|
Dewey Johnson
Regarding Tom Brookshier, he actually went to Colorado on a baseball scholarship. He excelled, obviously, at both sports. When he graduated in 1953, he was supposed to go into the Air Force for two years because part of his scholarship aid at CU was ROTC. But the Air Force misplaced his paperwork. The Philadelphia Eagles told him to come play for them until the Air Force figured out who he was. So, he began his pro football career in the fall of 1953. (The following is from a book I haven't finished but hope to do so by 2024, the 70th anniversary of Joe Bauman's big summer.)
The Eagles paid him $5500 for the season ($51,200 today), of which he and his wife saved $1200. He had no idea when the Air Force was going to call him back, but he had to have a job by summer. Otherwise, he’d be broke. He and Barbara jumped in their new Mercury and headed for the Southwest where he hoped to pitch for the Lubbock Hubbers. The Hubbers, though, reneged on a signing bonus, and so he drove on to his hometown and signed on as a pitcher with the Roswell Rockets.
He lasted four weeks in Roswell before the Air Force remembered who he was. His pitching philosophy was, “If I can just hold the other team, Joe will knock in enough runs for the win.” And Joe rarely disappointed. (Joe Bauman and Tom roomed together on the road.) He knocked in 224 that summer. Tom said that his time in Roswell was as much fun as he ever had playing anything. As a pitcher he had seven wins and one loss, which put him on course to have pitched 35 wins had he been able to finish the season. But one day he was waiting for Roswell manager Pat Stasey to point him to the pitcher’s mound, the next he and his wife were throwing all their clothes in the Mercury and heading toward Colorado Springs and the Air Force Academy, where he was put to work as an assistant football coach. It wasn’t until years later that they realized they had forgotten to take any mementoes of his time as a Roswell Rocket with them. No photographs, no newspaper clippings, not even a sweat-stained baseball cap.
After two years with the Air Force, Tom Brookshier returned to the Philadelphia Eagles, where he put in a total of seven years as a starting defensive back. He was a Pro Bowl selection twice, and the Eagles retired his jersey. He and Pat Summerall then went on to be the first non-professional broadcasters to broadcast professional football games on TV, and arguably the most popular pair of the 1970s.
|
.jpg)
.JPG)
.JPG)
(1).jpg)
.jpg)
.png)
%201929.jpg)
