Tim McGraw is the son of famous baseball player, Tug McGraw, who passed away in 2004. Although Tim bears his father’s last name, their relationship didn’t begin until the singer was an adult. But in spite of Tug not wanting anything to do with Tim as a child, they became close later in life, a relationship that endured until Tug’s death from terminal brain cancer.
Tim thought his stepfather, Horace Smith, was his dad until he was 11 years old, and discovered his birth certificate, listing Tug as his father. In spite of Tug choosing not to be present in Tim’s life as a child, the “Live Like You Were Dying” singer says Tug still gave him a priceless gift, one that ultimately helped him become the success story that he is today.
“When people ask, ‘How could you have anything to do with your dad? How could you not have hated him? How could you have just not turned your back on him?’ My answer is always, ‘He gave me something that was so precious, and that was hope,’” Tim says on The Tim Ferris Podcast (via People). “Whether he meant to — and he didn’t — or knew it, he gave me a reason to think that I can get out of the situation that I was in.”
Tim recalls realizing, even as a child, the hope it instilled in him by having a famous athlete as his father.
“If he can do that, then I have it in me to do something,” Tim adds. “And so for that reason alone, I couldn’t hate him. If everything else is gone, if you got hope, you still got a chance.”
Tim McGraw Recalls Realizing Tug McGraw Was His Father
Although Tim spent the first part of his life believing his stepfather was his father, he felt a sense of relief to find out that wasn’t the case, even if Tug wasn’t in his life.
“At the time, I don’t think there was anger,” Tim recalls. “I think there was some affirmation in it, because we grew up in a very dysfunctional life. The guy who I thought was my dad growing up was an alcoholic and very abusive to my mom and to me. And then the second stepdad was worse than the first one. So for me, there was an affirmation of why I felt like I didn’t belong with that guy.
“It wasn’t a confusion… Certainly, it was more about the excitement of finding out that your dad’s a professional baseball player,” he continues. “So for me it was sort of a ray of light in a lot of ways.”
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How Tim McGraw Reconnected With His Father, Tug McGraw
After finding out who his real father was, Tim’s mother, Betty D’Agostino, took Tim to meet Tug, with the three of them going out to lunch, although at the time, Tug was unwilling to acknowledge Tim as his son. Later, Betty reached out to Tug for financial help, when Tim was going to college. Tug agreed to pay $300 a year, only if Tim promised to never contact him again.
“I just looked at Tug and said, ‘Look, I’ll sign your contract,'” Tim remembers. “‘I’ll never talk to you again. I won’t bother you. I just have one question for you.’ And I asked him, ‘Do you think you’re my dad?’ And he says, ‘Yes, I believe I am.’ And he said, ‘We’ll tear the contract up.’ And then I didn’t hear from him for a year after that. But after that, we ended up starting to see more of each other.”
Tug passed away on January 5, 2004, at the home of Tim and his wife, Faith Hill.