There's a new book out about the life of Bill Bradley, one of the top athletes of the 1960s.
Let's stop right there. It's not that Bill Bradley, the one you are thinking about unless you are from Texas or Philadelphia. That better-known Bill Bradley was one of the great college basketball players of all time, had a successful career in the pros with the New York Knicks, and went on to become a Senator from New Jersey.
This Bill Bradley, the one in "Blue-Eyed Soul Brother," has a much different story to tell. It may not be as noteworthy as his namesake's tale, but it's still interesting to learn about it.
Some explanation needs to be told. Bradley came out of tiny Palestine, Texas, as something of an athletic legend. He wasn't Bo Jackson-level legendary, but he was mighty good. Even though he wasn't too big and strong, there wasn't anything that he couldn't do athletically.
Naturally, his first publicity came from football, because that what young boys play first in the state of Texas. It's the home of "Friday Night Lights," where schools spent more month on athletic tape in a year than textbooks. Bradley did everything in high school, serving as a brilliant quarterback - a ambidextrous athlete who could run, throw, punt, return kicks, and so on. Along the way Bradley picked up the nickname of "Super Bill," although with all modesty he said he liked his other nickname, "Stupid Bill," a lot more.
By the way, if Bradley had put his mind to it, he could have been a pro baseball player - at least according to accounts here. It's tough to say if he could have been a major leaguer, but he might have had the chance to get that far.
But this being Texas, Bradley headed to the University of Texas in 1965, and was a prized recruit of the legendary football coach Darryl Royal. Things went according to form for a few years there, as Bradley took over the starting quarterback job. He was on the cover of Sports Illustrated in 1967. But then as a senior, the Longhorns got off to a slow start, and Royal decided to install the Wishbone offense. Bradley lost his starting job at that point, in part because a knee injury cost him some quickness. Bill mostly watched for a few weeks until Texas decided to try him in the secondary. Naturally, Bradley was quite good at that position, even without playing it for years.
The Philadelphia Eagles somehow noticed Bradley's work on defense, and drafted him in the third round in 1969. He was a reserve in the secondary and was the regular punter there for a couple of years. Then Bradley got a chance as a starter in 1971, and all he did was lead the league in interceptions. For good measure, he led the league again in picks in 1972 - the first time anyone had done that. Bradley stayed with the Eagles through 1976, playing with some really bad teams but mostly having a good time on and off the field. The kid from small-town Texas learned how to party Philadelphia style rather quickly, but he always maintained his knack for being popular with his teammates.
If you are wondering, the title comes from a nickname given to Bradley by Jerry LeVias, an African American football standout of the era who noticed how well Bradley interacted with him and other Blacks of the time. Bradley also was popular with the media, someone known for his candor.
Author William Kashatus has plenty of fun writing about such a free spirit. Bradley was quite open about his exploits over the years, and some of the stories are quite entertaining. The frustration of being a good player on a bad team also comes across here. It's fair to say that Kashatus obviously is quite fond of Bradley, and so this is told in a way that makes the former star look good.
Most people who might have remembered Bradley from his college days might have not kept up with him since then. After some time in private business, he became an assistant coach in pro football. I had forgotten that he had a stay in Buffalo as an assistant under Wade Phillips. In more recent times, Bradley has had some difficulties, including a family tragedy and some lingering issues probably causes by numerous concussions in his football days.
Someone once said that Dwayne "Pearl" Washington went from legend to superstar to star to mediocrity, instead of the other way around. Bradley sort of did that with a longer and better second act during his days with the Eagles. "Blue-Eyed Soul Brother" shows that there's no guarantee of ultimate success for high school phenoms, and those who remember the name first-hand will enjoy the details of this look back.
Three stars
Learn more about this book from Amazon.com, (As an Amazon affiliate, I earn money from qualified purchases.)
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