Scott Bradley
Sport: Baseball
Born: March 22, 1960
Town: Essex Fells
Scott William Bradley was born March 22, 1960 in Glen Ridge and grew up in Essex Fells. He and his brothers Bob and Jeff were tremendous athletes; they were known around town as the All-American boys—straight arrows who did their homework and then hit the field. Bob went on to become a world-class soccer player and also coached Team USA. Jeff became a sportswriter.
Scott’s sport was baseball. He starred for West Essex High in nearby West Caldwell during the 1970s. In 1978, Scott was drafted by the Minnesota Twins, but decided to go to college instead.
Scott accepted a scholarship from UNC, where he played third base and catcher for coach Mike Roberts. He was named a 2nd Team All-American in 1980 and 1981 (once at each position) and was ACC Player of the Year in 1980. Scott also played for Team USA at the 1980 World Championships.
The New York Yankees took Scott with their second pick in the 1981 draft (John Elway was their first) and he made it to the majors in 1984. Scott was traded to the White Sox in 1986 and finished that season with the Mariners. He became Seattle’s regular catcher, and caught Randy Johnson first no-hitter in 1990. Scott’s final big-league season was 1992.
Scott became a minor league player-coach for the Braves and then the Rockies, and then took a job with Rutgers on Fred Hill’s staff. He was hired by Princeton University as head coach in 1998. With the Tigers, Scott helped to develop several future major leaguers, including Chris Young, Will Venable, Russ Ohlendorf and David Hale. As of 2019, he had led the Tigers to seven NCAA Tournament berths.
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