Morris Bradshaw of the Oakland Raiders
Q: Who were some of your favorite teammates?
Morris Bradshaw: I would probably have to start with the guys I was drafted with in 1974. Henry Lawrence was our first round draft pick and I ended up rooming with Henry whose nickname was “Killer.” Dave Casper and Mark van Eeghen, I ended up becoming fairly good friends with all of them. As I got more entrenched on the team I ended up becoming friends with guys like Clarence Davis, Jack Tatum, Cliff Branch, Willie Brown and Fred Biletnikoff. These were guys, as far as your teammates were concerned, that I ended up having very good relationships with.
Q: Do you still keep in touch with any of your teammates?
Morris Bradshaw: Because of what I do here with the Raiders now, I stay in touch with all of them. Some more so than others because of geography and things of that nature. Mark van Eeghen lives in Rhode Island but our families were pretty close with our kids growing up, they are all adults now, but I try to talk to Mark at least once or twice a year. Henry Lawrence is the same way, living in Florida. I see Cliff Branch on a fairly regular basis. Freddy and Willie still work here so I see them on a very regular basis. Dave Casper is now living in the Bay Area so I’m going to start seeing him on a more regular basis.
Q: Are there any former teammates of yours that you feel should be in the Hall of Fame?
Morris Bradshaw: I think the most obvious choice there would probably be Ray Guy. Ray’s statistics and the way that he came into the league were sort of unprecedented as a number one draft pick. The numbers that he was able to put up and his presence on the Raider teams after that really meant a lot to the success of the team. Other individuals I think John Madden and Tom Flores as coaches should get a nod in their own regards. Jim Plunkett I think should have a good shot, Kenny Stabler I know has been mentioned, Cliff Branch has been mentioned and Lester Hayes and Dave Casper. These guys are all, in my opinion, very deserving although I will have to say to that I’m not real familiar with the selection process that is in place to select people to the Hall of Fame.
Q: At Ohio State University you played under Woody Hayes, can you describe that experience?
Morris Bradshaw: It is suffice to say for anyone out there that is listening or reads this probably what you’ve heard, and we could add some on to it, is probably true. The experience for me under Coach Hayes was very enlightening and the thing that I think that I took away from my years there at Ohio State under Coach Hayes, the one thing that I’ll mention is that I learned that it is possible to respect someone even though you may not agree with them.
Q: What were your thoughts after being drafted?
Morris Bradshaw: I recall being somewhat subdued by the whole affair. It was a very long day in that my career started out very good. We didn’t have freshman eligibility so I started as a sophomore and went down hill from there. I wasn’t even on the traveling squad my senior year so the thought process of actually having an opportunity to play in the NFL had really gone by the wayside. It wasn’t until right before the draft when the scouts came around that the interest was renewed where I thought I might have an opportunity and I had been most recently in contact with the Dallas Cowboys. So, my whole thought process was that I was going to be drafted by the Dallas Cowboys. They had told me that and I had no reason not to believe them. I did not get a call from the Raiders until around 7:00 or 7:30 maybe even as late as eight o’clock in the evening and after going through a whole day of just being disappointed because I didn’t hear from anyone I think that it just kind of hit and I just recall thinking where’s Oakland. I only knew of one individual who had played at Ohio State and was with the team. I will say that I started doing my research and reading and trying to find out some things about the team and found out that, wow, these guys are in the playoffs every year. It worked out pretty well.
Q: What was the most memorable game for you when you played for the Raiders?
Morris Bradshaw: Actually there were two. One is a game itself and the other was an experience. The most memorable game for me was a Monday night game against the Pittsburgh Steelers, in Pittsburgh in 1980. It was memorable in that I did catch a touchdown pass in that game, a nationally televised game. Our daughter Carla, I believe she was about 12 years old, had been hit by a car and had broken her leg. She had had surgery so my wife and other friends were actually in her hospital room watching the game on television. That made it kind of special that we had gone through that. And to this day I believe that game, not necessarily my play, was a springboard to a championship season. It really turned our year around. Another event that is very memorable to me, happened again in 1980, was at the Super Bowl. One of the goals that I had established for myself as a player was to be a starting wide receiver on a winning Super Bowl team. In 1979 I sustained a dislocated hip in the third game of the season and I missed the remaining part of the season. I had really become a starter that year. The next year, 1980, it was a struggle just to rehab and get back and I was fortunate enough to make the team but we traded for Bob Chandler in the off season and I kind of went back to being a third receiver and playing special teams. I believe it was the second day we were in New Orleans, I believe it was media day or something of that nature, walking out onto the field and just looking around and thinking I really hadn’t reached the goal yet but this wasn’t bad.
Q: Is there one play that you can remember from your career?
Morris Bradshaw: That 1980 season was memorable for a number of reasons but if I had to go back to one play it would be in 1975 in the Oakland Coliseum probably about half way through the season and we were playing the New Orleans Saints and I caught my first touchdown. I actually caught two that day so it was a pretty memorable day along those lines. I have a picture of it, it’s on my wall in my office at home and there was a feeling I think in looking at the picture of catching the ball, my whole body language was “got it”.
Q: Which team did you like playing against the most?
Morris Bradshaw: As a team I always enjoyed the rivalry with the Steelers. That always usually meant that we were playing for an AFC championship game or bragging rights as to who were the bad boys of the league. They were generally hard, physical games. I think individually as a player for me probably the team that I enjoyed playing against the most was the San Diego Chargers. As a player, as a starter and as a wide receiver that was the team that I really had an opportunity to contribute to the game. They played a lot of man-to-man which was a lot of fun.
Q: What was your favorite stadium to play in, other than home?
Morris Bradshaw: I learned to really hate playing on astro turf, that is what I was injured on, it was just a very unnatural surface to play on. I’m going to say that San Diego probably, Cliff Branch will like this, San Diego because we had both run track in college and San Diego’s filed was short grass and it was a fast field and the whether was generally good.
Q: Can you describe what it is like to win the Super Bowl?
Morris Bradshaw: I had the opportunity to play on two winning Super Bowl teams I contributed more as a special teams performer and didn’t really have an opportunity to make any stats, but I think for me it is the ultimate. It is the culmination of a lot of hard work, a little bit of luck and a group of guys that basically come into their own and really perform at a level that I think you try to get to. The thing that I remember about the 1976 season and 1980 season at the end was not wanting the whole thing to end because you felt like you could beat anyone at that stage. I also felt that we were getting better with every play every week and to me that’s the ultimate feeling. Winning the game and the reality of it was almost anti-climatic because it was over. It is what you play for; the feeling that you are the best and it’s something that you’ve worked for is just such a gratifying experience.
Q: Can you compare today’s game to your playing experience?
Morris Bradshaw: I think in general the game has changed. I think it is truly more of a business now even from a players prospective than it was when I played. Free agency in its current form on the one hand is probably very good financially for players, but I think as far as the comradery the friendships that you have an opportunity to form, I just don’t know if the guys today are being exposed to the same opportunities that I had. A lot of the guys that I played with, I’d like to say, I still have a pretty good relationship with the majority of them. I would imagine that the players today experience that to some degree but I don’t believe that what I experience is at the same level. Not getting into how the game is actually played, you know players are faster, they’re bigger and they’re stronger, not getting into that that’s how I think the game has changed.
Q: What are your impressions of Raiders fans both past and present?
Morris Bradshaw: In my capacity with the Raiders today I come in contact with fans more than I ever did. They are a unique group, there is no other group of fans in my opinion, and I mean that in a very positive way, that have the passion and knowledge of the game that Raider fans do. I’m talking about true Raider fans, I’m not talking about people who come out and think that it’s a turf war and that promote violence in the stands and that kind of thing. I’m talking about people that actually come out and passionately get involved in supporting their team. They aren’t causing problems or getting arrested and they do their tailgating, our group is a very colorful and lively bunch.
Q: Can you describe what it was like playing for coach Madden?
Morris Bradshaw: It was absolutely fantastic. Coach Madden for me, coming from Ohio State and playing under Woody Hayes, these were to me tremendous as far as winning was concerned. Their approaches were totally different, coach Hayes was dealing with kids basically 17 and 18 year olds, John Madden on the other hand was dealing with men, young men. The college experience, for me anyway, where you didn’t have freshman eligibility you were looking at a three-year relationship. The NFL experience could actually go longer than that. Coach Madden was the head coach for my first five years in the league and during that time we went to the AFC Championship game four out of those five years and actually went to the Super Bowl once. As far as the success that we had on the field, it was a phenomenal experience. I was somewhat in awe of the whole experience when I got here, the names the Blandas, the Upshaws, the Shells, the Biletnikoffs, the Hall of Famers and here you are and the first thing that you do is ask do I deserve to be here. I enjoyed it immensely I thought John was an excellent coach and I’ve often said that I felt that one of his greatest attributes was his ability to communicate. He made you feel very comfortable and he got his message across in any way that he needed to.
Q: What does it mean to be a Raider?
Morris Bradshaw: It is a great experience; it’s almost like a family-type experience. The guys on the team, we all have these images from high school about the razzing that goes on with the rookies and things of that nature, they had fun with us but they never humiliated you. What I later learned was that their attitude was that you’re someone they were going to have to play with down the road. We had fun but it was a great group of guys and that is and experience I’m sure I’ll never forget.
Q: What do you currently do?
Morris Bradshaw: My title is Senior Administrator and I primarily work with corporate sponsorships and business development. That entails some public relations, marketing, sales and community relations. I have for the past 10 years or more worked with a lot of our boosters and the booster organizations.
credit goes to
http://www.raiders.com/history/whatever_bradshaw.jsp
Hope, faith, love, charity, compassion these are qualities that make a difference.
I Wish that my faith in the love that I have for my brothers and sisters of the world lends compassion to each that I meet and will spill over charity and a simple smile gives hope.
Gegi/2006
Friendship is built, even though miles keep apart
Spirits touch as if time has no barrier
Souls united once again as in time of old.
I cherish your friendship now as I have always through out time.
GegiCluck20070207
I come to your garden, where the butterflys live in harmony with your nature. It is your gracious spirit that draws them to your garden. Your true friendship allows them to multiply in to many. Thank you for sharing you gift with us.
GegiCluck20070204
**This is a tribute to my dear friend Mama who has a loving and giving spirit. I cherish her friendship
The secrets of untold adventures that come to me this night,
As I gaze upon the midnight sky, and watch a shooting star take its flight.
The moon is bright against the ebony sky, the stars how they sparkle , a beautiful enticing sight.
What a wondrous gift to behold this night, as I envision my adventures and my dreams take flight.
GegiCluck20070129
