Bill Waugh's painting of the 1950-51 Bradley basketball stars now hangs in the Fieldhouse Bar & Grill. From left: Gene "Squeaky" Melchiorre, Billy Mann, Elmer Behnke, coach Forddy Anderson, Aaron Preece, Fred Schlictman and Charles "Bud" Grover.
PEORIA — Bradley’s first men’s basketball game as a Missouri Valley Conference member came on Jan. 5, 1949. Those Braves, who would eventually win 27 games and finish fourth in the NIT tournament, lost that night at Saint Louis.
