1976 Topps #451 - Buddy Bradford

• Buddy Bradford was signed by the Chicago White Sox at the age of 17 in 1962. He played in the minors for several seasons and had a little bit of power (double figures in home runs) and some speed.
• Bradford got his first shot in the majors in 1966. In 14 games he batted .143 in 28 at bats. After spending most of the 1967 season in the minors Buddy batted .100 in 20 at bats for the White Sox in 1968.
• Buddy got a good portion of his major league playing time between 1968 and 1970. In 1968 he played in 103 games and batted .217 in 281 at bats. Bradford had his best year in 1969 when he batted .256 in 273 at bats and hit 11 home runs. Buddy started the 1970 season with the White Sox (.187 in 91 at bats) and was traded with Tommie Sisk to the Cleveland Indians on June 15 for Bob Miller and Barry Moore. Buddy finished the 1970 season batting .170 in 163 at bats for the Indians.
• Bradford was traded again in 1971. He started with the Indians (.158 in 30 AB) and was traded to the Cincinnati Reds for Kurt Bevacqua on May 8. Buddy batted .200 in 100 at bats for the Reds in 1971. Bradford was purchased by the White Sox during spring training in 1972.
• Buddy started the 1972 season in AAA . He was brought up to the White Sox in late July and batted .271 in 48 at bats, mostly as a pinch hitter and defensive replacement. Bradford was in AAA again in 1973 and came up to the White Sox in early July. He batted .238 in 168 at bats.
• In 1974 Buddy got his best Strat-O-Matic card. He batted only 112 times but he batted .333 with a .414 on base percentage and a .510 slugging percentage. It was an injury-filled season for him as he broke his collarbone in a collision with an outfield wall on May 17, came back in late July, and then tore a hamstring in mid-August.
• Buddy ended up playing for the White Sox three different times. In 1975 Bradford started wtih the White Sox and batted .155 in 58 at bats. On June 30 he was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals for Bill Parsons. Buddy batted .272 in 81 at bats for the Cardinals in '75. After the 1975 season Bradford was traded back to the White Sox for Lee Richard.
• Bradford's last season in the majors was 1976. He batted .219 in 160 at bats. The White Sox released Bradford on his 32nd birthday on July 25, 1976.
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  In 1977 Bradford played for the Kintetsu Buffaloes in Japan. He tore his hamstring again stealing a base and ended up calling it quits.
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  Buddy invested his baseball money well and had a successful business career after his life in baseball. As of 1994 Bradford owned C&P Investments (a company that acquires apartment buildings) in Los Angeles. Here is a "where are they now" article about him from 1994.