Tim McGraw Biography : People.com

Biography

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1966: Florida Fling
Pitcher Tug McGraw heads to Jacksonville, Fla., to play for a minor league club. There, the future Mets player meets 18-year-old Betty Dagostino (now Trimble). They have a brief romance; Betty becomes pregnant; and Tug, unaware that she's expecting, leaves town. When Tim is seven months old, Betty marries Horace Smith, whom she tells Tim is his father.
1978: Winter
Pitching Papa
McGraw, at age 11, finds his birth certificate and sees his biological father's surname. He confronts Betty, who finally tells him his dad is baseball player Tug McGraw, a Philly's pitcher who had played for the Mets. Betty takes McGraw to meet Tug, who says, "I haven't been much of a father, so let's be friends," Betty tells PEOPLE in 1994.
circa 1984: A Budding Relationship
After years of sending Tug unanswered letters, McGraw is fed up, but asks his dad to chip in for college tuition. According to Esquire, Tug agrees on the condition that neither McGraw nor Betty contact him again. The younger McGraw asks for one last meeting, and when Tug sees his grown son, he drops the conditions and the pair begin to forge a relationship.
1989: May 09
On the Road to Stardom
McGraw leaves college, where he learned to play guitar, and heads for Nashville to try his hand in music. He's signed by Curb Records in 1991 and releases his self-titled debut album the following year. Sales are low, so Curb sends him on the road with his band to build a following.
1994: March 22
Controversial Hit
McGraw redeems himself with his second album, Not a Moment Too Soon, which becomes the best-selling country record of the year. One popular track, "Indian Outlaw," draws ire from American Indian groups. To stem the controversy, the Washington Post reports, McGraw meets with American Indian leaders.
1995: July
Country Crush
McGraw sees fellow country singer Faith Hill at an outdoor festival in Eau Claire, Wis., and thinks she is "gorgeous but out of my league," he tells PEOPLE.
1996: March
Spontaneous Couple
McGraw and Hill embark on the Spontaneous Combustion Tour. This time, sparks fly. In Montana, McGraw proposes in his makeshift dressing room in a trailer home. "She said, 'I can't believe you're asking me to marry you in a trailer house,'" McGraw tells PEOPLE in 1998. "I said, 'Well, we're country singers, what do you expect?"' When McGraw goes onstage, Hill scribbles "Yes" on his mirror.
October 06
Southern Nuptials
McGraw and Hill marry in Rayville, La., near McGraw's hometown. "I've got to be one of the luckiest guys in the world," McGraw tells USA Today. "She's incredible, one of the most down-to-earth people I've ever met in my life."
1997: May 05
Tiny Bundles
The newlyweds welcome their first daughter, Gracie Katherine, who weighs just 4 lbs. 14 oz. Then, with Gracie just over a year old, McGraw and Hill have another daughter, 6 lbs. 9 oz. Maggie Elizabeth, on August 12, 1998. "Ideally, we'd love five kids," McGraw tells PEOPLE. "I always wanted boys, but in a way I want it to stay this way. Just keep having girls – that way I'll always dress good."
1999: May 05
Academy Achievement
At the 34th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards, McGraw wins male vocalist of the year. But the big winner of the evening is his wife, who collects five awards. "It's all about my wife," McGraw tells PEOPLE.