50 Fun Facts About Tim Tebow

Tim Tebow was born in which country, where his American parents were Baptist missionaries?

The Philippines was his home until he was three, when the family moved to Florida. Being born there later made him eligible for the country's national baseball team.

Tim Tebow played the second half of a high school game, scoring on a 29-yard run, with which injury?

He had a broken leg, a fractured fibula first mistaken for a bad cramp. The break was found only after the game, and he was held out for the rest of that season.

What did Tim Tebow do on the first pitch of his first at-bat as a professional baseball player?

He hit a home run on that pitch, in an instructional league game in September 2016. He repeated the trick in his first at-bats for two later minor-league teams.

Tim Tebow returned to the NFL in 2021, six years after his last preseason, to play which position?

Tight end was the plan when his old college coach signed him, and it was also the first position he played in high school. He was released after one preseason game.

Tim Tebow's South African wife, Demi-Leigh, won which international beauty title in 2017?

Miss Universe 2017 was Demi-Leigh Nel-Peters, only the second South African to win the crown. She and Tebow married in her home country in January 2020.

Tim Tebow won the 2007 Heisman Trophy as a player in which year of college, a first for the award?

Sophomore winners were unheard of until Tebow, who passed for 32 touchdowns and ran for 23 more. No major college player had managed 20 of each in one season before.

Which Bible verse did Tim Tebow wear in the 2009 BCS title game, prompting over 90 million Google searches?

John 3:16 became the top Google search over the next 24 hours. Three years later Tebow threw for 316 yards in a playoff win, and the verse topped the search charts again.

Tim Tebow was the first Heisman Trophy nominee to have had which kind of schooling before college?

Homeschooling was how all five Tebow children were taught, by their parents. Florida law still let him play football for a high school in the district where he lived.

In 2023 Tim Tebow became a co-owner of the Tahoe Knight Monsters, an expansion team in which sport?

Ice hockey is the Knight Monsters' game: they play in the minor-league ECHL. Tebow had already been a minor partner in two of the league's other clubs.

The Denver Broncos traded Tim Tebow in March 2012 after signing which free-agent quarterback?

Peyton Manning's arrival made Tebow expendable about ten weeks after his playoff win. Denver received fourth- and sixth-round draft picks in the trade.

After leading Denver to a playoff win, Tim Tebow was traded in March 2012 to which NFL team?

The New York Jets gave him a special-teams and wildcat role. He threw only eight passes in his one season with the team and was released the following April.

Which Major League Baseball organization signed Tim Tebow to a minor-league contract in September 2016?

The New York Mets took the chance even though he had not played baseball full-time since his junior year of high school. Scouts from 28 clubs had watched his open tryout.

Which head coach recruited Tim Tebow to Florida and won two national championships with him?

Urban Meyer spent a night at the hospital when Tebow was concussed in 2009. Twelve years later, as a pro head coach, he gave his old quarterback one last NFL chance.

Tim Tebow's family settled in which Florida city when he was three, after leaving the mission field?

Jacksonville became the family's home, and before the 2010 draft even Florida's governor suggested its NFL team pick the hometown star to boost ticket sales.

Tim Tebow was a three-time Academic All-American at Florida despite having which learning difference?

Dyslexia is a condition Tebow regards as part of a uniqueness given to him by God. He graduated from Florida in December 2009, before playing his final bowl game.

Tim Tebow threw an 80-yard touchdown pass on the first play of overtime to beat which team in the playoffs?

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost 29–23 in the January 2012 Wild Card game. It was Denver's first playoff victory since the 2005 season.

Which Hall of Fame quarterback was the team executive who urged Tim Tebow to play less tentatively in 2011?

John Elway, the Broncos' vice president, spoke up after three straight losses. He confirmed Tebow as his starter once the season ended, then traded him that March.

Night to Shine, run by Tim Tebow's foundation for people with special needs, is which kind of event?

A prom for people with developmental and intellectual disabilities is the idea. Tebow launched the foundation behind it in January 2010, the same month as his last college game.

The NCAA's so-called Tebow Rule, adopted in 2010, banned players from writing messages on which item?

Eye black is meant only to shade the eyes from the sun, the NCAA said, denying that any one player was the target. The NFL had banned such messages years earlier.

Freshman backup Tim Tebow ran and threw for touchdowns as Florida beat which team for the national title?

Ohio State arrived unbeaten and ranked No. 1, then lost 41–14. Tebow scored the game's final touchdown himself on a one-yard run.

Tim Tebow threw two touchdown passes as Florida beat which team in the 2009 BCS title game?

Oklahoma fell 24–14, giving Florida its second national championship in three seasons. The Gators had not lost since the September defeat that prompted Tebow's famous vow.

Tim Tebow ended his college career with 533 total yards against Cincinnati in which New Year's Day game?

The Sugar Bowl of January 2010 ended 51–24. Tebow completed 31 of 35 passes, and his passing and total yardage were both records for a BCS game.

What was the highest level of professional baseball Tim Tebow reached before retiring from the sport in 2021?

Triple-A was as far as he got, one step below the majors, with Syracuse in 2019. A cut finger that needed eight stitches ended that season in July.

Fans and media called for Tim Tebow to replace which struggling starting quarterback during the 2012 season?

Mark Sanchez was finally benched in a game Tebow sat out injured, so Greg McElroy took over instead. Tebow never started a game at quarterback that year.

Tim Tebow's 2011 Denver Broncos won which NFL division, the franchise's first division title in six years?

The AFC West was settled on tiebreakers after Denver, Oakland and San Diego all finished 8–8. The Broncos had been 1–4 when Tebow took over as the starter.

Which 2011 memoir by Tim Tebow, co-written with Nathan Whitaker, spent 24 weeks on the best seller list?

Through My Eyes was named the top sports book of 2011. It covers his childhood and his college career, and was later reworked into an edition for young readers.

Tim Tebow almost accepted a scholarship offer from Mike Shula, then the head coach of which SEC program?

Alabama nearly landed him, but he chose Florida, where his parents had met as students. He went on to beat the Crimson Tide for the 2008 SEC title.

As a freshman backup, Tim Tebow accounted for all three Florida touchdowns in a win over which SEC rival?

The LSU Tigers gave up two touchdown passes and a scoring run to the backup that October. Tebow finished the season second on the team in rushing yards.

Tim Tebow gave his famous speech known as The Promise after a 2008 home loss to which unranked team?

Ole Miss won as a 22-point underdog. Tebow apologized and promised that he and the team would do better, and Florida did not lose again that season.

Tim Tebow broke the Florida record for career rushing touchdowns held by which Hall of Fame running back?

Emmitt Smith's mark fell when Tebow scored his 37th rushing touchdown, against Georgia. A year later he broke the SEC career record against the same opponent.

Which quarterback won the 2008 Heisman Trophy even though Tim Tebow received the most first-place votes?

Sam Bradford won on total points, with Tebow finishing third. A month later Tebow's Gators beat his team in the national championship game.

Tim Tebow was taken to hospital by ambulance after a concussion in a 2009 game against which SEC team?

Kentucky's Taylor Wyndham hit him in the chest, and his head struck a teammate's knee as he fell. He had started that night despite a respiratory illness.

Tim Tebow broke the SEC career rushing touchdown record of which former Georgia running back in 2009?

Herschel Walker's mark fell when Tebow scored his 50th and 51st rushing touchdowns, against Walker's own old school. Tebow finished his college career with 57.

Which Denver Broncos head coach traded up to draft Tim Tebow in the first round in 2010?

Josh McDaniels gave up second-, third- and fourth-round picks to take him 25th overall. Tebow's jersey promptly set a sales record for a newly drafted player.

Tim Tebow took over as Denver's starting quarterback in October 2011, replacing which veteran?

Kyle Orton was pulled at halftime of a Week 5 loss to San Diego with the team at 1–3. Tebow cut a 16-point deficit to five and was named the starter soon afterward.

Which head coach guided the Denver Broncos through Tim Tebow's 2011 run of comeback wins?

John Fox had arrived from the Carolina Panthers that January. Under him Tebow won six games in a row, leading late winning drives in most of them.

The Tebowing craze began after Tim Tebow's first start of 2011, an overtime comeback win over which team?

The Miami Dolphins led 15–0 with three minutes left and lost 18–15. A fan then posted a photo copying Tebow's kneeling prayer, and his website drew 20,000 submissions.

Which Denver receiver caught Tim Tebow's 80-yard overtime touchdown pass in the January 2012 playoffs?

Demaryius Thomas scored on the first snap of overtime. Tebow finished with a career-high 316 passing yards on just ten completions.

Which team signed Tim Tebow in June 2013, reuniting him with the coach who drafted him?

The New England Patriots gave him a two-year deal with no guaranteed money. He threw two touchdowns and two interceptions that preseason and was released on cut-down day.

Tim Tebow competed with Matt Barkley for a third-string job in the 2015 preseason with which team?

The Philadelphia Eagles signed him to a one-year deal. He played in all four preseason games, threw two touchdown passes and was cut after the last one.

Tim Tebow spent his freshman season at Florida as the backup to which starting quarterback?

Chris Leak kept the job all season and was the offensive MVP of the national title game. Tebow still ran for a touchdown on his very first college play.

Which running back finished second to Tim Tebow, 254 points behind, in the 2007 Heisman Trophy voting?

Darren McFadden of Arkansas was the runner-up, ahead of Hawaii's Colt Brennan and Missouri's Chase Daniel. Tebow collected 462 first-place votes.

Tim Tebow was the third Florida Gator to win the Heisman Trophy, after Steve Spurrier and which quarterback?

Danny Wuerffel won it as a senior in 1996 while leading Florida to its first national championship. He also led the nation in touchdown passes that season, with 39.

Tim Tebow joined 1950s star Johnny Lattner as a two-time winner of which college football honor?

The Maxwell Award goes to the player judged the best all-around in college football, and Tebow won it in 2007 and 2008. Lattner's double had stood alone for 55 years.

Tim Tebow quarterbacked which Florida high school's Panthers to a state title in his senior season?

Nease, in St. Johns County, had a struggling program until Tebow moved into its district so that he could play quarterback there. He was named Florida's Mr. Football as a senior.

Which conservative organization funded the 2010 Super Bowl commercial telling Tim Tebow's personal story?

Focus on the Family paid for the ad, which aired on CBS during Super Bowl XLIV. It never mentioned abortion directly, yet it stirred a nationwide controversy.

The Denver Broncos got the 25th overall pick they used on Tim Tebow in a draft-night trade with which team?

The Baltimore Ravens received second-, third- and fourth-round picks for the selection. ESPN's Mel Kiper had projected Tebow as a second- or third-round choice.

Tim Tebow's first NFL win as a starter was a rally from 17–0 down at halftime against which team?

The Houston Texans lost 24–23 in December 2010. Tebow threw for 308 yards and ran in the fourth-quarter touchdown that capped the comeback.

Tim Tebow was named an Eastern League All-Star in 2018 while playing for which minor-league baseball team?

The Binghamton Rumble Ponies had Tebow batting .261 when he was picked. He got a hit in the All-Star Game, then broke a bone in his right hand and missed the rest of the year.

Tim Tebow joined ESPN in 2013 and became a co-host of which travelling college football pregame show?

SEC Nation launched with the conference's own network in 2014, with Tebow in its original cast. His ESPN contract still let him pursue chances to play.