Hugh Bradshaw

Hugh Bradshaw

• Bats Right, Throws Right

Backstop Hugh Bradshaw began his baseball career with the 1948 Lexington A's and batted .215 with 13 RBI. In '49, he hit .224 for the Tallahassee Cardinals and .293 with the Bartlesville Pirates, both in limited time. In 1950, he put up a .294/~.369/.385 line for the Newnan Brownies and a .280/~.328/.440 turn with the Morganton Aggies; overall, he hit a career-high nine home runs (two for Newnan, seven for Morganton) and drove in 58 runs, the best of his career.

In 1951, Hugh hit .261 with 6 HR for the Statesville Owls. He missed the next two years due to military service. Returning to baseball with the 1954 Rock Hill Chiefs, he batted .270. He finished his career by hitting .231 for Rock Hill in '55 with the exact same number of RBI (48) as he had produced a season prior.

Sources: 1951 Baseball Guide, Pat Doyle's Professional Baseball Player Database

Personal Recollection

Hugh Bradshaw was a veteran catcher on the 1955 Rock Hill Chiefs of the Class B Tri-State League. He was also a military veteran. Hugh was of at least average height, and had a stocky strong build. He had black hair, and a relaxed manner about him, along with a friendly sense of humor. He was easy to get along with, and was generally liked by all his teammates. I was also a pitcher on this team, and Hugh caught most of the games I pitched that season. He was dependable and consistently professional as a Class B Minor League player. He could hit with some power at times, but I'm not sure he hit for a high batting average. I believe he once played in the Class D K-O-M League. I think Hugh may have played as high as class A ball, perhaps for the Charlotte Hornets at one time. He hailed from the state of North Carolina. I had not been in contact with Hugh since our 1955 season, but learned about three years ago that Hugh had died about that time from colon cancer. I spoke briefly to his wife on the phone and she said Hugh was very brave and stoic about his illness and kept up his golf game right to the end.

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Submitted by Bill O'Donnell (User:Pitcher53).