Jim Bradford won the AAU heavyweight title in both 1960 and 1961; they were his only major championships after winning the 1950 AAU Junior Championship. But Bradford had the misfortune to compete against some of the greatest lifters in history and his record of second-place finishes is actually quite impressive when considering his competition. At the 1952 Olympics and 1951 World Championships, he lost out to America’s John Davis . At the 1954 Worlds he was second to Norb Schemansky, while Paul Anderson defeated him in 1955. Bradford qualified for the 1956 US Olympic team, but declined to go because of work considerations. In the 1959 World Championships and 1960 Olympics, the great Russian lifter, Yury Vlasov, won both competitions over Bradford.
Bradford graduated from Howard University in 1974, received a master’s degree in library science from Federal City College in 1976, and a master’s degree in management and supervision from a Washington branch of Central Michigan University in 1979. He worked for many years as a bookbinder and researcher at the Library of Congress in Washington, and served a term as chapter president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees.
United States