Former Stratford High football player and Pittsburgh Steeler Ed Bradley is picking the New England Patriots to win this year’s Super Bowl.
One might imagine that former Seattle Seahawk Ed Bradley is proud to see his former team back in the Super Bowl for a second straight season.
You would be mistaken.
Bradley, a standout player at Stratford High School in the 1960s and the first linebacker drafted by the Seattle-based NFL franchise, is supporting the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX this Sunday.
“I was born and raised in New England. I was in Seattle for one year,” said Bradley.
But if he really had his way, Bradley would sooner see the Pittsburgh Steelers in football’s biggest game. After all, that’s the team where he had most of his professional success. Bradley was a member of the Steelers for four seasons, the last two concluding in Super Bowl championships for a franchise that was once underwhelming and is now synonymous with success.
Bradley did not know much about Pittsburgh before being drafted by the Steelers in 1972. He learned quickly about the Steel City from several of his teammates at Wake Forest University who grew up in western Pennsylvania.
“I had plenty of contacts. I was very blessed to have been picked [by the Steelers] at that time,” he said.
Bradley’s time with the Steelers was certainly memorable, as he saw the “Immaculate Reception” by Franco Harris in 1972 and played on special teams and as a backup linebacker on Pittsburgh teams that won Super Bowls to end the 1974 and 1975 seasons.
While Bradley played quarterback and safety during his Stratford High years, he had always wanted to be a linebacker.
“When I came to Wake, they recruited me as an athlete. I said I’d prefer to play defense. After they saw me at the quarterback position, they agreed,” he said with a laugh.
While quarterbacks get most of the spotlight, Bradley loved the idea of stopping the offense from scoring from behind the line of scrimmage.
“First of all, you get to stand up on two feet, not in a two- or three-point stance. And then you get to seek and destroy,” he said.
Bradley was fascinated by the play of football legends like Ray Nitschke and Dick Butkus. “I would watch them whenever they were on TV and read magazine and newspaper [stories] about them. I was drawn to it. It fit my mind-set,” Bradley said. “I wouldn’t want to play any other position.”
As much as he loved his time with the Steelers, he knew his chances of being a starter weren’t great with Jack Hamm and Jack Lambert, future Pro Football Hall of Famers, on the same team. So Steelers management granted Bradley’s request to be made available in the 1976 NFL expansion draft. Lambert was claimed by the Seattle Seahawks and was a team captain in the squad’s inaugural season.
“I really enjoyed the experience in Seattle. We only won two games” that season, Bradley said. Though going from a two-time Super Bowl champion to an expansion team was quite a change.
“It was sort of like I went from the penthouse to the outhouse,” he said.
Bradley concluded his NFL career with the San Francisco 49ers, playing two seasons in the Bay Area before retiring after the 1978 season.
Bradley later went back to Wake Forest and called Demon Deacons games on the radio for several years. He also worked in the scrap metal and recycling business for 33 years before retiring in 2013. He now lives in Winston-Salem, N.C., not far from his collegiate alma mater.
Bradley certainly respects the Seahawks and how far they’ve come since their arrival in the NFL. He saluted their comeback victory nearly two weeks ago in the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers.
“They are an exciting football team. Obviously, they’ve drafted well and they have a good pool of talent. They’re exciting to watch,” he said.
Still, Bradley’s sticking with his New England roots as well as admiring what Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and quarterback Tom Brady have done in being a contender for so many years.
“I respect Seattle and what they’ve done and I like [head coach] Pete Carroll and [quarterback] Russell Wilson, but Belichick and Brady and the New England organization … they’ve been such a stellar franchise for all these years,” he said.
Bradley is also remaining loyal to the American Football Conference, the same conference of his beloved Steelers. Having played most of his career in the AFC, Bradley likes it when teams from that conference win the Super Bowl — except for the Oakland Raiders.
editor@stratfordstar.com