Because of his special blend of talent and virtue William Warren Bradley ’65 has become the most publicized Princeton athlete since Hobey Baker, to whom he has often been compared. After two years as a Rhodes Scholar and a stint as an Air Force Lieutenant, he has returned to sports, signing a four-year contract with the Knicks for a reported half-million—which the club figures to recoup easily through increases gate receipts (and 25% if his outside income). The life of a professional athlete in the big city can be hectic—he has already been hit by a girl in an MC—and these pictures, taken by one of his old college roommates, capture some of that flavor.
So far he has failed to live up to his press clippings; but then, as a rookie, who could? The debate around the National Basketball Association is not whether he has the ability to become a superstar but whether having reached that stature he will move on the higher aspirations in the public service, “leaving the game behind crying for him once again,” as Sports Illustrated put it. “If so, so be it. It is surely enough that Bill Bradley has come back to give professional basketball his personal blend of zest, sparkle, grace and class, if only for a little while.”
This was originally published in the April 16, 1968 issue of PAW.