John Brodie, MVP Quarterback Who Spent 17 Seasons With the 49ers, Dies at 90

John Brodie, the longtime San Francisco 49ers quarterback who won an NFL Most Valuable Player award and ranked among the league's most productive passers, has died at age 90. The 49ers said his family reported that he died Friday.

Brodie suffered a stroke on Oct. 24, 2000. The team called him one of the franchise's all-time great players. Co-chairman Dr. John York said his own love of the 49ers began with watching Brodie play quarterback on television. "He displayed an incredible commitment toward his teammates and his support of the organization never wavered after his playing days," York said. York described Brodie as a dear friend and offered condolences to Brodie's wife, Sue, and the rest of the family.

Brodie played for San Francisco from 1957 to 1973, arriving after breaking every major passing record at Stanford. His 17 seasons remain a franchise record. His 31,548 passing yards are second in team history behind Joe Montana, and his 214 touchdown passes rank third, behind Montana and Steve Young. When he retired after the 1973 season, only Johnny Unitas and Fran Tarkenton had thrown for more career yards in the NFL.

He earned the league MVP award in 1970, throwing for 2,941 yards and 24 touchdowns with just 10 interceptions. He guided the 49ers to the NFC championship game in both 1970 and 1971, the closest he came to reaching the Super Bowl. Brodie led the NFL in passing yards three times and in touchdown passes twice. He was a first-team All-Pro in 1970 and a second-team selection in 1965.

His best statistical season came in 1965, when he set career highs with 242 completions, 3,112 passing yards and 30 touchdown passes. That year he also won the AP NFL Comeback Player of the Year award. He passed the 30,000-yard mark in the fourth game of the 1972 season. After he retired, the 49ers retired his No. 12 jersey, making him the fourth player in team history to receive that honor.

Jerry Mertens, who played cornerback for the 49ers from 1958 to 1965, remembered a fierce competitor. "He was a great guy, a super competitor, I don't care what it was: football, cards, golf," Mertens said. "The guy just did it all, and he was a great leader, there's no question about that."

Brodie was born in San Francisco on Aug. 14, 1935, and attended Oakland Tech High School. Listed at 6-foot-1 and 200 pounds, he became a unanimous All-American at Stanford in 1956 and won the Coffman Award as MVP of the East-West Game. At Stanford he earned three varsity letters in football under coach Chuck Taylor and two in golf. The 49ers selected him in the first round of the 1957 draft.

Golf remained a major part of his life after football. Brodie played on what is now the PGA Tour Champions and won the 1991 Security Pacific Senior Classic at Rancho Park in Los Angeles. At 56, he beat Chi Chi Rodriguez and George Archer with a birdie on the first hole of a playoff.

He also worked in broadcasting as a football and golf analyst for NBC, and he called the Super Bowl in January 1979.