Former Oklahoma QB Sam Bradford Inducted Into American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame

Bradford was a recruiting afterthought for the Sooners at first, but after redshirting, exploded onto the scene and took college football by storm as he won the Heisman.

Sam Bradford never felt entirely comfortable in the spotlight.

But Saturday, an entire nation will lift him up in celebration.

Bradford, a member of the Cherokee Nation and the Oklahoma City kid who won the Heisman Trophy with the Sooners, is the newest inductee into the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame.

Bradford will be formally welcomed at the AIAHOF’s induction ceremony on Saturday night at the First Americans Museum in Bradford’s hometown.

It’s a special gala event, as Bradford will join fellow Oklahoman Johnny Bench — the Baseball Hall of Fame catcher from Binger, OK, whose Choctaw legacy was cemented with the Cincinnati Reds — for the Hall’s 50th anniversary.

“It is our hope that by sharing with the world the history of great American Indian athletes past and present, this will encourage Native youth in their journey for success whether it be through sports or other areas of achievement,” said AIAHOF board president and 2008 inductee David Powless (Oneida) in a press release.

The 2023 inductees join the ranks of prestigious Indigenous athletes including Olympians Billy Mills (Oglala Lakota) and Jim Thorpe (Sac and Fox), Sonny Sixkiller (Cherokee), John Levi (Arapaho) and Moses Yellow Horse (Pawnee).

The AIAHOF has 110 inductees.

“We are excited to welcome the American Indian Athletic Hall of Fame to First Americans Museum,” said James Pepper Henry (Kaw), FAM Director/CEO. He says the ceremony is the first step in a two-year process to relocate the AIAHOF from its current location at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. “Although FAM focuses on the 39 Tribal Nations in Oklahoma today, this merger helps us move to a national level to be more reflective of all Tribal communities nationwide.”

Bradford was born and raised in Oklahoma City. He attended Putnam City schools and graduated from Putnam City North High School in 2006 as a multi-sport athlete in football, basketball, golf and even dabbled in hockey.

Bradford’s dad, Kent Bradford, played offensive line for OU legend Barry Switzer in the ‘70s. But late in the 2006 recruiting cycle, Sam Bradford still didn’t have a lot of traction in recruiting.

But then former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach offered him a scholarship, and Michigan assistant Scott Loeffler and head coach Lloyd Carr quickly followed.

Soon, OU offensive coordinator Chuck Long figured the team needed some more quarterback depth behind 2005 returning starter Rhett Bomar, so he came along with an offer.

Bomar was dismissed from the team for lying to coach Bob Stoops about his involvement with a no-show job at a local car dealership, and as Paul Thompson stepped into the starting job for the ’06 season (Long took the head coaching job at San Diego State), Bradford sat out as a redshirt.

In a fairly dramatic preseason quarterback competition in 2007, Bradford beat out junior college transfer Joey Halzle and freshman Keith Nichol — and became an instant sensation.

He opened his career by completing 21-of-23 passes (a school-record .913 completion percentage) for 363 yards and three touchdowns in a 79-10 victory over North Texas, then went 19-of-25 for 205 yards and a school-record five touchdowns in a 51-13 win over Miami.

Bradford set numerous NCAA freshman records as he completed 69.5 percent of his passes for 3,121 yards and 38 touchdowns with just eight interceptions.

In 2008, as offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson transitioned to a no-huddle, tempo offense, and with future pros Trent Williams, Jermaine Gresham, DeMarco Murray and others around him, Bradford and the Sooner offense took college football by storm.

Bradford completed 67.9 percent of his throws for 4,720 yards with 50 touchdowns and just eight interceptions as OU shattered the NCAA record with 716 points scored, win its unprecedented third consecutive Big 12 championship and landed Bradford the program’s fifth Heisman Trophy.

Bradford injured his shoulder in the 2009 season opener and only played in three games before jumping to the NFL Draft, where the St. Louis Rams took him with the No. 1 overall pick in 2010.

After signing a six-year, $78 million contract — with a rookie record $50 million guaranteed — Bradford was 2010 NFC Rookie of the Year but endured numerous injuries and losing franchises during a nine-year NFL career with the Rams, Eagles, Vikings and Cardinals.

According to Spotrac, Bradford’s career earnings stand at just over $130 million.

He married Emma Lavy of Fayetteville, AR, in 2016 (they have three children), and in 2018, after four years with three clubs (he played just three games in his final season in Arizona), Bradford retired from football.