Bill Bradley

William Warren Bradley, born July 28, 1943, was an American professional basketball player and politician who played ten seasons in the National Basketball Association with the New York Knicks. Born and raised in Crystal City, Missouri, a small town 45 miles south of St. Louis, he excelled at basketball from an early age. He also did well academically and was named all-county and all-state in high school. Offered 75 college scholarships, he declined them all to attend Princeton University. Bradley won a gold medal as a member of the 1964 Olympic basketball team and was named Most Outstanding Player of the 1965 NCAA Tournament, when Princeton finished third. After graduating in 1965, he attended Oxford on a Rhodes Scholarship as a member of Worcester College, delaying for two years his decision on whether to play in the NBA. Following his playing career, Bradley served as a United States senator from New Jersey from 1979 to 1997. A member of the Democratic Party, he was a candidate for the party's nomination for president in the 2000 election, losing to Vice President Al Gore.