SF's new starting QB, Brock Purdy, was 1 when Tom Brady entered the NFL. They meet next Sunday in Santa Clara.
A 49er QB factoid
- Thread starter colhenrylives
- Start date
Fun fact number 2. Tom Brady attended Serra High who will be playing SJB in the Open SBG this weekend.
We did not know that. Thank you.
Fun fact #3….Barry Bonds played baseball at Serra and did not get into the HOF this weekend
Now to tie this all together maybe Barry Bonds could. A) do the opening game coin flip or B) sing the National Anthem to start the game or C) hold the ball on opening kick off in lieu of using a tee while wearing his Serra letterman jacket.
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Lynn Swan also attended Serra. They have a huge alumni list there, also Jim Fergosi if memory serves me right attended. I was there once for a tournament and was struck by how many famous people and or the athletes that came through there.
And he helped interview Patrick Walsh for the job at Serra!
Should create a bingo card for the Serra references on TV this weekend
Serra cannot not afford to buy that kind of national marketing. It's invaluable.
In regards to "Fun Facts" and comparing 49ers QB Brock Purdy the 22-year old drafted last at #262 in 7th round in 2022 NFL draft.
Here are the 5 most notable football players in Serra High's history:
Tom Brady (Serra 1995) was the 199th pick in the 6th round in 2000 and sat on the bench his rookie season. Following season Tom was again back-up when Drew Bledsoe suffured a serious injury and Brady replaced Bledsoe the rest of the season [Bledsoe never got his job back]. Brady also played catcher in baseball & was selected by the Montreal Expos out of high school in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB Draft.
David Bakthtiari [Serra 2008] was drafted 109th in the 4th round in 2013 and a starting OL for Green Bay Packers since. In 2020 Bakthtiari signed a 4-yr deal with Green Bay making him the highest paid OL in NFL history and was All Pro in 2021.
Lynn Swann [Serra 1970] was drafted 21rst in the 1rst round in 1974 as an All American WR & punt returner out of USC by the Steelers and was MVP of Super Bowl X.
Tom Scott [Serra 1969] was drafted 304th in the 12th round in 1973 by Detroit Lions [yes 12 rounds then later reducted to 7 rounds]. Scott passed on Lions to enter the CFL draft [Canadian Football League] where he had a highly successful career for 11 seasons.
Jesse Freitas Jr. (Serra 1969] was drafted 133rd in the 6th round in 1973 by San Diego Chargers where he backed up Dan Fouts for several seasons.
Here are the 5 most notable football players in Serra High's history:
Tom Brady (Serra 1995) was the 199th pick in the 6th round in 2000 and sat on the bench his rookie season. Following season Tom was again back-up when Drew Bledsoe suffured a serious injury and Brady replaced Bledsoe the rest of the season [Bledsoe never got his job back]. Brady also played catcher in baseball & was selected by the Montreal Expos out of high school in the 18th round of the 1995 MLB Draft.
David Bakthtiari [Serra 2008] was drafted 109th in the 4th round in 2013 and a starting OL for Green Bay Packers since. In 2020 Bakthtiari signed a 4-yr deal with Green Bay making him the highest paid OL in NFL history and was All Pro in 2021.
Lynn Swann [Serra 1970] was drafted 21rst in the 1rst round in 1974 as an All American WR & punt returner out of USC by the Steelers and was MVP of Super Bowl X.
Tom Scott [Serra 1969] was drafted 304th in the 12th round in 1973 by Detroit Lions [yes 12 rounds then later reducted to 7 rounds]. Scott passed on Lions to enter the CFL draft [Canadian Football League] where he had a highly successful career for 11 seasons.
Jesse Freitas Jr. (Serra 1969] was drafted 133rd in the 6th round in 1973 by San Diego Chargers where he backed up Dan Fouts for several seasons.
Debatable kinda fact# 3.5
Here's a piece of urban legend from the early 90s @Serra, perhaps better packaged as gossip.
Jesse Frietas Jr. was the best athelete of all the above-mentioned...
Santa Ball - who said Freitas Jr. was the best athlete of the Serra FB players mentioned? That quote has me stumped as Freitas Jr. was the least successful of the 5 mentioned, however did make it to NFL for a brief period. The other 4 FB players mentioned were all multi-sport stars in HS whereas Freitas Jr. was pretty much FB.
It will be very cool for the young padres when coach Walsh Facetimes Tommy boy on the bus ride down to LA and he gives a quick" Lets FN Gooooo!"
I miss the smoking pit on w20th lol
I miss the smoking pit on w20th lol
In fairness I had no way to verify this unless, the library I never entered contained microphish footage of this man in action. I do recall however Coach Larson basketball, Monaghan, Duggan and Mckenzie football always telling us about Freitas being one of the best in between getting your ass chewed in film session on a VHS tape. Of course, Freitas was well before my time but he was heralded at the time as a giant amongst men in terms of abilities, excuse the borrowed hyperbole.
Obviously not Brady and Bhakatari unless the smoking pit behind the baseball cages where copious amounts of keystone light were enjoyed, covered in the perfect amount of overgrowth that RWC captain may be referring to contained a wormhole. "netflixs dark". Lol
OK makes sense and can clear up based upon direct knowledge. My older nextdoor neighbor was a baseball star at Serra & best friend of Freitas Jr. who'd come over next door to shoot hoops a lot while I got to watch and listen to them (I later went to Serra). I did get to go to most of Freitas Jr's FB games as well. First of all Jesse Jr. was an outstanding HS drop-back QB with strong arm and could throw a perfect spiral very accurately & was not a run threat. Jesse Jr. did not play any other sports as I recollect or if he did was not a standout like FB. Freitas Jr. benefitted greatly from a star-studded HS roster in '67 & '68 with future pro's Lynn Swann WR/KO/PR & DB along with Tom Scott WR/RB and a big talented TE as well as. Went to Stanford breifly before transfer to San Diego State where a couple of good seasons' before Chargers drafted him & played behind Dan Fouts from St. Ignatius [though Freitas Jr. was the starter '74-75 when Fouts was injured]. Unfortunately after 2 seasons Freitas Jr. exited the NFL and sadly struggled personally [bipolar/depression] before passing away suddenly in 2015. Many of his former Serra team mates attended his memorial.
Freitas Jr. remains #3 in career passing yardage for Serra just ahead of #4 Tom Brady.
Excellent knowledge share from the rambling man and direct knowledge to boot. I hate to say it but some of that exuberant endorsement of Freitas JR, probably was amplified by generational bias peers/teachers that knew of or played in the same time frame.
Totally subjective but for me some of the best of the best;
Brady
Swan
Bonds, love him or hate him.
Also not mentioned as notable was Gregg Jeffries MLB player, 14 year career, drafted by the Mets in 85.
One more, obscure perhaps but intriguing Padre: Randy Gomez. He was primarily a defensive back while at Serra in the mid-1970s. The starting QB at the time was Jimmy Freitas, a future Long beach State QB and a son of the then HC, Jesse Freitas, Sr.. Gomez never got a chance at the signal-calling job on West 20th Avenue. He was also a standout baseball player. Later, at College of San Mateo, he starred as a QB, then at Utah. In fact, he was one of the nation's best collegiate QBs during his two seasons with the Utes. He engineered a stunning upset of BYU at one point. But baseball beckoned. As a catcher, he got a cup of coffee with the Giants. He's one of 14 Serra alums who have seen duty in MLB. Nice.
I saw Jesse Freitas Jr. play football in person numerous times. His tight end BTW was the late Tom Caselli. Video of Freitas going against Dan Fouts and SI may be viewed by Googling "Serra SI football 68 vimeo" Freitas did play baseball and i think maybe started in the outfield but I can't quite remember.
Randy Gomez was my best friend growing up in San Carlos. He went to Serra and I went to SF. We still remained good friends even though SF and Serra and their fans strongly disliked each other.
I also grew up in the city of good living. All my smart friends went to Bellarmine, I heard the calling of Father Serra, for awhile at least. Lol. Funny thing is my best friend to this day is a Bell. Small world
