a loving, close-knit family. Gladys was a check administrator
for a bank. His father, Johnnie, headed the electrical inspections
bureau for the city. The family bonded over endless nights of
bowling; they were tops as competitors in tournaments. Bettis
was particularly gifted—he’s bowled a perfect game—and was
determined to land a college scholarship through the sport. As
for football, Gladys wasn’t going to listen to any talk about her
son playing football.
“I grew up with eight brothers,” she says. “They used me as
their tackling dummy with all of that football. I hated football,
detested it. And I wasn’t going to have Jerome play that sport.
I wanted him to keep on bowling. It kept him safe.”
But Bettis’ physical growth and accumulation of sheer power
and speed became too obvious to too many, and before he landed at Mackenzie High, he begged to play football. Gladys was at
least willing to let him get the required doctor’s physical, which is
when they received word of another potential hitch in the plan:
Bettis had asthma. Still, he ached to play.
“I know I can get a scholarship by bowling, Mom,” he’d say.
“But I want to see if I can get one playing football!”
After much research about how her son could play the sport
and keep himself healthy, Gladys relented. She attended all of his
games and practices, an inhaler in hand in case he had an attack.
“At first, I stood outside the fence while the practice was going on, not wanting to be too noticeable,” she says. “Then one
day, Jerome comes out of practice and walks over to me and
says, ‘Mom, the coach says just come inside and watch us practice
from the bleachers. He’s beginning to think you’re a spy for the
other team!’”
His playing turned out to be a gamble that paid off.
Bettis went on to earn all-state honors on both offense (as
a fullback) and defense (as a linebacker). He shined in the
classroom as well, earning membership into the National
Honor Society and maintaining a 3. 3 grade point average.
By his senior year, a host of big-name schools was watching from
the stands as well, and Bettis went
on to star at Notre Dame, drawn
to its tradition of success on the
field and in the classroom. Even
playing at fullback—traditionally the
guy who blocks for the glamour-boy running backs—he ended
his career with 337 carries for
27 touchdowns and 1,912 yards,
for a whopping average of 5. 7
yards a carry.
Rea d an excerpt
from Bettis’
New York Times
best-selling book,
Driving Home,
online at
www.arrivemagazine.com.
GOING PRO
His pro career started out in
equally impressive fashion,
but then he hit what would
amount to the only blemish on
his résumé, a relative blip on the
radar screen at that: He started out
with the Rams but was traded after his third season. After rushing
for 4. 9 yards a carry and seven touchdowns in his first year—good
enough for NFL Rookie of the Year honors—he rushed for no
more than 3. 5 yards a carry and a combined six touchdowns the
next two seasons. Media reports indicated that Bettis was getting
an unneeded reputation in St. Louis as a complainer who was
losing his foot speed. He was shipped to Pittsburgh in a trade that
was more of an insult: The Rams accepted a fourth-
round draft choice and a swap of a third-round
pick for a second. Bettis responded by reignit-
ing his career with a passion in his first season
for the Steelers, rushing for 1,431 yards with
11 touchdowns and a 4. 5 yards-per-carry
average, including 129 yards and two touch-
downs in his first game against the Rams.
He ended up with 13,662 yards and
91 touchdowns—meaning he’s a
lock for the Hall of Fame.
Success on the field, however,
came at a price. Bettis effectively
managed his asthma during his
career, only suffering from a
couple of attacks while playing.
But his job was essentially that
of a professional battering ram for
well over a decade. He routinely
heads to St. Louis for extensive physi-
cal training. At 5 feet, 11 inches, Bettis’
official playing weight of 255 pounds
makes him a large man indeed. And large
players often have health problems after
quitting. Bettis realizes he’ll have to stay fit
to remain healthy. “I know I have to keep
moving,” he says. “If you stop working out,
everything will stiffen. I’m doing much more
Bettis at a glance
Rushing yards: 13,662 (fifth on all-time NFL list)
Rushing touchdowns: 91 (tied for eighth all-time)
Total years in NFL: 13; three seasons with the Rams in Los Angeles and
St. Louis, 10 with the Steelers
Pro Bowl appearances: Six (1993, 1994, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2004)
Other honors: 1993 NFL Rookie of the Year; 1996 Comeback Player of the Year;
2002 NFL Walter Payton Man of the Year award for community service
College: Notre Dame
If he played another sport professionally: It would be bowling. He’s
bowled a perfect 300 and a 299, and the International Bowling Museum
and Hall of Fame recently announced that Bettis would be the first inductee
into its Celebrities Bowling Hall of Fame
