Tommy Brooker
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

William Thomas Brooker (October 31, 1939 – September 21, 2019) was an American professional
football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...
player who was a
placekicker In gridiron football, the placekicker (PK), or simply kicker (K), is the player responsible for attempts at scoring Field goal (football), field goals and extra points. In most cases, the placekicker also serves as the team's kickoff specialist ...
and
end End, END, Ending, or ENDS may refer to: End Mathematics *End (category theory) * End (topology) * End (graph theory) * End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) * End (endomorphism) Sports and games *End (gridiron football) *End, a division ...
. He played for the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs of the
American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, AFL–NFL merger, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Foot ...
(AFL) from 1962 to 1966. Brooker played
college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...
at the
University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, the Capstone, or Bama) is a Public university, public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, United States. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of ...
under legendary coach
Bear Bryant Paul William "Bear" Bryant (September 11, 1913 – January 26, 1983) was an American college football player and coach. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest college football coaches of all time, and best known as the head coach of ...
. He was drafted by the Texans in the 17th round (131st overall) in the 1962 AFL Draft and by the
Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East ...
in the 16th round (211th overall) in the same year's NFL draft. Doubling as an offensive end, Brooker had his best statistical season in his rookie year,
1962 The year saw the Cuban Missile Crisis, which is often considered the closest the world came to a Nuclear warfare, nuclear confrontation during the Cold War. Events January * January 1 – Samoa, Western Samoa becomes independent from Ne ...
. He caught four passes, three for
touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...
s, the only ones he would score during his career. He also made all 33 of his
extra point Extra, Xtra, or The Extra may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Film * The Extra (1962 film), ''The Extra'' (1962 film), a Mexican film * The Extra (2005 film), ''The Extra'' (2005 film), an Australian film Literature * Extra (newspaper), ...
attempts and kicked 12 of 22
field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, a ...
for a total of 87 points. Brooker was a member of the Texans team that won the 1962
AFL Championship game For its first nine seasons, 1960 through 1968, the American Football League determined its champion via a single playoff game between the winners of its two divisions (although ties in the standings in 1963 (Eastern) and 1968 (Western) necessitat ...
, the Texans defeating the
Houston Oilers The Houston Oilers were a professional American football team that played in Houston, Texas, from its founding in 1960 Houston Oilers season, 1960 to 1996 Houston Oilers season, 1996. The Houston Oilers began play as a charter member of the Ame ...
(who had won the first two AFL title games, in 1960 and 1961) at Jeppesen Stadium. It would be the franchise's final game before their move from
Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
to
Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...
. Teammate Bill Hull intercepted the Oilers'
George Blanda George Frederick Blanda (September 17, 1927 – September 27, 2010) was an American professional American football, football quarterback and placekicker who played in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Blanda ...
late in the first overtime of professional football's longest championship game. Hull's interception allowed the Texans to start the second overtime with two runs by Jack Spikes to move the ball to the Oilers' 25-yard line, and Brooker kicked a field goal to give the Texans the win, 20– 17. The field goal saved Texans star running back
Abner Haynes Abner Haynes (September 19, 1937 – July 18, 2024) was an American professional football player who was a halfback and return specialist in the American Football League (AFL). He played college football for the North Texas State Eagles and w ...
from what could have been a costly error: at the start of the overtime, Haynes won the coin toss and stated that his team would "kick to the clock", which not only gave the Oilers first possession, but put the wind at their backs (the Oilers having gotten the choice of which end zone to defend). The Texans saved Haynes from embarrassment by preventing Houston from scoring in the first overtime; after the teams switched sides for the second overtime (double-overtime), Brooker kicked the winning field goal 2 minutes and 54 seconds in. On September 8, 1963, in the Chiefs' inaugural game since moving from Dallas, Brooker converted eight extra points in a 59-7 victory over the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
. This remains tied as a franchise single-game record, Mike Mercer and Lawrence Tynes equaling it in
1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...
and
2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
respectively. Brooker enjoyed two more solid seasons in
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...
and
1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...
. In the former, during which he would be named to the AFL All-Star Game, he made eight field goals and led the AFL with 46 extra points in as many attempts, for a total of 70 points. In 1965, he kicked a career-high 13 field goals and was a perfect 37-for-37 in PATs, for 76 points. In his career Brooker scored 290 points: the three touchdowns in 1962, 41 field goals in 85 attempts, and a perfect 149-for-149 in PATs. To date, he holds the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs record for most career extra point attempts without a miss.


See also

*
List of American Football League players This is a list of players who appeared in at least one regular season or postseason game in the American Football League (AFL). A * Bud Abell * Ray Abruzzese * Ken Adamson * Tom Addison * Ben Agajanian * Harold Akin * Ted Alflen * Bruce Alford ...


External links


Tommy Brooker's pro football stats
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooker, Tommy 1939 births 2019 deaths Alabama Crimson Tide football players American football ends American Football League All-Star players American Football League players American football placekickers Dallas Texans (AFL) players Kansas City Chiefs players People from Demopolis, Alabama Players of American football from Alabama