CityView Magazine

26 | July 2020 B ack in the day, they couldn't catch old Tommy Bradford. At least not until he had churned out chunks of yardage, all the while dragging linebackers and linemen with him down the field. He was strong, and he was tough. So much so that as the starting fullback on the Fayetteville High School football team, he was named to the Charlotte Observer's all-state team, capped off by being voted No. 1 in the state, and earning honorable mention All- America honors by Scholastic Magazine. e colleges came calling. North Carolina Bradford, 73, is the CEO of Bradford Builders. He grew up playing sports down on Lynn Avenue off Ramsey Street. "ings were different back then," he said. "at's all we had to do. We didn't have digital things. My uncle had a dairy farm where Reid Ross is now. e barn was on Tokay Drive, and we'd go milk the cows there." In between chores, they all were playing football, baseball and basketball, oen playing on teams coached by Tommy's older brother. J.D. Bradford would die of an aortic aneurysm at age 36, but not before helping his younger brother make the choice of baseball over football. FASCINATING FAYETTEV ILLE Tommy Bradford: A Player for All Seasons By Kim Hasty | Photography by Matthew Wonderly had just won the 1963 Gator Bowl, and Coach Jim Hickey wanted to add Bradford to his team. Bill Murray and his Duke Blue Devils, champions of the 1961 Cotton Bowl, were interested as well. Alabama, Michigan, Illinois, Clemson and Virginia all offered Bradford the chance to play college ball. Meanwhile, N.C. State already had offered Bradford the chance to continue his baseball career in Raleigh. He appreciated all those football offers, but he went with the Wolfpack and with his lone opportunity to continue in America's pastime. Baseball, Tommy figures, and sports in general, have been good to him. e four concussions Tommy Bradford incurred while playing football helped make the decision. "Back then, if you had a concussion, if they could give you the smelling salts and wake you up, you stayed on the field," Bradford said. "Now they take you to a tent and decide whether to take you to the hospital." Bradford said he had one memorable game in which he came running off the field with blood running down his face. "Where are you going?" Coach Buddy Luper asked him, before turning him around and sending him back into the game. "Truthfully, it was a different time," Bradford said. "Every time, I remember who they were and how hard they hit me. It just stuns you." Bradford suffered a concussion during practice for the 1964 Shrine Bowl and another in the game itself. When he received an invitation to play in the East-West All-Star football game, he declined, opting instead to play in the East-West All-Star baseball game.

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