Andrew Luck is a lot of things. If there is anything he isn’t it is an overnight success. Luck’s unique upbringing didn’t guarantee he’d be an NFL quarterback, but it would’ve contributed success to any field he applied himself to. It didn’t hurt that his dad played five seasons in the league.
Almost exactly 40 years before the Colts selected Andrew Luck with the first overall pick of the 2012 Draft, Oliver Luck was selected 44th overall by the Houston Oilers. For Oliver, however, the NFL was not where he was destined to make his mark. At least, not on the field, that is.
By the time the American public was more interested in Andrew than Oliver, the Luck family was complete. There are now six Lucks, with Andrew being the oldest of four children.
Here’s the scoop on the Luck family:
1. His Parents Are Lawyers
In today’s NFL, a player’s offseason consists of personal training sessions, offseason workouts, and perhaps an offseason nutrition program.
Oliver Luck went to law school.
By the time Luck left the NFL after five seasons, he was graduating law school in Texas. Luck had a second career right after football, and he went to work on other projects outside of football.
While attending law school at UT-Austin, Luck met fellow law student Kathy Wilson. Luck graduated in 1987, and in ’88 he and Wilson were married. Wilson also graduated law school, but also received a Master’s degree from UT-Austin. She went to work as a lawyer as well, but followed Oliver when an opportunity moved the Luck family abroad.
2. The Lucks Were Football Ambassadors
With one child born and more planned, Oliver Luck was presented with an interesting offer from his former employer. The NFL wanted to spread football across the Atlantic, and thought Oliver the perfect person to be the bridge. Oliver had spent time in Europe previously, learning German and serving a fellowship studying the European economy.
While in Europe, the Lucks expanded their family and their culture. The NFL in Europe was an experiment, and it was unclear how long the Lucks were going to be “stationed” there. The experiment ended up lasting ten years, and by the time NFL Europe folded, there were three more additions to the Luck family. Oliver and Kathy didn’t waste the opportunity, and exposed the Luck children to all the sights Europe has to offer. As a result, Andrew is a huge soccer fan, and travels to Europe in the offseason, if only to walk the streets unrecognized.
3. The Luck Children Weren’t Pushed Into Sports
While Oliver and Andrew would toss a football around Germany, Andrew was in no way groomed to be an NFL quarterback. In fact when Andrew eventually started playing, Oliver was in the stands, as opposed to being on the sidelines coaching him.
Oliver, who is the son of two chemists and received zero football guidance growing up, never pushed his kids into sports. As parents, the Lucks exposed their children to as much as possible and let them find their own passions. Andrew didn’t seriously pursue football until after the family had left Europe and moved to Houston.
While the majority of Luck children ended up being athletes anyway, one of them particularly avoids the spotlight. None of the Lucks have a real social media presence, but Emily, the youngest luck daughter, is nowhere to be found. Emily was slated to join her older sister on the Stanford Women’s Volleyball team, but she never made an appearance. She was a decent volleyball recruit out of Morgantown, but has not resurfaced since graduating in 2012.
4. Mary Ellen is the Eldest Daughter
While Andrew Luck was winning the Heisman during his junior year at Stanford, he still didn’t have his own car. Reporters were baffled when it was revealed he was sharing a 2008 Honda Accord with his sister, who was playing volleyball for the Cardinal. Besides being one-half of Team Accord, Mary Ellen made her own mark on Stanford University.
Mary Ellen was a defensive specialist for the Stanford Cardinal, appearing in just under 200 sets for her career. She appeared in the NCAA Women’s Volleyball tournament for all four of her seasons, and was a regular on the Pac-12 All-Academic team.
After graduating from Stanford as a Human Biology major, Mary Ellen began her work in the healthcare industry. She currently resides in the Bay Area, working as an Operations Associate for Collective Health.
5. The Most Talented Luck May be the Youngest
Addison Luck, the youngest of all the Luck children, may turn out to be the most talented of all. Addison was a highly touted soccer recruit out of West Virginia, and committed to play collegiate soccer at Yale.
Last season, Addison was named Gatorade Boy’s Soccer Player of the Year for West Virginia. As a junior, Addison finished his season with 18 goals and 5 assists, all while maintaining a 4.10 GPA.
He now has the weight of college decision off his shoulders as he completes his final year of high school. Oh, and he has to be accepted by Yale, a standard procedure for Ivy League Schools.
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Andrew Luck’s Family: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know