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Coach Jim Bradley of Las Cruces was a living legend, having won over 300 games in New Mexico high school football and state championships at two schools. He is second only to Eric Roanhaus of Clovis in total wins among New Mexico high school coaches.  Bradley’s career began in the 1950s when he served as an assistant football coach under Rudy Camunez at Las Cruces High School beginning in 1958. He later served as Offensive Coordinator under Coach Ed Boykin until 1965. During that period, he also served as Head Baseball Coach, compiling a record of 98-16.
Bradley was hired as the first head football coach at Mayfield High School in Las Cruces in 1965, a post he held until 1972, where he led the Trojans to a state championship in 1971. From 1973 to 1977 he served as head football coach at New Mexico State University. While at NMSU, the Aggies tied for second place in the Missouri Valley Conference in 1974 and 1975 and tied Tulsa for first place in 1976. Following his stint at NMSU, he became head coach at Roswell High from 1980 to 1993. His Roswell Coyote teams earned 2 state championships during his tenure. Upon leaving Roswell High, Bradley resumed coaching at Mayfield, where he again served as head coach from 1994 until 2005. His Mayfield teams secured 4 state championships during this period. Coaching honors earned by Bradley include being named to the New Mexico High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame and Hall of Honor, being named Coach of the Year numerous times, receiving Distinguished Service Awards from the National High School Coaches Association. Coach Bradley has served several times on the NMHSCA board of directors and has also served as President of that organization. Coach Jim Bradley has served the student athletes and the State of New Mexico for the better part of six decades. He has three sons who have also been coaches, two of whom are currently head coaches in New Mexico. Sons Michael Bradley and Gary Bradley each led their Farmington and Mayfield teams to State Championships in 2013. To the best of our knowledge, this has never before occurred in New Mexico High School football. In addition to his sons, numerous other coaches have served with him including current Hatch Valley coach Jack Cisco, current Las Cruces coach Jim Miller and former Cleveland head coach Kirk Potter. Coach Bradley passed away in 2015 after an illness.
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 Hank is a Clovis native, graduating from high school in 2001. While in high school, he lettered in football, basketball and track. Hank set the state record for New Mexico high jump at 7’0”, a record which was tied later that year, but which still stands as of this writing. He also earned All-State honors while playing football for the Wildcats as a punter and wide receiver. He continued his career at University of New Mexico where he was the leading receiver in 2004 and 2005. In addition, he was Offensive Player of the Year during that period. Hank was selected as All-Mountain West Conference having 67 receptions for 1,071 yards and 9 touchdowns.
While at UNM, Hank’s career highs were as follows: Highest number of receptions – 11 vs. BYU on 10/8/05 Most receiving yards: 209 yards vs. Missouri on 9/10/05 Longest passing play: 69 yards vs. Colorado State on 10/30/04 His college play was exemplary, totaling 140 receptions for 2,288 yards and 17 touchdowns and averaging 16.3 yards per carry, gaining over 100 yards in 9 games. Hank also completed in track and field for UNM, twice qualifying for the NCAA Midwest regionals. Hank was an outstanding student who was a four time academic all-MSC honoree, graduating from UNM in 2005 with a degree in General Management. Hank played with three NFL teams during his five year professional career: the Minnesota Vikings, Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts from 2006 to 2010, being on the Philadelphia roster some time each year. He appeared in 67 games, 11 as a starter, and had 77 receptions for 1,098 yards. As of this writing, Baskett resides in California and is married with one son.  Kathy Whitworth's beginnings in golf can be traced to the southern Lea County town of Jal, New Mexico. When she was in high school, there were few organized athletic activities for girls. She and some of her friends enjoyed playing tennis together and when she was fifteen years old, some of them invited her to join them in a round of golf. She was not enthusiastic about it at first, but agreed to go. From that point on, Whitworth says, she "became hooked." Even though golf was then somewhat more difficult for her than other sports, with the help of her teacher, Harry Loudermilk, she learned the basics of the game, playing many rounds at the Jal Country Club. She won the 1957 and 1958 New Mexico State Amateur Championship. Kathy Whitworth's beginnings in golf can be traced to the southern Lea County town of Jal, New Mexico. When she was in high school, there were few organized athletic activities for girls. She and some of her friends enjoyed playing tennis together and when she was fifteen years old, some of them invited her to join them in a round of golf. She was not enthusiastic about it at first, but agreed to go. From that point on, Whitworth says, she "became hooked." Even though golf was then somewhat more difficult for her than other sports, with the help of her teacher, Harry Loudermilk, she learned the basics of the game, playing many rounds at the Jal Country Club. She won the 1957 and 1958 New Mexico State Amateur Championship.
As she progressed, her family supported her, even driving her 400 miles to study with legendary coach and instructor Harvey Penick, long time coach of the golf team at University of Texas in Austin. Kathy became a professional player at 19, joining the LPGA in December 1958. She played her first important professional tournament in 1958, which began her stellar career. Known by sports writers as "the Gal from Jal," she dedicated her life to the game, being named "Most Improved Professional" in 1962. She recalls competing in the early years with then leading pro Mickey Wright. Wright's gifts and accomplishments gave Whitworth the incentive to continue improve her own skills, resulting in her being named "Woman Athlete of the Year" in 1964. Career Highlights: In 1962 Whitworth won her first tournament, the Kelly Girls Open. She was LPGA Player of the Year seven times between 1966 and 1973, won the Vare Trophy for best scoring average by an LPGA Tour Player a record seven times between 1965 and 1972, and entered the World Golf Hall of Fame in 1975. She was the LPGA Tour money leader eight times, and was twice named the AP Athlete of the Year. She was the U.S. team captain at the inaugural Solheim Cup match in 1990 and again in 1992. In 1974 Whitworth won the Orange Blossom Classic. It was her fifth triumph in this tournament, also known as the St. Petersburg Open. Only three other LPGA golfers have won the same tournament as many times. Whitworth won a total of 88 tour tournaments. She served three terms as LPGA President and was the Honoree at Jack Nicklaus' Memorial Tournament in 2002. Whitworth developed tremendous powers of concentration, referring to reaching a "close-off" point enabling her to block out all distractions. Accordingly, she became known as a great pressure player. Not satisfied with making a name for herself, she worked over the years to improve the image of the woman golfer and promote the efforts of the LPGA. She contributed significantly to the growth of the LPGA. It has grown to the major organization that it is today, consisting of weekly golf tournaments for elite female golfers from around the world during the months of February through December each year. Hi folks. We are going to start posting some articles focused on New Mexico athletes and athletics. They will at first concern different individuals in the world of sports (not just limited to football) who have some connection to the state and will branch out from there. We will also invite contributions from our friends. We hope you enjoy the blog!
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We post articles of general interest about New Mexico athletes, coaches and sports. Some names will already be familiar to you. Others are perhaps not as well known, but we hope you enjoy them all. Archives
December 2015
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