Bradford High School "Quick Facts"
Year opened: 1893
(first graduating class)
School Closed: 2001
Consolidated to: Stark County HS (Toulon)
School Building Today: Vacant
School Gymnasium: Used for Grade School Home Games
Team Nickname: "Panthers"
School Colors: Black and Orange
School Fight Song: "Let Us Cheer for Bradford High"
So let us cheer for Bradford High School
The
very best school in the land.
Cheer
for the Panthers, let's show some spirit,
No
matter if they fall or stand.
RAH! RAH!
Cheer
for our players, they'll never fail us,
They'll
fight for all that we hold so dear.
Fight for the black and for the orange,
Let's go all out for Bradford High.
Donna Lee provided this bit of information regarding the Bradford HS Fight Song:
"This original fight song was written and adapted in 47-48 as the official School Song and served in that capacity
until the close of the school. Music was composed by Band Director David Hughes, and the lyrics were
written by English teacher, Mary Ida Parr."
DISTINGUISHED ALUMNI
A distinguished alumnus of Bradford High School
is Dr. Bernard Cahill. Dr. Cahill was a nationally known recognized pioneer in
the field of sports medicine, who founded the Great Plains Sports Medicine Foundation and Clinic in Peoria. President Reagan appointed him to the President's Council on Physical Fitness
and Sports in 1982. Having served as a Marine in Korea, Dr. Cahill returned
to Bradford, before enrolling in the University of Illinois. Dr. Cahill founded
the Great Plains Sports Medicine Foundation, the oldest sports medicine foundation in the United States. He was a founding
member of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, the American Society of Biomechanics, the Cruciate Society,
as well as the International Society of the Knee. Dr. Cahill chaired a Sports
Medicine Symposium on Children and Adolescents in Competitive Sports at the White House during the Reagan Administration.
Dr. Bernard Cahill, died at age 79 in Peoria, on Sept. 6, 2008.
Dr. Cahill was raised on a farm north of Bradford. In an interview with the Peoria Journal Star (December 19, 1999) he had these recollections:
“…we
did not have electric lights until 1947, when I graduated from high school. So it was almost like the history of Lincoln, only we didn't have to do our reading by the fireplace, we
had Coleman lanterns that we used… My brother and I both went to a one-room
schoolhouse and had one teacher. As it turns out, I was the smartest kid in my class for eight straight years. It may be because
I was the only one in my class…
Dr. Cahill went on to talk about
his studies at Bradford High School:
“When
I got to high school at Bradford Township
High School, there was one teacher I particularly remember. Her name
was Miss Sally Van Zan. She had taught my father and my mother in high school, and she taught at Bradford
for 50-plus years . . .
“This
lady, she would individually interview… the freshmen in high school. She was somewhat dictatorial, and she was a lovely-looking,
very handsome woman who always was absolutely meticulously put together every day. She lived by herself all her life. She
was from Kentucky. And the grownups just loved her in town
. . .She would pound and hammer in a kind, leading way, and shed get the best out of you and would always push you to be better
and better and better - and smarter, we called it in those days. About halfway through the freshman year she told me that
I'm wasting my life if I don't go to college. . . .”
Dr. Cahill said of his early days
in Sports Medicine:
“…there
was a real problem with sports medicine… if you talked about sports medicine, you'd have to spend maybe a half hour
explaining to whoever asked you about what sports medicine is. And so in Peoria
and nationwide, there was a real problem with high school football, that is, a number of severe knee injuries that these kids
were sustaining…”
Dr.
Cahill became one of the first team doctors to the U.S. Olympic Ski team. In
those days, he stated, they were the only doctors present, most teams did not have doctors on staff. So athletes of all kinds of countries would come for help with injuries during competition. He was present at Lake Placid, New
York for the 1980 Winter Olympics.
Dr.
Cahill became involved with the Football program at Peoria Richwoods High School and was instrumental in changing the approach to student athletes. Prior
to his intervention, coaches would often withhold water during late Summer practices, in order to “toughen players up.” Also, very little conditioning was involved, so when Football practice started, not long before the season started, players were highly prone to serious injuries. Prior to his work, terms like “hydration” and “conditioning”
as well as the concept of strengthening the knee and the rest of the leg, were virtually unknown. Dr. Cahill was instrumental
in proving to the IHSA that Summer conditioning was important, even vital, to prevent injury.
He stated in the Journal Star interview:
“We
started a program out of pre-season training, and that was six weeks prior to the date when you could have on pads, and a
few more dates prior to when you could be doing hitting contact. The purpose
of it was to strengthen the knee, to increase endurance, to increase agility and overall the health of the knee. Also, it
was to pick out those people who had had a previous injury the year before and were never rehabilitated . . .”
The study began in 1968, involving
8 Peoria area high schools.
He stated:
“About
July, we would go to schools, and I would personally examine the knees, both knees, of each varsity athlete. In addition to
that, we put them on a bicycle to test their endurance. Thirdly, we would get data on any weight-lifting studies that they
had done the year before… As we know now, it was a vast success in decreasing
early injuries, decreasing the severity of injuries, if they did occur. By the second year into the second part of the study,
the IHSA allowed all of the members of the MidState 9 to participate in this. And then the following year, they opened it
statewide, and the following year after that it was nationally adopted . . .”
GREAT ATHLETIC TEAMS
| Bradford High School Gymnasium |
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| Home of the Panthers |
GIRLS BASKETBALL
The Panthers enjoyed great success in all sports during their existence. However,
as far as the state tournament is concerned the Panther Girls Basketball teams of the 1980's were the
cream of the crop. Below are listed the excellent Panther girls' teams and their records according to the IHSA web site
(www.ihsa.org):
Coach Ellie Hanning built an incredible basketball program in the 1980's. Her teams
won a total of SEVEN Regional Championships, FOUR Sectional Championships, THREE Super-Sectional
Championships, and ONE appearance in the IHSA Class 1A State Tournament Finals, falling to eventual State
Champion Elgin St. Edward 45-43 in the semi-finals!!
1979-80 19 - 3 IHSA Class 1A Elite Eight Finalist Coach
Ellie Hanning
Regional Champions
Sectional
Champions
Super-Sectional Champions
Beat Brimfield 56-49
Elite 8 Finalist
Lost to Carlinville 46-32
Carlinville finished 4th
1980-81 23 - 3 IHSA Class 1A Sweet
Sixteen Finalist Coach Ellie Hanning
Regional Champions
Sectional
Champions
Super-Sectional Finalist
Lost to Bloomington Cent. Cath. 40-37
1981-82 N.R.A. Regional Champs Coach
Ellie Hanning
1983-84 22 - 5 IHSA Class 1A Elite Eight Finalist
Coach Ellie Hanning
Regional Champions
Sectional
Champions
Super-Sectional Champions
Beat
Seneca 68-47
Elite 8 Finalist
Lost to Eldorado 73-43
Eldorado Finished 3rd
1984-85 27 - 3 IHSA Class 1A FOURTH Place Finalist!
Coach Ellie Hanning
Regional Champions
Sectional
Champions
Super-Sectional Champions
Beat Seneca 53-50
Elite 8 Finalist
Beat
Cambridge 38-32
Final Four Finalist
Lost to Elgin St. Edward 45-43
Elgin St. Edward won State Championship
Consolation Game Finalist
Lost
to Cairo 63-52
1985-86 N.R.A. Regional Champs
1989-90 N.R.A. Regional Champs
BOYS BASKETBALL
You were always in for a great game when you traveled to the Panther gym in Bradford. Boys basketball also enjoyed
many great seasons. The best are listed below:
1946-47 District runner-up
1949-50 8 - 13
Coach Rex Sherman
1952-53 Blackhawk Conf.
Co-Champs
1953-54 Blackhawk Conf.
Champs
1957-58 4 - 19
Coach Bob Foutes
Team
members included: Efnor, Browning, Bowyer,
DeWeerth, Piper, Dison,
Bucher, Mowbray, Velde,
P. Gingerich, Code
1958-59
11 - 13
Coach Bob Foutes
The
basketball team of 1958-59 finished with a record of 11-13 overall, and a 9-9 record in the Blackhawk Conference, putting
them in 6th place in the conference standings. Bill Johnston
received Special Mention consideration in the all conference balloting. Brandon
Piper was on the Honorable Mention list. Bill Johnston
finished in 5th place on the conference scoring leaders list with an average of 18.5 points per game.
1959-60
14 - 12 Coach
Larry Odum
Larry
Odum was the new basketball coach. He was a graduate of Southeast
Missouri State. The Panthers finished the season with a 14-12 record and a fourth
place finish in the Blackhawk Conference race. Brandon Piper
was a first team All Conference selection. Leading scorers for the Panthers were
Brandon Piper (20.2 ppg), David Bucher (15.4 ppg), John Gingerich (12.9
ppg), and Pete Gingerich(10.3ppg).
The
Panthers reached the Regional Championship in 1959-60, losing to Kewanee 62-51 in the championship game. During the season the Panthers split games with Galva. Galva
won the first game, 69-64. The Panthers came back in the second game, winning
83-81. David Bucher scored 35 points and Brandon Piper,
19 points to lead the Panthers. Galva had a unanimous All Conference player in
Rich Falk. Falk went on to star at Northwestern
University and later with the Boston Celtics of the NBA.
1960-61 19
- 8 Coach
Larry Odum
Basketball
finished an outstanding season with a record of 19-8. Brandon Piper
was the leading scorer (20.4 ppg). The Panthers advanced to the Regional
Final for the second year in a row, losing to Princeville by one point.
Members of the team included John Gingerich, Harvey Scott, Joe Mowbray, Pete Gingerich, Dennis Derick, David
Bucher, Jim Laurenti and Brandon Piper.
*From
Leo Driscoll, Class of 1964:
"The Regional Championship game
in 1961 was played in Bradford's newly opened Gym. The Bradford boys were upset by Princeville High. Princeville
was led by Wylie Parker. A son of a Baptist Minister who had almost come to Bradford to preach but
went to Princeville. The loss was devastating because this group of players had been groomed since grade school to finally
win a Regional basketball championship. After the all, the junior class had lost to Kewanee the year before and everyone
was certain that Bradford would finally win it s first regional championship this year."
1969-70 22 - 5 District Champs
Coach Jim Hoover
Blackhawk Conf. Co-Champs
1972-73 26 - 2 Regional Champs Coach
Jim Hoover
Blackhawk Conf. Champs
1975-76 20 - 6 Regional Champs
Coach Jim Hoover
1985-86 N.R.A. Regional Champs
1992-93 N.R.A. Regional Champs
Jim Hoover would go on to coach at Dakota and accumulate 300+ wins in his career.
FOOTBALL
| Bradford Football Crow's Nest |
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| Backside of School |
Panther Football
Dating back to the 1910's, the Panthers enjoyed great success on the gridiron. The earliest game
of note occured in 1915 when Bradford took a hard loss to Kewanee by the score of 47-0. However, great games have happened
since. One great coach in Bradford football history was Rick Odgers. Coach Odgers spent a portion of
his career in Bradford as well as two other schools in Illinois. During his tenure, Coach Odgers accumulated
115 wins, good for number 172 all-time in IHSA history!
This football "war story" (and a great one at that!) was shared with us by a former Panther player:
"I will never forget our first trip ever to the IHSA (football) playoffs. We had just won our
last regular season game in 1981 and someone needed to beat Buda Western for us to get in. We were waiting in the lockerroom to hear how the game turned out when we could hear the
thunder of the crowd in the school hallway above running to the lockerroom to give us the good news!
Like many schools, Bradford HS was a wonderful place to go to school. It gave otherwise average (athletes)
the opportunity in sports that larger schools may have kept us from (participating in). The high school was the
focal point of the community, there was an excitement in the air when teams were doing well. Though we were
the smallest school in the Elite 8 in girls' basketball, we had one of the largest crowds at Assembly
Hall! People would park their cars in the endzone early on Friday nights to ensure a prime location for (that
night's football) game. It was just definitely a better time and place."
Larry H. submitted February 03, 2005
One game not to forget in Bradford occured against Manlius in 1994. In that game, Bradford QB Mike Shipley
attempted 54 passes, with 13 successful connections to WR Ryan Morris.
Below are listed some of the more successful football teams in Bradford history:
1925-26
11 - 0 Coach S.J. Fleming
| Bradford HS Football Team of the Fall of 1925 |

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| Undefeated and Unscored Upon - Photo Submitted by John Terwilliger |
The Bradford Panther grid iron
boys of the fall of 1925 had an incredible season. The boys were undefeated and unscored upon through 7 games. Victories
included wins over Kewanee Wethersfield, Streator, and Chilllicothe to name a few. Below is an article provided to us by John
Terwilliger regarding the team's highly publicized battle with undefeated county rival Toulon on November 11, 1925 as reprinted from the Bradford Newspaper. The team finished the season 9 - 0, below are the scores of
the games played in 1925.
Beat Elmwood 7 - 0, beat Manlius 39 - 0, beat Wethersfield
50 - 0, Streator 51 - 0, beat Chillicothe 13 - 0, beat Toulon 20 - 0 (see article below), beat Wyoming 47 - 0, beat Buda 19
- 0, beat Neponset 31 - 0
BRADFORD SOAKS TOULON GRIDMEN IN 20-0 BATTLE
New Stark County
Champions Spill Dope and Nab Bacon
Bradford, Ill., Nov
11, 1925 (Special) –
Bradford resembled a college
town here tonight when its 915 inhabitants turned out to welcome home Coach S. J. Fleming's High school
football team, winners over Toulon at the Stark county seat today in a
grid encounter supplementary to American Legion Armistice
day festivities.
The local preps were on the
short end of 3-1 odds before the game started, but Fleming's Orange and Black forces refused to be
beaten and hung up a 20-0 win to the utter dismay of Coach Askew's
men.
Runs 97 Yards to
Score
Bradford scored in the opening
quarter when Fogelsong, hefty Toulon fullback, fumbled on Bradford's 3-yard line. Petty, right
end, caught up the loose oval and scampered 97 yards down the field for
a touchdown. Bradford';s other markers cameas
the result of straight football.
Neither team had been beaten
previous to today's bout and the Bradford team had not yet been scored upon. Bradford owns scalps of
Manilius, Streator, Kewanee, Walnut, Elmwood, Sheffield and Chillicothe. Three games remain to be played with Wyoming, Buda and Neponset.
Many local fans were among
the 2,000 or more who attended the American Legion program a Toulon. Huge bonfires lit the sky here
tonight in celebration of the victory and the athletes were lionized by
the appreciative fans and admirers.
Score:
Toulon Pos
Bradford
Turnbull . . . . . .L.E.
. . . . . . .Blake
Heaton . . . . . . . L.T.
. . . . . . Mallett
Williams . . . . . .L.G.
. . . . . . Winters
Goves . . . . . . . . C.
. . . . . . ..Harley
Garry . . . . . . . . .R.G.
. . . . . Ash
Ogle (capt.). . . . R.T.
. . . . . . Gold
Cole . . . . . . . . . R.E.
. . . . . .Petty
Whittacker . . . . .Q.B.
. . . . . Terwilliger
Stover . . . . . . . . .L.H.
. . . . .Cahill
Tell . . . . . . . . . .
.R.H. . . . . .Tumbelson
Fogelsong . . . . . .F.B.
. . . . . Shaw (capt.)
Substitutions – Bevier
for Blake; Bair for Gold.
Score by quarters:
Bradford...............7
7 6 0 - 20
Toulon..................0
0 0 0 - 0
Scoring – Touchdowns,
Petty, Shaw, Mallett: goals after touchdowns, Mallett,
2.
Officials – Referee,
Albro, Knox; umpire, Rogers, Knox;
head linesman, Olson
| Bradford HS Football Team of the Fall of 1926 |

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| Undefeated - Submittted by John Terwilliger |
1926-27 9 - 0 Coach
S.J. Flemming
The grid iron warriors of 1926 (pictured above) were also said to be undefeated with superstar athlete Shaw
Terwilliger leading the way. We do know that the boys began the season with the following victories:
Beat Kewanee Visitation 7 - 0, beat Kewanee Lightweghts 20 - 0, beat Elmwood 28 - 0, beat Wyoming 7 - 0,
beat Galva 14 - 7.
The boys played Toulon for the Stark County Championship on Friday, November 19, 1926 in a game that began
at 2:30p.m. (There were no night games in those days.) Bradford would win that game and be crowned the champions
of Stark County!
| Bradford HS Football Team 1931 - Stark Co. Champs! |

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| Submitted by John Terwilliger |
1931-32
Stark County Champions Coach S.J. Flemming
In regard to the County Championship game against Toulon, John Terwilliger sent us this
information about team captain Bob Blaisdell:
The Bob Blaisdell who was mentioned as team Captain, is an uncle of mine. He
is 98 years old, a widower, and lives alone in his own home in Tulsa, OK. In late September, 2011, I spoke on the phone
with him and asked him about this game. He told me he remembered it and that one of his most vivid memories was that
"Toulon had a really big fullback and seemed to run almost every play directly at me." He also told me that there was
a school dance after the game but he was so pooped and banged up that he sat out the whole dance."
1933-34 9 - 0
Coach Edgar Morrison
1934-35 7 - 0 - 1 Blackhawk Conf. Co-Champs
Coach Edgar Morrison
1939-40
Blackhawk Conf. Champions
1941-42 Blackhawk
Conf. Co-Champs
1954-55 6 - 1 Blackhawk Conf. Co-Champs
1957-58 5 - 3 3rd Place in Blackhawk Conf. Coach
Bob Foutes
Asst. Roy Modlinger
Results
Bradford
32
Tampico 6
Bradford
45
Elmwood 0
Bradford
0 Toulon 6
Bradford
14
Wyoming 0
Bradford
0
Princeville 7
Bradford
6
Galva 12
Bradford
19
Wethersfield 7
Bradford
19
Walnut 7
Members
of the Blackhawk Conference were: Toulon, Princeville, Bradford, Walnut, Galva, Wyoming, Wethersfield, and Elmwood.
Varsity
Cheerleaders: Judy Code, Marilyn Mowbray, Mary Taylor, Jeanette Hanchett
Homecoming
King/Queen: Bill Johnston and Judy Eble
1958-59 8 - 0 - 1 Blackhawk Conf. Champions
Coach Bob Foutes
A
total of 38 players reported for practice in 1958, with 10 key members of the 1957 team returning.
Blackhawk
Conference: Walnut, Wyoming, Bradford, Princeville, Galva, Elmwood, Toulon, Manlius,
Dunlap, and Wethersfield. Manlius and Dunlap are new members this year.
Results Final
Blackhawk Conference Standings
Bradford 30
Wethersfield 12
W L T TP OP
Bradford 6 Manlius 6 Bradford 8--0--1 288 50
Bradford 12
Princeville 6 Walnut 8--1--0 197
66
Bradford 46
Dunlap 7
Princeville 6--3--0
177 58
Bradford 12
Walnut 0 Wyoming 6--3--0 212 147
Bradford 47
Elmwood 6 Galva
5--4--0 198
172
Bradford 48
Toulon 7 Manlius 3--5--1
113 131
Bradford 47
Galva 0 Elmwood 2--6--1
94 197
Bradford 40
Wyoming 6 Wethersfield 2--7--0 85 230
Dunlap 1--6--2
71
254
Toulon 1--7--1
48 178
The
1958 Bradford Panthers football team won their first Blackhawk Conference Championship since 1938!
All Blackhawk Conference Players were: Dan Puffer (unanimous selection), Frank Waldinger
(1st team), Dick Stone (1st team), Dick Hanchett (1st team), Bill Johnston (2nd
team), Don Dison (Honorable Mention), Don Dietz (Honorable Mention).
Dan Puffer led the conference in scoring with 19 touchdowns and 11 points after touchdown.
Homecoming
Queen / King: Ms. Mary Ann Colgan and Frank Waldinger
Queen
attendants were Mary Ellen Johnston, Sandra Miller and Sandra Shaner.
1959-60 7
- 1 - 0 Blackhawk Conference Runner-up Coach Tom Biddle
Asst. Larry Odum
A
new football coach was hired. Tom Biddle, a graduate of Illinois
College. His assistant coach was Mr. Larry Odum, also new to
Bradford High School in 1959. The football team finished the season with a final
record of 7-1-0, good for second place in the Blackhawk Conference behind Walnut. Senior
Don Dison and Sophomore Gary Foley were named to the 2nd Team All Conference. Dave Walker received Honorable Mention honors.
1959
Blackhawk Conference Standings 1959 Blackhawk Conference Results
W-L-T Pts. For Pts. Against
Bradford 31 Wethersfield 13
Walnut 8-0-0 246
97 Bradford 33 Manlius
0
Bradford 7-1-0
143 65
Bradford 20 Princeville
6
Galva 6-2-0 197 100
Bradford 14 Dunlap
7
Wyoming 5-2-1 213 108
Bradford 7
Walnut
20
Dunlap 5-2-1 166
41 Bradford 12 Elmwood 7
Princeville 4-5-0 133 125
Bradford 19
Toulon
6
Elmwood 2-6-0 122 167
Bradford
7 Galva
6
Toulon 2-6-0 93 180
Wethersfield 1-7-0 84 244
Manlius 0-8-0 33 303
Homecoming
King/Queen: David Walker and Eloyce Anderson
Varsity
Cheerleaders: Sandra Foutch, Kay Driscoll, Sharon Reed,
and Sandy Shaner
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