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Former Eagles DB Brookshier dead at 78, was two-time All-Pro

NFL.com Wire Reports
Former Philadelphia Eagles star Tom Brookshier died Friday night after a bout with cancer, the team said. He was 78.

Brookshier was an All-Pro defensive back who played on the Eagles' 1960 NFL championship team. He had 20 interceptions in seven seasons, earning All-Pro honors in 1959 and 1960, before a compound fracture in his leg ended his career in 1961.




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"Tom Brookshier is one of all-time greats, both for what he did on the field and for the kind of man he was off the field," Eagles coach Andy Reid said in a statement released by the team Saturday. "I will always remember him for his booming and bright personality.

"He had an uncanny love for life, a love for his family and a love for the game of football, especially for the Philadelphia Eagles. He bled green, and I will always cherish our conversations and the relationship that we fostered throughout my tenure in Philadelphia. Our deepest condolences go out to his wife, Barbara, and the rest of the Brookshier family."

Brookshier is one of seven Eagles to have his number retired, and he was inducted into the team's Honor Roll in 1989. He's still tied with Bibbles Bawel for the Eagles' single-season interception record with eight, which he set as a rookie in 1953.

Brookshier left the team after that season to join the Air Force and returned in 1956.

After he retired, Brookshier began a broadcast career with WCAU-AM in Philadelphia and later announced NFL games for CBS.

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