Charles Idus Bradshaw (December 31, 1923 – June 3, 1999) was an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a Public University, public Land-grant University, land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentu ...

from 1962 to 1968 and at

Troy State University Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. Troy University is accredi ...

, now

Troy University Troy University is a public university in Troy, Alabama. It was founded in 1887 as Troy State Normal School within the Alabama State University System, and is now the flagship university of the Troy University System. Troy University is accredi ...

, from 1976 to 1982, compiling a career

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

record of 66–68–6.

Coaching career

Bradshaw was an assistant coach at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and la ...

under Bear Bryant and was on the staff that won the 1961 national championship. At Kentucky Bradshaw inherited a program that had won a championship in 1950 under

Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...

and had been moderately well-regarded under

Blanton Collier Blanton Long Collier (July 2, 1906 – March 22, 1983) was an American football head coach who coached at the University of Kentucky between 1954 and 1961 and for the Cleveland Browns in the National Football League (NFL) between 1963 and 1970. H ...

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 Auburn may refer to: Places Australia * Auburn, New South Wales * City of Auburn, the local government area *Electoral district of Auburn *Auburn, Queensland, a locality in the Western Downs Region *Auburn, South Australia *Auburn, Tasmania *Aub ...

, 20–0, for a 3–0 start, but the squad finished 5–5 after defeating

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

in its final game. Bradshaw's 1965 team defeated #10

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, 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 Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, which capped the season with a

Sugar Bowl The Sugar Bowl is an annual American college football bowl game played in New Orleans, Louisiana. Played annually since January 1, 1935, it is tied with the Orange Bowl and Sun Bowl as the second-oldest bowl games in the country, surpassed onl ...

victory and #6 national ranking in the final AP Poll, an upset of another bowl-bound team from Ole Miss, and another win over Georgia. The 1965 team was then set back when star quarterback

Rick Norton Richard Eugene Norton (November 16, 1943 – July 25, 2013) from Louisville, Kentucky was an American collegiate and professional football quarterback who played college football at the University of Kentucky and professionally with the Ameri ...

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 The Gator Bowl is an annual college football bowl game held in Jacksonville, Florida, operated by Gator Bowl Sports. It has been held continuously since 1946, making it the sixth oldest college bowl, as well as the first one ever televised natio ...

and earning a #9 national ranking in the final AP Poll. The 1968 Kentucky team also defeated a ranked

Oregon State Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...

team. Tackle

Herschel Turner Herschel Turner (born June 17, 1942) is a former American football tackle and guard. He played college ball at Kentucky and was named a first team All-American in 1963. Turner was also named first-team All-Southeastern Conference as a senior ...

, tackle

Sam Ball Sam Ball (born June 1, 1944) is a former American football offensive lineman who played in the National Football League (NFL) from 1966 through 1970. During that span he appeared in Super Bowl III and Super Bowl V for the Baltimore Colts. He ...

, halfback

Rodger Bird Rodger Paul Bird (July 2, 1943 – May 16, 2020) was an American professional American football, football player for the Oakland Raiders of the American Football League (AFL). He was with the Raiders from 1966 through 1968 and played defensive b ...

, and quarterback Rick Norton were named first-team

All Americans The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed upon an amateur sports person from the United States who is considered to be one of the best amateurs in their sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an All-Am ...

under Bradshaw at Kentucky. Bradshaw was the coach in 1962 of the infamous

Thin Thirty The 1962 Kentucky Wildcats football team represented the University of Kentucky in the Southeastern Conference during the 1962 NCAA University Division football season. Coached by Charlie Bradshaw, a Bear Bryant disciple, the team was thinned b ...

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 ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence twic ...

'' and in a book published in August 2007, ''The Thin Thirty'', by Shannon Ragland. Bradshaw also helped recruit

Nate Northington Nathaniel "Nate" Northington (born 1947) was the first African-American to play college football in the Southeastern Conference (SEC). He became the first black scholarship athlete to play in an athletic contest of any kind in the SEC when his Un ...

, who became the first scholarship

African-American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American ...

athlete to play in an SEC game when Kentucky faced Ole Miss on September 30, 1967. Bradshaw was the last Kentucky coach to defeat a #1 ranked team until

Rich Brooks Richard Llewellyn Brooks (born August 20, 1941) is a retired American football player and coach. He was the head coach at the University of OregonMcCann, Michael C. (1995). Oregon Ducks Football: 100 Years of Glory. Eugene, Oregon: McCann Communic ...

led the Wildcats to a victory over #1 ranked

LSU Louisiana State University (officially Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College, commonly referred to as LSU) is a public land-grant research university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The university was founded in 1860 near ...

in 2007. He was also the last Kentucky head coach to defeat the

University of Tennessee The University of Tennessee (officially The University of Tennessee, Knoxville; or UT Knoxville; UTK; or UT) is a public land-grant research university in Knoxville, Tennessee. Founded in 1794, two years before Tennessee became the 16th state, ...

twice in Knoxville, and the last Kentucky coach to post two wins against

Auburn University Auburn University (AU or Auburn) is a public land-grant research university in Auburn, Alabama. With more than 24,600 undergraduate students and a total enrollment of more than 30,000 with 1,330 faculty members, Auburn is the second largest uni ...

Head coaching record

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bradshaw, Charlie 1923 births 1999 deaths Alabama Crimson Tide football coaches Kentucky Wildcats football coaches Kentucky Wildcats football players Texas A&M Aggies football coaches Troy Trojans football coaches Vanderbilt Commodores football coaches United States Marine Corps personnel of World War II United States Marines People from Clio, Alabama Players of American football from Montgomery, Alabama