Tom Brookshier
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Player stats at NFL.com · PFR |
Thomas Jefferson Brookshier (
Early life
Born and raised in Roswell, New Mexico, Brookshier graduated from Roswell High School in 1949. At RHS, he received all-state honors in football, basketball, and baseball.
As a three-year
Brookshier was also a
NFL career
A
At age 29, Brookshier's playing career ended midway through the 1961 season; he sustained a compound fracture of his right leg while making a tackle on Willie Galimore in the 16–14 victory over the Chicago Bears at Franklin Field on November 5.[3][4][5][6] He was a member of the Eagles' Honor Roll and was one of only eight players whose numbers were retired by the team; Brookshier's number was 40.
As a lieutenant, he was a backfield coach at the U.S. Air Force Academy for a season in 1955.[7]
Broadcasting career
Brookshier began sportscasting for WCAU-AM-FM-TV in Philadelphia in 1962, and became the station's sports director the following year.[8] He joined CBS in 1965 as a color commentator for Eagles telecasts, and continued to call regional action after the network moved away from dedicated team announcers in 1968.
In the early 1970s, Brookshier and Summerall co-hosted This Week in Pro Football, a weekly syndicated highlights show produced by
In 1976, Brookshier and Summerall called a heavyweight title fight between
Retired Oakland Raiders head coach John Madden joined CBS as a color analyst in 1979; when he was paired with Summerall on the primary broadcast team in 1981, Brookshier switched to calling play-by-play.[16]
Controversy
Brookshier became the subject of controversy because of a remark he made in 1983 during an NFL broadcast of an Eagles–Saints game on December 11. After a program note for an upcoming telecast of an NCAA men's basketball game between defending national champion North Carolina State and Louisville, Brookshier said that the Louisville players had "a collective I.Q. of about forty, but they can play basketball." Given a chance to walk back the statement by partner Charlie Waters, Brookshier doubled down, saying "it's the truth."[17]
This resulted in
Later life
In 1989, he hosted the morning show of the then-nascent 610 WIP sports format; the program was called Breakfast with Brookshier, before he was paired with Angelo Cataldi and the program re-dubbed Brookie and the Rookie, and then finally simply Brookshier and Cataldi.[22] He left broadcasting and was last known to be working as a consultant for real estate broker CB Richard Ellis.[23]
Brookshier died of cancer at Lankenau Medical Center on January 29, 2010.[24] The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia inducted Brookshier into their Hall of Fame in 2007.
References
- ^ a b Plati, David (January 30, 2010). "Football, Broadcasting Legend Tom Brookshier Passes Away". University of Colorado Athletics. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ "People". Sports Illustrated. April 27, 1970. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ Green, Bob (November 6, 1961). "Tom Brookshier lost to the Eagles with a broken right leg". Lawrence Daily Journal-World. (Kansas). Associated Press. p. 9.
- ^ "Glen Amerson named to replace Brookshier". Reading Eagle. (Pennsylvania). Associated Press. November 7, 1961. p. 16.
- ^ Maule, Tex (October 21, 1963). "Football's Hot Corner". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ "Chicago Bears at Philadelphia Eagles – November 5, 1961". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Sports Reference, LLC. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ Air Force Football, 2009, The Coaches p. 66
- ^ "Tom Brookshier quits football". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). Associated Press. March 13, 1963. p. 10.
- ^ "Ray Scott, 78, Voice of Packers During Glory Seasons in the 60's". The New York Times. March 29, 1998. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ Leggett, William (January 23, 1978). "Insightful And Delightful". Sports Illustrated. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ Goldstein, Richard (January 31, 2010). "Tom Brookshier, Eagles Star and Broadcaster, Dies at 78". The New York Times. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ "CBS a Big Bore Until Game Began". 1980-01-21. Retrieved 2024-01-30.
- ^ "The inside story of how CBS picked John Madden's booth partner". January 18, 2022.
- ^ "No surprise in San Juan: Ali in the fifth". Eugene Register-Guard. (Oregon). Associated Press. February 21, 1976. p. 3B.
- ^ Hagger, Jeff (20 October 2014). "Pat Summerall and Tom Brookshier calling boxing in 1976". Classic TV Sports.
- ^ "History of #1 analyst demotions". Classic Sports TV and Media. 18 February 2013. Retrieved 13 April 2013.
- ^ "TV SPORTS; DILEMMA FOR CBS OVER LOUISVILLE GAME". The New York Times. December 20, 1983. Retrieved June 1, 2019.
- ^ "Sports briefs". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). December 14, 1983. p. 23.
- ^ "Sports people; Brookshier Penalized". The New York Times. December 14, 1983. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ "Sports people; Louisville Gesture". The New York Times. July 12, 1984. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ "Sports people; Brookshier's 'Penance'". The New York Times. August 3, 1984. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ Ward, Frank (January 30, 2010). "Tom Brookshier a huge part of my sports world growing up". The Daily Philadelphian. Archived from the original on October 29, 2010. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ Gehman, Jim (November 19, 2005). "Where Are They Now: DB Tom Brookshier". Philadelphiaeagles.com. Retrieved August 13, 2010.
- ^ Brookover, Bob (January 31, 2010). "Tom Brookshier, broadcaster and Eagles great, dies". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved January 25, 2012.
External links
- Tom Brookshier at IMDb
- Career statistics and player information from Baseball Reference (Minors)