the team to three straight victories, Carr was finally convinced to end his rotating quarterback system. With Tom at the helm the rest of the way, Michigan had four straight wins and secured an Orange Bowl bid.

Tom’s last game with Michigan was a game to remember. He torched Alabama in completing 34 of 46 attempts for 369 yards and four touchdowns in a 35-34 overtime victory. His final pass at Michigan was a 25-yard touchdown pass that won the game for the Wolverines.

The final numbers on Tom's senior year were 2,586 yards passing, with 20 touchdowns, and only 6 interceptions. It really showed Tom’s talent to read defenses and hit receivers in stride.

Brady graduated cum laude from the University of Michigan.

Prior to the NFL Draft, opinions on Tom were mixed. He received high marks for the accuracy of his arm but many were concerned with Tom's durability. Even though he was 6-4, he only weighed 205 pounds. In addition, Tom did not run well and could not throw the deep ball with effectiveness. Most scouts believed he would be a career backup, a player who could fulfill a support role, but certainly not a player good enough to be a high draft pick.

When the draft started, Tom believed that he would be picked in the first few rounds. As team after team did not draft him, he became extremely frustrated. According to his parents, he grabbed a baseball bat, stormed out of the house, and did a little backyard “landscaping” to vent his frustrations. 
 

Patriots coach Bill Belichick was one of the few who saw some upside when he looked at Brady. With Drew Bledsoe secured as the starter, along with veteran John Friesz as the back up, Tom seemed worth a gamble. The Pats selected Tom with their sixth-round pick. Tom was grateful that someone had taken him. His mission at this point was to make believers out of everyone in pro football.

When Tom arrived at training camp with the Pats, he was ready to start his pro career. Over the course of the season, he committed the playbook to memory, added 15 pounds of muscle, and slowly but surely improved his arm strength.

On the field, the Patriots were awful in 2000. Tom watched from the sidelines in all but one game.  His only playing time came in a 34-9 defeat to the Detroit Lions, one of 11 losses for New England that season. Tom completed one pass for six yards.

As training camp opened in 2001, there was little enthusiasm for Patriots fans. As had been the case in years past, the team would go as far as quarterback Drew Bledsoe would take them.

Tom was one of the team’s lone bright spots during the preseason. He had beefed up and was faster than in his rookie season. So much so, that Belichick decided to go with Tom as the #2 quarterback behind Bledsoe.

Tom did not think he would be playing as soon as he did. In the second game of the season, New York Jets linebacker Mo Lewis put a ferocious hit on Bledsoe and knocked him out of the game. Belichick had no choice but to turn to Tom.  Bledsoe had sheared a blood vessel in his chest. Not only was he badly injured, he could have died. For better or worse, Tom was now the starting quarterback.

And the rest was history!

With Brady at the helm after Bledsoe was hurt, the Patriots went on that season to a 20-17 upset victory over the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXVI. Brady was named the Super Bowl's most valuable player and became the youngest starting quarterback ever to win the Super Bowl.

In 2004 the Patriots were back in Super Bowl XXXVIII, and once again Brady was named the game's MVP as he led the Patriots to a 32-29 win over the Carolina Panthers.

In 2005, Brady and the Patriots were once again in the Super Bowl, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles, 24-21, in Super Bowl XXXIX.

In 2007, Brady was named the most valuable player of the NFL, when the Patriots had a perfect 16-0 record in the regular season before losing the Super Bowl on a last minute touchdown to the New York Giants.  

Tom Brady is the only quarterback in the history of the NFL to start and win three Super Bowls before the age of 28. When the Patriots won their first Super Bowl (XXXVI), He was the youngest QB to win a Super Bowl at the time.

Not too shabby for a sixth round draft pick that was projected as a career backup. 

Photo Credit: Rhona Wise / Icon SMI