The annual AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am tees off at the end of January, so we thought we’d tip our cap to one of the event’s past participants—NCGA Hall of Famer John Brodie.
While many will instantly think of him as the heartbeat of the San Francisco 49ers—from 1957 to 1973, he was—it wasn’t just football where Brodie excelled.
Turned out, Brodie’s golf swing was as blessed as his throwing arm, so much so that Pro-Am founder Bing Crosby took notice. As a teen, the Crosby and Brodie boys spent summers playing golf at Hayden Lake Country Club in Idaho. “If you play like that, I’ll invite you to my tournament,” Crosby had told him.
Bing followed up on his promise and at the age of 21, Brodie started in his first Clambake in Pebble Beach, while also still a member of the Stanford Golf Team.
At Stanford, John competed in two NCAA Championships for the Cardinal. And while after graduation, he was drafted in the first round of the NFL draft, John continued to follow his passion for competitive golf. During the NFL offseason, John took his athleticism to the PGA Tour, where he played from 1959 to 1961. At times, his traveling roommate was NCGA Hall of Famer and fellow Bay Area native Tony Lema, who won the 1964 British Open.
In 1970, John won the Crosby Pro-Am title playing with partner Bob Rosburg, shooting 1-under on his own ball over the 72-hole tournament. At the AT&T tournament many years later, the California Golf Writers Association honored Brodie with the “Jack Lemmon” Ambassador of Golf Award.
Whatever turf he was on, Brodie left a legacy.
