BOOK SELLS SORDID SEX SCANDALS OF ‘62 KY FB SQUAD: With things going so well for Kentucky football right now, it might be a strange time to release a book detailing the program’s perilous past:

The LOUISVILLE COURIER-JOURNAL gives their book report on “The Thin Thirty: The Untold Story of Brutality, Scandal and Redemption for Charlie Bradshaw’s 1962 Kentucky Football Team.”

The book, penned by disbarred attorney Shannon Ragland, delves into the shocking season overseen by former Bear Bryant assistant Bradshaw. He writes about abusive coaches, sadistic practice drills, and even sex scandals.

Ragland recounts how players were made face off and fight in a circle surrounded by teammates, the loser having to continue brawling until he won. Another tale tells how Bradshaw tried to throw the books of Mike Minix out the window, because the player wouldn’t change his pre-med major to an easier one.

Worst of all were activities arranged by local wrestling promoter Jim Barnett. The promoter & his partner were lure players over to their home with money, food and drinks, in exchange for sex. Even film star Rock Hudson got involved in the seedy scandal, by calling up players at the football dorm when he was in town.

Such experiences drove many athletes away from the program, as the roster of 88 players eventually dwindled down to 30 by season’s end.

C-J columnist Eric Crawford compares Ragland’s book to Al Stump’s 1994 biography of baseball bigot Ty Cobb, while he says Bradshaw “makes Bob Knight in ‘A Season on the Brink’ look like an altar boy.”