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Tim McGraw's birthday tribute to late father Tug leaves fans in awe

The 1883 star is himself a dad of three

tim mcgraw dad birthday
Ahad Sanwari
Ahad Sanwari - New York
Senior WriterNew York
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Tim McGraw is quite the family man and often shares tributes to his loved ones on social media, whether it's his wife Faith Hill, his three daughters, or his mom Betty.

MORE: Tim McGraw's difficult childhood and relationship with parents

However, the country star's latest photograph gave a glimpse into his relationship with a rarely-seen family member, that being his late father, Tug McGraw.

VIDEO: Faith Hill and Tim McGraw share story about meeting daughter's boyfriend

He paid tribute to his professional baseball player father on his birthday with a throwback photograph that showcased a handsome Tug wearing what looked like a scuba suit.

Cutting a rather dapper frame, the image of Tug leaning against a car caused quite the stir among Tim's followers.

MORE: Tim McGraw and Faith Hill's mega-mansion is 10x bigger than average US home

"Happy birthday Tugger!! Today would have been my Dad's 78th birthday!" he captioned his post to a barrage of birthday wishes from his fans as well.

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Tim shared a birthday tribute to his late father

"That is quite the suit! Happy birthday to Tug! 'Ya gotta believe'," one commented, with another saying: "Happy Heavenly Birthday Tug McGraw! Awesome photo! Tim, you sure are his twin!"

A third also added: "You look a lot like him!" with a fourth sharing: "I remember growing up watching Tugger on the Channel 6 news Sports. Good memories."

MORE: Audrey McGraw shares heartwarming glimpse into relationship with dad Tim

MORE: Tim McGraw celebrates incredible 1883 news that sparks reaction

"I think a lot of people don't realize I didn't grow up with Tug," Tim told Today in 2019. "I didn't know Tug was my dad. I found my birth certificate when I was 11 years old.

"We didn't have a whole lot, and I was in my mom's closet, I was digging through something and found my birth certificate. It said McGraw. My name was Smith as a kid because my stepdad's name was Horace Smith."

tim mcgraw father© Photo: Getty Images

The country star developed a late relationship with his father

A young Tim initially tried to establish a relationship with his father, but Tug denied parentage until his son was 18 years old. It was at that point that the two steadily built a relationship, eventually becoming close till Tug's death from lung cancer in 2004.

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