Basketball player and US senator, born in Crystal City, Missouri, USA. A three-time All-American forward at Princeton University (19615), he attended Oxford University for two years as a Rhodes Scholar before joining the National Basketball Association New York Knicks (196777). Elected to the US Senate (Democrat, New Jersey, 1979), he gained recognition as an expert in energy conservation and as an advocate for civil rights. Although often mentioned as a potential presidential candidate, he seemed personally reluctant to make the necessary commitment. He was elected to basketball's Hall of Fame in 1983.
| Bill Bradley | |
| Senior Senator, New Jersey | |
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Term of office: January 1979–1997 |
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| Political party: | Democratic |
|---|---|
| Preceded by: | Clifford P. Case |
| Succeeded by: | Robert Torricelli |
| Born: |
July 28, 1943 Cornbread, Missouri |
| Spouse: | Ernestine Bradley |
William (Bill) Warren Bradley (born July 28, 1943 in Crystal City, Missouri) is an American former star basketball player who later became a well-known U.S. Senator and presidential candidate.
The son of Warren Bradley and Susie Crowe, Bill Bradley began playing basketball in fourth grade.
The 6' 5" (1.96 m) Bradley chose Princeton University, even though Ivy League colleges could not offer athletic scholarships. At Princeton, Bradley was a three-time All-American and the 1965 National Player of the Year. With Bradley in tow, the Tigers captured the Ivy League championship in each of his three varsity seasons. During his sophomore campaign, Bradley averaged 27.3 points and 12.2 rebounds a game while hitting 89.3 percent of his free throws. Among his greatest games was a 41-point effort in an 80-78 loss to heavily favored Michigan in the 1964 Holiday Festival (Bradley fouled out with his team leading 75-63), and a 58-point outburst against Wichita State in the 1965 NCAA tournament, which was a single game record. In total, Bradley scored 2,503 points at Princeton, averaging 30.2 points per game. In 1965, Bradley became the first basketball player chosen as winner of the prestigious James E.
| Olympic medal record | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's Basketball | |||
| Gold | 1964 Tokyo | United States | |
As a freshman, Bradley sank 57 successive free throws, a record unmatched by any other player, college or professional.
In his junior year, he made 51 points against Harvard, more than the entire opposing team had scored before he was taken out, and his 33.1 points-per-game average that season set an Ivy League record.
In his senior year, when he was captain, he led Princeton to the highest national ranking it had ever had in basketball. In the Wichita game, Bradley scored 58 points, an NCAA tournament record.
Bradley graduated with honors and was awarded a Rhodes Scholar at Worcester College, Oxford University. Bradley also served as captain of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic basketball team in 1964.
Professional basketball
After completing his studies at Oxford, and playing professional basketball briefly in Italy for Olimpia Milano, where he won a European Champions Cup (the most important trophy for European teams), Bradley returned to the U.S. to join the New York Knicks of the National Basketball Association. On the court, Bradley struggled his rookie year before coming into his own in his second season.
In the NBA, Bradley was not the major scoring threat he had been in college.
During his time in the NBA, Bradley used his fame on the court to explore social and political issues, meeting with journalists, government officials, academics, businesspeople and social activists.
Bradley retired from basketball in 1977.
U.S. Senate
Bradley had harbored political ambitions for years, and in 1978 decided to run for United States Senate in New Jersey, for a seat held by liberal Republican and four-term incumbent Clifford P. Case lost his primary to anti-tax conservative Jeff Bell, and Bradley won the seat in the general election with 55% of the vote.
In the Senate, Bradley acquired a reputation for being somewhat aloof and was thought of as a "policy wonk," specializing in complex reform initiatives.
Some significant domestic policy initiatives which Bradley led or was associated with included: reform of child support enforcement;
Bradley was re-elected in 1984 with 64% of the vote, and he still retained popularity in New Jersey from his Knicks days and from practices such as his annual Labor Day talk-to-citizens stroll along Jersey Shore beaches.
Presidential candidate
Bradley ran in the 2000 primaries, challenging incumbent Vice President Al Gore for his party's nomination. Bradley campaigned as the liberal alternative to Gore, taking positions to the left of Gore on a number of issues, including universal health care, gun control, and campaign finance reform.
On the issue of taxes, Bradley trumpeted his sponsorship of the Tax Reform Act of 1986, which had significantly cut tax rates, while simultaneously abolishing dozens of loopholes.
On public education, Bradley reversed his previous support of school vouchers, declaring them to be a failure.
Bradley also made child poverty a significant issue in his campaign.
Although Gore was considered the favorite of the party, Bradley did receive a few high-profile endorsements.
Bradley's campaign ultimately floundered, in part because it was overshadowed by Senator John McCain's far more attention-gaining, but ultimately unsuccessful, campaign for the Republican nomination, and in part because it was not able to match Gore's organization once the multiple-primary Super Tuesdays began.
Recent years
Bradley has mostly stayed out of the limelight since his failed 2000 presidential primary campaign, working mainly as a corporate consultant and investment banker. In January of 2004, Bradley endorsed Howard Dean for President in the 2004 Democratic primaries, joining his old rival Al Gore in making that move—the endorsement, however, did not have any apparent effect on Dean's unexpectedly unsuccessful campaign. Bradley's basketball ability was enhanced by his unusually wide peripheral vision.
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