To read Larry Carlson’s interview with Bill Bradley visit

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 Bill Bradley helped build the Longhorn Brand by

“Intercepting Tough Times and Triumphing”

by Larry Carlson

Talk to Bradley for a few minutes, and the chat will go for an hour as he laughs and tells stories about a panorama of football and life experiences. Bradley has had a life filled with football and fun, punctuated by his obvious joy for life. Relaxing on the front porch of his home near the Guadalupe River just north of San Antonio, Bradley chuckles about buddies such as Earl Campbell ("I love Earl. He knows every word to every country song. But he can't carry a tune in a bucket."), his one-time coach and longtime friend, the immortal Bobby Layne ("Bobby hated to lose at anything. He would almost want to commit suicide if he lost at anything.") and Darrell Royal, who once drove his golf cart away from a friendly foursome because he saw a golfer kicking his golf ball from the rough into a better position. "Back at the clubhouse, he told me he had been disgusted by seeing the "fudging" going on at the links...he said 'If you cheat at golf, you'll cheat at life," Bradley recalls, then shifts from that heartfelt, memorable DKR maxim on to another funny one.

William Calvin Bradley arrived at the Forty Acres in 1965 from the East Texas piney woods town of Palestine as the most publicized, highly touted player yet for Darrell Royal, who was coming off a spectacular four-year stretch of 40-3-1 that produced a national championship and flirted seriously with three more titles.

Bradley, following heroics in a high school all-star game, was dubbed "Super Bill" by a football immortal and 1940's Heisman Trophy winner (see the Q&A below) for his wide-ranging talents on the field. Seemingly able to do it all, he became DKR's first soph QB to earn the starting job and was a left-footed punter extraordinaire. A knee injury in only his third game slowed Bradley and his team's upward trajectory, but the one-two punch of Super Bill and RB Chris Gilbert highlighted a convincing 19-0 victory over Ole Miss in the Bluebonnet Bowl to close the '66 season on a four-game win streak and trigger great optimism. Bumper stickers proclaiming "1967: The Year of the Horns" bloomed like bluebonnets across the Greatest State the following spring.

But two losses to start the fall crushed high hopes and brought increasing criticism to UT's still young quarterback. Then Texas regrouped and reeled off six straight wins to re-fuel aspirations for a Southwest Conference title. But mid-November brought a stunning loss to a 2-5 TCU squad. What followed was an even bigger blow. Texas A&M defenders intercepted four of Bradley's passes on Thanksgiving, enabling the Ags to win 10-7 and take their first conference crown since the Bear Bryant days. Texas, stuck at 6-4 for the third straight regular season, wasn't even going bowling.

Come late summer 1968, more than a dozen UT squadmen had left the team in the wake of even tougher practices and discipline from Royal's staff. The toughest Horns were galvanized, though, and there was exciting news of assistant coach Emory Bellard's innovative formation for Bradley to command an attack featuring not just the quick, slippery Gilbert but also big, fast Ted Koy and a star-in-waiting, soph FB Steve Worster.

But devastating deja vu struck in September. Opening at home, Texas had to fight hard for a humbling tie with Houston, then lost to Texas Tech for the second straight year. Dating back to November, the Steers were winless in four games. The new offense was sputtering, and so, too, was Bradley, replaced late in Lubbock by a backup junior named James Street.

Bradley's leadership qualities and pride in his status as a captain, a title voted on by his teammates, came through in humorous, self-deprecating style in the Horns' first practice since the demotion. Lining up as a novice backup receiver, Bradley loosened the drawstrings on his sweatpants. Midway through his route, the erstwhile QB was stumbling over dropped pants, baring a full moon for his teammates. The practice field erupted with laughter, and the nervous tension was instantly dispelled. It was time to focus on Saturday night's non-conference bout with Oklahoma State.

"Super Bill" was no longer QB1, but he was still a team leader and a standout punter. When a wide-open Bradley caught a short Street pass for a touchdown in his first game away from starting duties, he gleefully jumped in the air. Texas won, 31-3, and a winning string that would stretch to thirty was born.

But the real "feel good" story for number 18 wasn't in the works until the season's sixth game when the UT coaches wisely began utilizing Bradley in the secondary, where he had also starred back at Palestine. Overall, Texas was humming now, and Bill was adapting quickly, making a comfortable new home on defense.

Late November meant turkey, dressing, and the Aggies' invasion of Congress Avenue and Memorial Stadium. Texas was 7-1-1, needing a win against their arch-rivals to secure a SWC title and a Cotton Bowl spot. If there was any doubt at all about Bill Bradley's resiliency and renewed confidence, consider this: When Bradley and fellow captains Chris Gilbert and Corby Robertson shook hands with the Aggie leaders at midfield and awaited the coin flip, A&M QB Edd Hargett, the previous year's All-SWC QB, had thrown 171 consecutive passes without an interception. When the coin landed in UT's favor, and the ref asked for the burnt orange team's preference to start the contest, Bradley answered bluntly, "We don't give a sh#t."

One can only imagine the reaction of Hargett and the other captains of the defending SWC champs, now back in more familiar territory in the standings with a 3-6 record. Bradley laughs as he recounts the story, noting that one of the Aggie captains, linebacker Billy Hobbs, would become a teammate and friend in the NFL. Bradley was confident enough to really not care who would kick and who would receive, "But I finally told the ref, 'We'll take the ball.'"

There's an old saying that it ain't bragging if you can back it up. Not long after the opening whistle, right defensive halfback (as his position was then called) Bill Bradley grabbed a tipped pass for an interception that led to an early 14-0 lead. Then he stole another Hargett pass. Then another. His thievery was providing shorter fields for a dominant UT offense to navigate.

Super Bill would grab one more interception before he and the other starters took an early bow before the capacity crowd. Texas led 35-0 at halftime.

The guy who had been victimized by four errant passes the previous Turkey Day had returned the favor in his final appearance at Memorial Stadium. Call it Redemption Deluxe. Revenge served cold. Was Billy Shakespeare writing this stuff?

That defensive debut was mere foreshadowing. Bradley became the first player (in 1971 and 1972) to lead the NFL in interceptions in back-to-back seasons. He earned All-Pro honors at safety for three consecutive seasons. No Eagle has broken his season and career records for interceptions and interception return yards. And Bradley, sometimes called "The Mayor of South Philly," for his hard-nosed pigskin excellence mixed well with Southern boy friendliness and a fondness for the nightlife, owned South Street the way "Broadway Joe" Namath ruled Manhattan. When the offseason came, Bradley would stay in his adopted city and, eager to dust off his considerable baseball skills, hang out at "The Vet" and shagged flies and grounders with Phillies' stars Mike Schmidt, Pete Rose, and Greg Luzinski. And for an eligible bachelor, the allure of the famed Phillies usherettes was obvious.

When it was time to hang up his cleats, Bradley kept the fun coming. He bought and operated a feedstore-turned-gas-station back in East Texas, "giving away" Coors beer -- in a "dry" area where his gas station was located, but "accepted tips" for the much-in-demand service. As an NFL ambassador, the still-young football retiree hosted more than thirty Norwegian Cruise Line trips, entertaining adoring fans and tourists, inventing competitive games onboard the ship.

Ol' Super Bill stayed on the versatility track when he tried coaching and mastered another facet of football. He would be teaching professional and college players for more than three decades, from Austin and Waco to Buffalo and San Diego and into Canada, earning two rings for coaching Grey Cup Championship teams. The superb athlete who did not get a wishbone win as a quarterback has been elected to these august groups: The University of Texas Hall of Honor, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, the Philadelphia Eagles Hall of Fame, the Texas High School Football Hall of Fame, the Palestine High School Hall of Fame and the Texas UIL's Top 100 Players All-Time list.

Today, Bill Bradley, 74, and his wife live contentedly in the Hill Country, not all that far from Austin and the storied stadium he triumphantly exited fifty-three seasons ago. He agreed to the following interview with Texas Legacy Support Network.

To read Bill’s interview go to https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/bill-bradley-by-larry-carlson