An All-Pro cornerback as well as a Hall of Fame-caliber broadcaster, Tom Brookshier is as Philadelphia as cheesesteak.

However, it certainly didn't begin that way. Acquired during the 1953 NFL draft, Brookshier was raised in New Mexico and went to college in Colorado. Points east of the Mississippi were foreign to him. As was, he'd soon discover, the business side of the game.

"It was really scary. I went to Hershey (for training camp) and we beat everybody for a week and then the veterans all came in," Brookshier said.

DB Tom Brookshier

"I looked around and there were like 90 guys out there! I go over to the general manager and said, Mr. McNally.' He said, Who are you?' I said, 'Brookshier.' He said, Oh, yeah. A 10th-round draft choice.' I said, Yes. Which Philadelphia bank is my money in?' And he said, What money?' I said, My contract. The $55 hundred that you offered me on the telephone.' He said, That's for the whole year.' All the guys around him started laughing, so I said, How many (players) are you going to keep?' And he said, '33.'

"So I went right back out on the field and the No. 1 draft choice came downfield on a pass pattern and I knocked him out. Our coach jumped and yelled and I thought, oh my God, I'm going to get cut! But he ran out and said, I like that!'"

Head coach Jim Trimble would like the rookie a lot more once the regular season got underway. With a team-high eight interceptions, Brookshier adjusted to the NFL rather well.

"At every level, I sort of got better. I really wasn't the best player on my high school team in Roswell (New Mexico). I don't think I was the best player on my Colorado team. I just sort of went to the next level and played better."

But it would be three years before he would play again. Following his rookie season, Brookshier reported to the Air Force Academy, where he would "grow a little bit" and work as an assistant on Buck Shaw's coaching staff. The same Shaw who would become the Eagles' coach in 58 and guide them to the NFL championship two years later.

"When I came back, our teams weren't very good. I know it sounds strange, but you learn a lot from last-place teams because the town's not nearly as turned on or enthusiastic about you," said Brookshier. "When he came to take over the Eagles, he brought in (quarterback Norm) Van Brocklin and he let me call plays and run the defense. We only won two games that year.

"We were on the train coming back from Washington, they had shut us out the last game of the year, and Buck said, Take a look around you boys because you're not going to see each other. There's going to be one team coming, one team going and one team playing.' So with that, he started bringing in new players. He got Don Burroughs from the Rams, Bobby Friedman from Cleveland, Jimmy Carr from the Cardinals. That's our secondary on the team that ended up winning it in 60.

"A lot of people thought it was about the third- or fourth-best team and I can't think of a better compliment than to not be the best team and win it all. That's the reason Buck Shaw quit. He said, I can never duplicate this. If you're the best team and you don't win it, you ought to be ashamed.' But if you're like the third or fourth team and you win the championship, that's special. That is very special."

DB Tom Brookshier

Brookshier's playing career which could also be called special, came to a close eight games into the 61 season, his seventh, when he suffered a compound fractured leg while making a tackle against the Bears. The career-ending injury opened the door for a new career as television football analyst, eventually with CBS Sports with a new teammate, former New York Giant Pat Summerall. The duo became the network's top team, calling three Super Bowls (X, XII, XIV).

"It just seemed like the natural thing for us to do. Because of Eddie Sabol and Steve Sabol and those guys (at NFL Films), we would do This Week in the NFL on Mondays, so we would get a scouting report on the whole league. We'd spend two or three days talking to our friends, the quarterbacks and the coaches and by Saturday, we would go in and do a game. We'd go out Saturday night and the town would accept us, whether it was San Francisco or New York City. We'd sit in a place and talk and really have a good time.

"Everybody used to say, How come you didn't lock yourself up on Saturday night?' And I said, Well, the coach isn't changing his game plan on Saturday night, why the hell would I stay in?'" Brookshier said with a laugh. "We used to have a great time and we never missed a game or showed up late or drunk or anything. We had a good time and the people were really friendly with us. I don't know, maybe it was because we were just two players, or something. I enjoyed it."

Now making his home in suburban Philadelphia with his wife, Barbara, Brookshier, who is a member of the Eagles' Honor Roll and one of only seven players whose number has been retired by the team, was a part-owner and morning show host at WIP radio in Philadelphia and remains involved with another career that he enjoys.

"I'm a consultant for CB Richard Ellis. They're an international commercial real estate firm and I was always into real estate. I trusted that more than I did radio and television, to be honest. And I enjoy it, I was always doing that kind of stuff on the side while I was broadcasting."