Tim McGraw Says Hope Ultimately Kept Him From Hating His Absent Father Tug McGraw

Tim McGraw has explained why he never hated his late father, MLB pitcher Tug McGraw, despite their complicated relationship. "He gave me something that was so precious, and that was hope," McGraw said on The Tim Ferriss Podcast. "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." McGraw discovered at age 11 that Tug was his biological father after finding his birth certificate. The baseball star initially denied paternity when they met. Tug only became a regular part of McGraw's life when the singer turned 18, after agreeing to pay $300 yearly for his son's college expenses. Their bond grew close until Tug died of glioblastoma in 2004 at age 59. McGraw recently honored his father by performing at Iowa's Field of Dreams on what would have been Tug's 81st birthday.