John vs Jim

[Mr. Scot]

Stories about the Harbaugh brothers quoted in Peter King's MMQB column (link)

From Judy Battista, New York Times

The brothers said they had not fought since they were about 25, but they used to fight so vigorously that their mother cried as she begged them to stop. "He's an incredibly competitive person," John Harbaugh said of his brother. "He will fight you for anything. That's what made him a great player. What makes him the man he is. The gym teacher in fourth grade said he was too competitive, and he needs to ease off. My dad said 'No, he doesn't need to ease off.' "

Last year, John Harbaugh told an associate that the brothers had vacationed together recently. They were goofing off in the water and their horseplay -- as it has since they were schoolboys -- got a little heated. Jim Harbaugh held his brother under the water, the Ravens' public relations chief Kevin Byrne said, until bubbles started coming out of his nose. Then he finally let go of him.

From Steve Serby, New York Post

John, 50, is 15 months older and several inches shorter than Jim. John is considered the more cerebral of the two, Jim considered the more maniacal and animated on the sideline. But they are clearly cut from the same cloth. They grew up in a modest three-bedroom home in Ann Arbor, Mich., and shared a room until John left for college. Jim didn't have many friends growing up, and he wondered why. "He was one of the world's greatest daydreamers," Jack Harbaugh, their father, once said of Jim. "He'd spend hours throwing a tennis ball against the back wall of the grocery store. When he got home we'd say, 'Where have you been?' and he'd say, 'Doubleheader against the Cleveland Indians. I pitched both ends. We won 'em both.' "

From Mark Emmons and Daniel Brown, San Jose Mercury News

The brothers played one season together at Pioneer High in Ann Arbor. "They could have a love-hate thing going," teammate Greg Yarrington said. "There were days on the field when they hated each other. But after practice they would be brothers again." John was supposed to be the quarterback his senior year -- until the coaches got a good look at sophomore Jim. "John was so gracious about it," said Yarrington, now a health care company vice president. "I remember the rest of the team wasn't receptive because let's just say Jim had a heightened sense of self-confidence. But John rationalized it and made sure the rest of us were OK with it, too."

[Montsta]

I loved the part about the tennis ball against the wall. That was me as a kid to a T. I'd play entire friggin seasons of baseball by myself with my pitchback machine.

[Mr. Scot]

I could see Jim getting pissed enough to hold someone under water.

That image is no stretch at all.

[Riverboat Ron]

I immediately thought of this.