Jim Brady

Who is Jim Brady?

James Joseph Brady, Jr., Ph.D. is an American economist, retired university educator and administrator, and a former left-handed pitcher in professional baseball. He attended and earned three degrees from the University of Notre Dame.

Dr. Brady served as the sixth president of Jacksonville University from 1989 through 1996 after service as dean of both the university's College of Arts and Sciences and Davis College of Business. Prior to that, he held the department chair in economics at Old Dominion University and was a member of the economics faculty of his alma mater, Notre Dame.

As a baseball player, the 6 ft 2 in, 185 lb Brady was signed off his college campus as an undergraduate by the Detroit Tigers as a $37,500 "bonus baby" in 1955. Detroit's farm system director, John McHale, was a Notre Dame alumnus and Brady promised his father he would return to college to complete his education when he signed his contract. Under the terms of the bonus rule then in effect, however, Brady was forced to spend the first two years of his pro career on a Major League roster.

Nicknamed "Diamond Jim" because of his bonus status, Brady missed the 1955 season due to an injury, then made his MLB debut on May 12, 1956, hurling a perfect ninth inning against the Chicago White Sox in a 7–6 loss at Briggs Stadium. A week later, he pitched another scoreless inning against the Baltimore Orioles, but was treated roughly in his next four appearances, surrendering 20 earned runs on 15 hits and ten bases on balls in only 4⅓ innings of work.