On March 3, 1983, a man named Thomas Brady checked into a Louisiana hospital to undergo surgery on his arm.
The man in question wasn't the Tom Brady known to NFL fans today, but then-Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw, who used a fake name to prevent news of his surgery from getting out.
The story resurfaced 38 years to the day later thanks to a viral tweet.
On this date in 1983, the winningest quarterback in Super Bowl history checked into a Louisiana hospital using an assumed name. pic.twitter.com/Yr3ujc0fHC
— Quirky Research (@QuirkyResearch) March 3, 2021
Dr. William Burdick, who performed the surgery, is quoted in an archived UPI story as describing Bradshaw as "a super patient" who took time to visit ill children at the hospital.
"He really cheered them up," Burdick said.
Bradshaw was long out of the NFL by the time the real Tom Brady came along, but he has crossed paths with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback as an analyst for Fox.
