Sometimes the best country music is inspired by pain and hardships endured in real life. At least that was the case for multimedia star Tim McGraw’s heartbreaking ballad “Live Like You Were Dying.”

The song was written in honor of his late father Tug McGraw: a man the country singer didn’t even meet for the first time until he was 11 years old. The two had a complicated relationship in the early years but ultimately became incredibly close up until Tug’s 2004 death.

Tim was the result of a summer fling between his mother Betty D’Agostino and Tug while Tug was playing minor league baseball in Jacksonville, Fla. Despite her pregnancy, Tug followed his dreams of becoming a baseball star and Betty ended up married to a truck driver by the name of Horace Smith, settling down in Louisiana. In fact, Tim spent his early childhood believing that his name was actually Tim Smith. Though Betty and Horace’s relationship would end in a divorce, Tim has credited his stepdad with instilling in him an early love and appreciation of country music. According to Tug’s memoir Ya Gotta Believe!, Tim only figured out that Horace wasn’t his father because he was snooping around his mother’s closet and came across his birth certificate. His real dad’s name had been scratched out on the document, but his occupation, baseball player, remained legible.

Thomas S. England/Getty Images

Betty confessed to her son that it was true and picked up the phone to tell Tug that he had a child who wanted to meet his biological father. Though Tug hesitantly agreed to meet the 11-year-old boy, he had no interest in being his father. He had since remarried and had a couple more kids. Though Betty would consistently push to bring the two of them together over the years, Tug wouldn’t acknowledge Tim as his son until he was a 17-year-old high school student.

At the time, Tim himself had become a talented athlete, but his mother’s limited finances made options for college difficult. Betty reached out to Tug to finally force him to step up after the MLB star announced his retirement. Not only did the state of Louisiana demand child support, but her lawyer negotiated additional funds to pay for a college education. Part of the deal was Tug finally wanted a paternity test to prove that this was actually his kid but he also wanted Tim to stop reaching out to him. Apparently, Tim agreed on the condition that he meet his dad in person one last time and after seeing the teenager, Tug had no doubt in his mind that he was looking at his child based on their physical resemblance. He decided a paternity test wasn’t necessary and the two decided to start their relationship fresh.

Tug felt so bad about all of his absent years that he helped Tim’s music career get started in Nashville. He passed along his son’s demo tape to a record executive he met at a team party for the Phillies and even purchased a tour van for his son and his band. Tim was able to land a record deal swiftly, meaning he didn’t need more financial support from his father.

The elder McGraw played Major League Baseball as a relief pitcher from 1965 to 1984. He won championship rings with the 1969 New York Mets and the 1980 Philadelphia Phillies. For the 1980 World Series, McGraw memorably threw the final pitch, striking out the Kansas City Royals’ Willie Wilson. In between those World Series wins, Tug won over fans in New York City and Philadelphia with his “Ya Gotta Believe” catchphrase and outgoing personality.

Bettmann / Contributor

Despite their rocky beginning, the McGraws eventually became close and remained so until Tug passed away following a bout with brain cancer. In 2003, Tim honored his father by starting the Tug McGraw Foundation, which helps enhance the quality of life for children and adults with “neurological brain conditions such as brain tumors, traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder.”

During the 2008 World Series, the Phillies’ first appearance in the Fall Classic since ’80, Tim threw out the first pitch in game three. Beforehand, he scattered some of his dad’s ashes on the pitcher’s mound. The Phillies ultimately ended their postseason run by defeating the Tampa Bay Rays for the franchise’s second world championship.

In 2020, Tim McGraw celebrated what would’ve been his father’s 76th birthday with a moving video paired with “Live Like You Were Dying.” The country star’s brief social media tribute to his dad’s “nuttiness” included the hashtag Ya Gotta Believe, a reference to his dad’s catchphrase during his years pitching for the New York Mets.

Focus on Sport/Getty Images

Tug has since been inducted into the New York Mets Hall of Fame and Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame.