Editing Tim McGraw (section)

==Early life and education==
Samuel Timothy McGraw was born in [[Delhi, Louisiana]], the only child of Elizabeth "Betty" Ann D'Agostino, a waitress from [[Jacksonville, Florida]], and [[Tug McGraw|Frank Edwin "Tug" McGraw Jr.]], a [[pitcher]] for the minor league [[Jacksonville Suns]] and future star pitcher for the [[New York Mets]] and the [[Philadelphia Phillies]]. In 1966, D'Agostino was a student at [[Terry Parker High School]]. She lived in the same apartment building as Tug McGraw, who was playing baseball for Jacksonville. When she became pregnant with McGraw as a teen, D'Agostino's parents sent her to Louisiana to live with relatives.<ref name=MOM>{{cite news |url=http://www.jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/042304/woo_15421921.shtml |work=[[The Florida Times-Union]] |title=Tim's mom survives, has a new dream |location=Jacksonville |date=April 23, 2004 |access-date=March 3, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130617224556/http://jacksonville.com/tu-online/stories/042304/woo_15421921.shtml |archive-date=June 17, 2013}}</ref> Through his father, McGraw has two half-brothers, Mark and Matthew, and a half-sister named Cari.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Litsky |first1=Frank |title=Tug McGraw, 59, Is Dead; Star With Mets and Phillies |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2004/01/06/sports/tug-mcgraw-59-is-dead-star-with-mets-and-phillies.html?mcubz=2 |access-date=June 30, 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |date=January 6, 2004}}</ref> He also has two younger half-sisters, Tracey and Sandra, through his mother's marriage to Horace Smith.<ref>{{cite book |title=Tim McGraw: Celebrity with Heart |first=Sara Mcintosh |last=Wooten |year=2010 |publisher=Enslow Publishing, LLC |isbn=978-0-766034-05-1 |page=19}}</ref>

[[File:Start, LA, welcome sign IMG 0142.JPG|right|200px|thumb|[[Start, Louisiana]], welcome sign notes that McGraw once resided there.]]
McGraw grew up believing Smith was his father, and used this stepfather's surname until meeting Tug. At age 11, McGraw discovered his birth certificate while searching in his mother's closet to look for a picture for a school project. Following the discovery, he learned from her who his biological father was and she took him to meet the elder McGraw for the first time.<ref name="larryking" /> Tug McGraw denied the parentage for seven years until Tim was 18 years old. After that time, the two formed a relationship and remained close until the former baseball star died in 2004.<ref name=FreshAir2022>{{cite web |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/04/19/1093509265/tim-mcgraw-faith-hill-1883 |title=Country star Tim McGraw travels back in time to '1883' with wife Faith Hill |work=Fresh Air on NPR |date=April 19, 2022 |access-date=April 19, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.today.com/parents/tim-mcgraw-explains-couldnt-angry-dad-rcna1776 |title=Tim McGraw explains why he couldn't be 'angry' with his dad |date=August 25, 2021 |first=Gina |last=Vivinetto |access-date=April 19, 2022 |work=Today?}}</ref>

As a child, McGraw played competitive sports, including baseball, even before the knowledge of who his father was and his professional baseball career.<ref name="larryking" /> McGraw was also a member of the [[National FFA Organization|FFA]] in high school. Following high school graduation, he attended [[University of Louisiana at Monroe|Northeast Louisiana University]] on a baseball scholarship, where he was a [[pre-law]] major and pledged as a member of [[Pi Kappa Alpha]] fraternity.<ref name="allmusic"/><ref name="pike">{{cite web |title=What's different about Pike? |publisher=Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity, Kappa Psi Chapter |url=http://www.pomonapikes.com/ |access-date=March 15, 2007 |archive-date=April 25, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120425231738/http://www.pomonapikes.com/ |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://issuu.com/ulmwarhawks/docs/2013_bsb_guide?SPSID=90641&SPID=10978&DB_LANG=C&DB_OEM_ID=19000 |title=History & Records: All-Time Roster |work=2013 ULM Baseball Guide |date=February 13, 2013 |publisher=[[Louisiana–Monroe Warhawks|ULM Warhawks Athletics]] |pages=74–76 |access-date=November 24, 2013}}</ref> A knee injury sustained while playing baseball for the college prevented him from pursuing a professional career in sports.{{citation needed|date=February 2018}}

While in college, McGraw learned to play guitar and would frequently perform and sing for money. He has claimed his roommates often hid the guitar because he was so bad.{{citation needed|date=October 2016}}  McGraw followed his mother when she returned to [[Jacksonville, Florida]], in 1987. After the move, he attended [[Florida Community College at Jacksonville]] for one term, and occasionally sat in with local bands.<ref name=MOM />  In 1989, on the day his hero [[Keith Whitley]] died,<ref name="allmusic"/> McGraw dropped out of college to head to [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]] and pursue a musical career.<ref name=FreshAir2022 /><ref name="larryking" /><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/view/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-1002276057 |title=McGraw, (Samuel) Tim(othy) |work=Grove Music Online |year=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.A2276057 |isbn=978-1-56159-263-0 |url-access=subscription |access-date=April 19, 2022 |last1=Pruett |first1=David B.}}</ref>