Aahana Swrup
The 2015 sports film, ‘My All-American,’ follows a biographical account of football player Freddie Steinmark’s life and athletic career. As such, the narrative ends up focusing primarily on Freddie’s time with the University of Texas College Football Team, The Texas Longhorns, where the man rose to athletic fame before his unfortunate medical diagnosis. As the story delves into this period of his competitive career, it focuses on the show of teamwork and camaraderie within College Football Teams.
Thus, in following a memorable championship season for the Longhorns, the storyline inevitably involves a few other recognizable names from the sports industry. For the same reason, Bill Bradley, Freddie Steinmark’s first team captain following his recruitment, must have caught the people’s attention, compelling them to wonder about his connection to real life.
Bill Bradley: A Former Texas Longhorns Alumnus and NFL Player
Yes, Bill Bradley from ‘My All-American’ is based on an actual eponymous Football Player hailing from Texas. Given the film’s biographical tag, the story sticks to real life for the most part, mining its authenticity through adapting Jim Dent’s 2011 non-fiction book, ‘Courage Beyond the Game: The Freddie Steinmark Story.’ Thus, as the film translates the book’s events to the screen, it maintains the latter’s sense of realism.
Bradley, a University of Texas alumnus, played for the College Football Team Longhorns. In 1966, during his sophomore year, the player led his team as the starting quarterback for two seasons. Eventually, as depicted in the film, James Street ended up replacing Bradley as the Quarterback in 1968, the same year that Freddie Steinmark started his career on the team.
Soon afterward, Assistant Coach Campbell, the Defense Coordinator, plucked Bradley from his new position as a wide receiver and put him in defense. Not only that, according to Dent’s book, Campbell also put the player under Steinmark’s wing. “Freddie, quite frankly, Bill Bradley doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing out there,” Dent quotes Campbell saying in an excerpt within his book. “It’s not all his fault. He hasn’t played a whole lot of defense since he got to the University of Texas. You’re going to have to help him.”
Bradley continued on the team as a punter/defensive back and recorded a four-interception in a UT single-game. He also went on to win the D.H. Byrd Leadership Award in 1968. Therefore, given his position as a Longhorns player, he was likely close to the real-life Steinmark in accordance with his on-screen portrayal. Thus, despite the few momentary changes that his character may have undergone for the sake of storytelling in ‘My All-American,’ Bill Bradley’s character remains a reflection of his real-life counterpart.
Where Is Bill Bradley Now?
Bill Bradley saw a thriving professional football career after his departure from the University of Texas and the Longhorns. In 1969, he was the Philadelphia Eagles’ third-round draft pick and remained with the team for nine seasons. During his time, Bradley played the positions of punter, kick returner, and holder and, from 1971 to 1973, earned three straight All-Pro awards. Furthermore, after his momentous performance in 1971 and 1972, he collected the title of the first player to lead the league in interceptions in consecutive seasons.
According to reports, Bradley went on to play 114 NFL games, becoming an Eagles Hall of Fame member before switching between the Minnesota Vikings and the St. Louis Cardinals in 1977. However, by the end of November of the same year, the player decided to retire at 30, sharing that “the timing was right” for such a decision. Eventually, Bradley returned to the world of football in 1983 as a coach of San Antonio of the USFL. From there, he remained a coach for 32 years, working with teams on all levels, from college football to the NFL.
These days, after retirement, Bradley continues to dabble in other facets of the football industry at his whim. Married to his wife, Susan, he lives in the hill country between San Antonio and Austin, Texas. Bradley also has two kids, Matthew and Carissa. According to the last known 2015 reports, the latter was a San Diego State graduate with a child development degree. Meanwhile, Matthew, who underwent a brain injury in 2009, was working on a College business degree. Thus, Bradley, a former professional football player, likely continues to live with his loving family currently.
Read More: Linda Wheeler: Where is Freddie Steinmark’s Girlfriend Now?
