Thomas Jefferson Brookshier (born December 16, 1931) is a former professional American football player, coach and sportscaster.
Playing career
Brookshier played high-school football in Roswell, New Mexico. After graduating from the University of Colorado, Brookshier was a 10th-round NFL draft pick. He played defensive back for the Philadelphia Eagles of the National Football League from 1953 to 1961, during which time the Eagles won the NFL Championship (in 1960), and he was selected for the Pro Bowl twice. Brookshier's playing career ended because of a compound leg fracture, sustained while making a tackle. He is a member of the Eagles' Honor Roll and is one of only seven players to have their number (40) retired by the team.
As a lieutenant, he was a backfield coach at the United States Air Force Academy for 9 years.
Broadcasting career
He began sportscasting for WCAU-AM-FM-TV in Philadelphia in 1962, eventually becoming the station's sports director. In 1965, he became a color commentator for CBS Sports' NFL telecasts. In addition to many regular-season games and NFC playoff contests, he broadcast three Super Bowls (X, XII, XIV) with Pat Summerall, and did pre- and post-game shows for four other Super Bowls. (Brookshier also teamed with Summerall in the early 1970s to narrate This Week in Pro Football, a weekly syndicated highlights show produced by NFL Films.) For most of the 1970s, he and Summerall were CBS's premier announcing team.
Brookshier appeared as himself in the 1977 motion picture Black Sunday.
Controversy
Brookshier became the subject of controversy because of a remark he made[1] during a Philadelphia Eagles vs. New Orleans Saints game broadcast on December 11, 1983. After a program note for an upcoming telecast of an NCAA men's basketball game involving the University of Louisville, Brookshier said that the players on the Louisville team had "a collective I.Q. of about 40". This resulted in Neal Pilson, then president of CBS Sports, apologizing to Louisville school officials and later suspending Brookshier for the last weekend of the NFL's regular season. Louisville's athletic director, Bill Olsen, felt that the remark was racist, since Louisville's starting five were all African American. Brookshier later apologized, calling his remark "stupid" and "dumb", but was angered over CBS's reaction, saying "I'm not about to be judged on one comment." He added, "I've done a lot of things for charity. Now my own network is bailing out on me and taking me off the air. After 20 years at CBS, I deserve better than this." Apparently, the apology was accepted by the university, as its president, Donald Swain, invited Brookshier to be the featured speaker at school's annual football kickoff luncheon in August 1984.[2] Brookshier was reinstated in CBS's announcing lineup for the 1984 season, continuing as a network commentator through 1987.
Later life
In 1989, he hosted the morning show of the then-nascent 610 WIP (AM) 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. He has since left broadcasting and was last known to be working as a consultant for CB Richard Ellis, an international commercial real-estate firm.[3]
See also
References
External links
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