University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Athletics

        Mr. Chuck Bradford came to Pitt-Johnstown in 1976 and helped lead a relatively young Mountain Cat basketball program to three consecutive winning seasons on his way to earning All-American honors as a junior and finishing his career as Pitt-Johnstown’s third all-time leading scorer and second all-time leading rebounder.
        As a freshman during the 1976-77 season, Mr. Bradford earned Pitt-Johnstown’s Freshman of the Year Award and helped guide the Mountain Cats to 17 victories, a program-record that stood for the next 20 years.
        The following year, his 242 rebounds led the team and helped Head Coach Jim Basista’s Mountain Cats post a 16-11 overall record.  Mr. Bradford, a native of Cleveland, Ohio, also earned spots on the Mercyhurst Invitational and Slippery Rock Christmas Invitational All-Tournament Teams.
        However, it was his junior season in 1978-79 when Mr. Bradford showed he was one of the top players in the nation.  He led the Mountain Cats in both scoring (364 points) and rebounding (176 rebounds), garnered the Mountain Cat Club Most Valuable Player Award, and was named a Street & Smith Official Basketball Yearbook All-American.
        Despite a down season for the team, Mr. Bradford continued to excel as a senior in 1979-80 with a team-leading 225 rebounds and his second straight Mountain Cat Club Award.  Mr. Bradford would join fellow Hall of Famers Don Elzer (1973-77) and Rich Ragan (1974-78) as the program’s first three 1,000-point scorers and was presented with Pitt-Johnstown’s Black Action Society Achievement Award in recognition of reaching the milestone.
        Mr. Bradford’s name remains on the Pitt-Johnstown All-Time Scoring and Rebounding Lists today.  His 1,078 career points still rank 20^th on the scoring list, while his 636 career rebounds are sixth on the rebounding list.
        In 1980, Mr. Bradford graduated from Pitt-Johnstown with a degree in Speech Communication and Education, but his education did not stop there.  Mr. Bradford earned a M.Ed. in Speech Communication and Education at John Carroll University in 1992 and a Special Education Licensure at Kent State University in 2004.
        Mr. Bradford’s professional career began in 1979 as a part-time teacher in the Westmont Hilltop School District while he was still attending Pitt-Johnstown.
        He has spent the last 37 years as an educator in various locations, and continues to do so, despite retiring in 2008.  Among the locations he has taught, Mr. Bradford spent three years at Coral Springs Middle School and Westchester Elementary School in South Florida.  In addition, he taught at the college level at Cuyahoga Community College in Ohio, and worked and taught in corrections and social services.  In 2002, Positive Education Program (PEP) named Mr. Bradford its Teacher of the Year.
        Mr. Bradford, who resides in Bedford Heights, Ohio, is currently a full-time Intervention Specialist in the Bedford City School system.
        Mr. Bradford has two children, Charles L. Bradford, who resides in Maricopa, Ariz. and Leia L. Bradford of Chicago, Ill.
        “Being inducted into University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown Athletics Hall of Fame is beyond what words can describe,” Mr. Bradford said.  “For Pitt-Johnstown Basketball, I planned for perfection and achieved excellence.  I must also thank the Hall of Fame Committee for bestowing this honor upon me. This honor is indescribable!”