Charlie Bradshaw (American football coach)

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For the American football player of the same name, see Charlie Bradshaw (offensive tackle).
Charlie Bradshaw
Charlie-Bradshaw-1960.jpg
Biographical details
Born(1923-12-31)December 31, 1923
DiedJune 3, 1999(1999-06-03) (aged 75)
Montgomery, Alabama
Playing career
1946–1949Kentucky
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1954–1958Kentucky (assistant)
1959–1961Alabama (assistant)
1962–1968Kentucky
1970Texas A&M (assistant)
1971Vanderbilt (assistant)
1976–1982Troy State
Head coaching record
Overall66–68–6
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
1 GSC (1976)
Awards
GSC Coach of The Year (1976)

Charlie Bradshaw (December 31, 1923 – June 3, 1999) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach the University of Kentucky from 1962 to 1968 and at Troy State University, now Troy University, from 1976 to 1982, compiling a career college football record of 66–68–6.

Coaching career[]

Bradshaw was an assistant coach at the University of Alabama under Bear Bryant and was on the staff that won the 1961 national championship.[1]

At Kentucky Bradshaw inherited a program that had won a championship in 1950 under Bear Bryant and had been moderately well-regarded under Blanton Collier but posted a record of 25–41–4 (.386) in its previous seven seasons. Bradshaw's 1964 team was ranked #5 in the AP Poll after defeating #1 ranked Ole Miss on the road, 27–21, and beating Auburn, 20–0, for a 3–0 start, but the squad finished 5–5 after defeating the Tennessee in its final game. Bradshaw's 1965 team defeated #10 Georgia, 28–10, and appeared bound for a bowl game, being ranked in the AP top ten for four weeks in September and November of that season. Bradshaw's wins in 1965 included games at Missouri, which capped the season with a Sugar Bowl victory and #6 national ranking in the final AP Poll, an upset of another bowl-bound team from Ole Miss, and another win over the Georgia. The 1965 team was then set back when star quarterback Rick Norton suffered a broken leg. The Wildcats finished 6–4 and out of bowl contention. The remainder of Bradshaw's tenure at Kentucky was disappointing, although his final team did defeat a Missouri team that ended up winning the Gator Bowl and earning a #9 national ranking in the final AP Poll. The 1968 Kentucky team also defeated a ranked Oregon State team. Tackle Herschel Turner, tackle Sam Ball, halfback Rodger Bird, and quarterback Rick Norton were named first-team All Americans under Bradshaw at Kentucky.

Bradshaw was the coach in 1962 of the infamous Thin Thirty at Kentucky, the team going from 88 players when Bradshaw arrived in January of that year to just 30 by the end of the year. That season was profiled in Sports Illustrated and in a book published in August 2007, The Thin Thirty, by Shannon Ragland.

Bradshaw also helped recruit Nate Northington, who would become the first scholarship African-American athlete to play in an SEC game when Kentucky faced Ole Miss on September 30, 1967.[2]

Bradshaw was the last Kentucky coach to defeat a #1 ranked team until Rich Brooks led the Wildcats to a victory over #1 ranked LSU in 2007. He was also the last Kentucky head coach to defeat the University of Tennessee twice in Knoxville, and the last Kentucky coach to post two wins against Auburn University.

Head coaching record[]

Year Team Overall Conference Standing Bowl/playoffs
Kentucky Wildcats (Southeastern Conference) (1962–1968)
1962 Kentucky 3–5–2 2–3–1 T–7th
1963 Kentucky 3–6–1 0–5–1 11th
1964 Kentucky 5–5 4–2 T–2nd
1965 Kentucky 6–4 3–3 T–6th
1966 Kentucky 3–6–1 2–4 7th
1967 Kentucky 2–8 1–6 8th
1968 Kentucky 3–7 0–7 10th
Kentucky: 25–41–4 12–30–2
Troy State Trojans (Gulf South Conference) (1976–1982)
1976 Troy State 8–1–1 7–1 1st
1977 Troy State 6–4 6–2 T–2nd
1978 Troy State 8–2 5–2 T–3rd
1979 Troy State 6–3–1 4–1–1 2nd
1980 Troy State 8–2 4–2 3rd
1981 Troy State 3–7 1–5 6th
1982 Troy State 2–8 2–5 7th
Troy State: 41–27–2 29–18–1
Total: 66–68–6
      National championship         Conference title         Conference division title or championship game berth

References[]

  1. ^ InfoPlease page on Bradshaw
  2. ^ Kindred, Dave. "The Forgotten Trailblazer". Sports on Earth. Archived from the original on 2018-01-28. Retrieved 2017-09-20.

External links[]

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