From 1985–1989, the Walla Walla community had the pleasure of hosting one of the most prolific athletes in Washington state history. Before he stood under center for the Washington State Cougars and New England Patriots, Drew Bledsoe stockpiled the shelves of his home in southeastern Washington with varsity letters in football, track, and basketball from Walla Walla High School.

Not surprisingly, Bledsoe’s athletic dominance had scouts calling him from all corners of the country. Eventually, the All-State quarterback elected to stay close to home, packing his bags for Pullman. From there, he added to his Washington state accolades, decorating his WSU dorm halls with NCAA All-American and Pac-12 Player of the Year banners as the Cougars’ starting quarterback.

By the end of his record-setting career in Pullman, Bledsoe had established himself as top-tier NFL talent. In 1993, the Patriots selected him with the first overall pick in the NFL draft, transplanting Bledsoe to the opposite corner of the country. The change of location hardly fazed him. During his nine seasons on the East Coast, Bledsoe earned four Pro Bowl selections — and a Super Bowl berth in 1996 — as the face of the football world in New England.

Now, 32 years after his high school graduation, Bledsoe lives in Bend, Oregon, where he and his wife have raised four kids. He still shares his football knowledge as the QB coach at Summit High School. Over the past decade, meanwhile, his philanthropic organization, the Drew Bledsoe Foundation, has reached over one million families in its mission to institute “Parenting with Dignity.”

Despite living in Oregon, the Walla Walla community still beckons him. Before his fame on the national stage — even before his golden years as a Cougar — Bledsoe toed the turf as a Walla Walla Blue Devil. When he’s not coaching or parenting, Bledsoe can be found along the border of Oregon and Washington, tending to his winery — Doubleback Wine — named after the former NFL great’s return to his small hometown in southeastern Washington.