The Son Tug Forgot That's My Boy! The Son Tug Mcgraw Once Tried To Ignore Now Is A Star

SAGINAW, Mich. — Backstage in his dressing room at the Saginaw Civic Center, Tim McGraw opened a bottle of beer and asked: "How far is South Bend from here?" Wearing a wide-brimmed, black cowboy hat and boots with toes sharp enough to be lethal weapons, McGraw had just wrapped up a concert date in front of a packed house and posed for pictures with a delegation of teenaged fans. One of the hottest new names out of Nashville - his "Not a Moment Too Soon" is the top-selling country album in America, highlighted by the controversial hit single "Indian Outlaw" - McGraw was scheduled to climb back on the bus and head to South Bend, Ind., for an appearance at Notre Dame.

"Figure six hours to South Bend," road manager Mark Hurt said. "We leave by 10 p.m., we should be in South Bend just before sunup."

"We have to stop at K mart," McGraw said. "I need to get some things."

Hurt laughed and asked, "Socks and underwear?"

"Yep," McGraw replied with a grin between sips of beer. "Whoever said being a country star was glamorous?"

The story of Tim McGraw is not just one of an ascending talent. It is the tale of a son who was abandoned before birth by his father, Tug McGraw, the popular ex-Phillies reliever who at the time was a budding star in the New York Mets' organization. Raised in the quiet obscurity of a small country town in Louisiana by his mom, Betty Trimble, and former stepdad, Horace Smith, Tim, 26, did not even know that Tug was his real father until he was 11. It was not until he was 18 that he and Tug truly reconciled and began to have a relationship.

Time and a deep willingness on the part of Tim to forgive has closed the gap that once existed between father and son. While Tim conceded that there was a period in his life when he harbored resentments toward Tug, he has come to accept what happened and how Tug handled the situation with consummate understanding. Instead of looking back with rancor at what should have been, he decided to enjoy what is, and that includes a friendship that both describe as special.

"We have a spiritual commitment and it is predicated on not looking back," Tug said from his home in Orlando, Fla., where he operates a sports marketing business. "I was not there for him when he was growing up, but we have overcome that and have been able to establish a relationship."