He was a beloved teammate, then he was a beloved broadcaster.
Chuck Bednarik called him one of the toughest defensive backs of his era. Pat Summerall says he saved his life. Tom Brookshier stood tall on and off the field.
Brookshier came to the Eagles in 1953 as a 10th round draft pick out of Colorado. In training camp he figured he was on the bubble and decided to try to make an impression on the coaches and knocked out Al Conway, the Eagles’ top pick that year. It worked. Head coach Jim Treble was impressed (he ran out to Brookshier and told him "I like that!