George Bradshaw

George Thomas Bradshaw

• Bats Right, Throws Right
• Height 6' 2", Weight 185 lb.

• Debut August 10, 1952
• Final Game September 19, 1952
• Born September 12, 1924 in Salisbury, NC USA
• Died November 4, 1994 in Hendersonville, NC USA

BR page

Biographical Information

A United States Marine Corps veteran of World War II, George Bradshaw served his country from 1942 through 1945 and was briefly recalled during the Korean conflict in 1951. He played his first pro ball with the Landis Millers of the North Carolina State League in 1946. The 6' 2" catcher hit .326 his first season, appearing in 102 games. Before the 1947 season, Bradshaw was signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers. He spent 1947 with three different clubs with a combined .284 average. He spent the 1948 season with the Pueblo Dodgers, hitting .256, and was released by the Dodgers after the season. George signed with the Statesville Owls in 1949, where he hit .342 and tied for the league lead in hits with 169. In 1950, Bradshaw signed with the same club, only this time as player-manager. He led the club to a 59-53 record and a fifth-place finish, catching 113 games and hitting .321 in a good personal performance. In 1951, he took on the same role with the Morganton Aggies of the Western Carolina League catching 107 games, hitting .350 and leading his team to a first-place finish with a 71-39 record, but they were beaten in the finals of the playoffs by the Shelby Farmers, 4 games to 3.

1952 found George in the same place. He was with Morganton for 34 games in the same role and hitting .304 when, in June, he was picked up by the Washington Senators. George played 10 games with the Sens, picked up 5 hits in 23 at bats (.217) and was sent to the Charlotte Hornets, where he appeared in 64 games and hit .324. Meanwhile, back in Morganton, Eurice "Pete" Treece had taken over Bradshaw's duties, the club went 41-51, last place, and withdrew from the league on August 3rd. George, who still belonged to the Senators, stuck with Charlotte in 1953 and hit .292 in 71 games. He was then sent to the AA Chattanooga Lookouts, where he hit .091 in 12 games, and became a free agent after the season. 1954 saw him take on the duties of player-manager of the Greenville Spinners in theTri-State League. Midway through the season, Dickson Hendley took over the club and led it to a third-place finish (68-72), 18 games off the pace. Bradshaw ended up in the same league, with the Knoxville Smokies, who finished second in the league. He hit .274 and made the All-Star team, his final season. All told, George appeared in 905 games, had 3,366 at bats with 1,046 hits, including 59 home runs, for a minor league career .310 batting average.

In his later years, George had a laryngectomy and devoted much of his time to working with people in their adjustment to the use of a voice box. The father of ten children, he owned an automobile dealership prior to his death on November 4, 1994, at age 70 in Hendersonville, NC.

Year-by-Year Managerial Record

Year	Team	League	Record	Finish	Organization	Playoffs	Notes
1950	Statesville Owls	North Carolina State League	59-53	5th	none
1951	Morganton Aggies	Western Carolina League	71-39	1st	none	Lost League Finals
1952	Morganton Aggies	Western Carolina League		--	none	--	replaced by Pete Treece
1954	Greenville Spinners	Tri-State League	28-38	--	none	--	replaced by Dickson Hendley (40-34) on June 24

Sources

Baseball-Reference.com
Baseball Players of the 1950s
SABR MILB Database:page