{{Short description|American equipment manager (1935–2007)}} [[File:Sid Brooks tending to Cid Edwards.jpg|thumb|Brooks ''(right)'' with the San Diego Chargers in 1973, tending to Cid Edwards]] '''Sidney Joseph Patrick Brooks'''<ref name=yockey_09081982>{{cite news|first=Cheryl|last=Yockey|title=Chargers' Sid Brooks Equipped for His Job|date=September 8, 1982|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|at=Part III, pp. [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/198418960/ 1], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/198418985/ 5]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/198418960/|url-access=limited|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 27, 2026}}</ref> (March 17, 1935 – April 14, 2007), nicknamed "'''Doc'''",<ref name=yockey_09081982/> was an American equipment manager for the San Diego Chargers (now Los Angeles) of the National Football League (NFL). He served in the U.S. Air Force for 20 years before spending 27 years with the Chargers (1973–2000). He was also the director of athletic equipment operations at the University of Southern California (USC) for five years (2000–2005).
==Early life== On March 17, 1935, Brooks was born in Ste. Genevieve, Missouri,<ref name=legacy>{{cite web|title=Sidney Brooks Obituary|publisher=The San Diego Union-Tribune|via=Legacy|url=https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/sandiegouniontribune/name/sidney-brooks-obituary?id=50296402|access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> to one of the city's first Black families.<ref name=shinabarger_02212001>{{cite news|first=Carl|last=Shinabarger|title=Sid, The Great|date=February 21, 2001|newspaper=Ste. Genevieve Herald|page=14|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ste-genevieve-herald/198359079/|url-access=limited|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> His father was born in Ste. Genevieve, and worked with banker Henry L. Rozier Sr. and his family for 77 years. Brooks' mother was the city's first African American resident with a college degree.<ref name=evans_02041998>{{cite news|first=Mark|last=Evans|title=William Brooks And Family Left Legacy Of Respect|date=February 4, 1998|newspaper=Ste. Genevieve Herald|page=1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ste-genevieve-herald/198359861/|url-access=limited|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> She died from a head injury in a car wreck when he was six.<ref name=brooks2014_ix>{{cite book|first1=Sid|last1=Brooks|first2=Gerri|last2=Brooks|title=Tales From The San Diego Chargers Sideline|year=2014|publisher=Sports Publishing|page=ix|isbn=9781613217160|ref=brooks2014}}</ref> He grew up with his older and younger brother, who were raised alone by their father.<ref name=evans_02041998/> Few Blacks lived in Ste. Genevieve.<ref name=brooks2014_ix/> Brooks was allowed to go to the local elementary school,<ref name=shinabarger_02212001/> but he took a bus over {{convert|50|mi|km}} to go to a segregated high school in Festus, Missouri.<ref>Brooks, Brooks 2014, pp. ix, x.</ref> He attended Douglass High School,<ref name=fair_play_07311970>{{cite news|title=Mr. Sidney Brooks Outstanding Airmen|date=July 31, 1970|newspaper=Ste. Genevieve Fair Play|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ste-genevieve-fair-play/198502793/|url-access=limited|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 29, 2026}}</ref> where he was a member of their state championship relay team.<ref>{{cite news|title=Douglass Wins State Class C Track Championship|date=May 12, 1952|newspaper=Daily News-Democrat|page=3|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/daily-news-democrat/198503204/|url-access=limited|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 29, 2026}}</ref><ref>Brooks, Brooks 2014, p. 75.</ref>
==Air Force== thumb|left|Brooks accepting award for Senior Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year for 1969 Brooks joined the Air Force when he was 18.<ref name=wells_03012000>{{cite news|first=Michael|last=Wells|title=Brooks Delivers EBG Talk To Ste. Gen. High School Students Friday|date=March 1, 2000|newspaper=Ste. Genevieve Herald|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ste-genevieve-herald/198360641/|url-access=limited|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> He served 20 years, earning a promotion to senior master sergeant.<ref name=anderson_12241995/> He completed tours of duty in both the Korean War and Vietnam War,<ref name=glauber_12241995/> and was awarded 28 service medals.<ref name=anderson_12241995/> Brooks was named the U.S. Air Force Academy's Senior Non-Commissioned Officer of the Year in 1969,<ref>{{cite news|title=Brooks Honored At Air Force Academy|date=January 31, 1970|newspaper=Ste. Genevieve Herald|page=1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ste-genevieve-herald/198502755/|url-access=limited|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 29, 2026}}</ref> and he was one of the Air Force's Outstanding Airman of the Year in 1970,<ref name=fair_play_07311970/><ref name=1998mg>{{cite web|title=1998 San Diego Chargers Media Guide|publisher=San Diego Chargers|year=1998|page=27|url=https://archive.org/details/chargers-1998-media-guide-san-diego-c/page/27/mode/1up|via=Internet Archive|access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> among 12 selected out of 650,000 airmen.<ref>{{cite news|first=T.J.|last=Simers|title=You Have to Get Up Pretty Early to Outsmart Him|date=December 31, 2004|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-dec-31-sp-simers31-story.html|access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> He was Outstanding Airman of the Year for the Far East while at Da Nang Air Base in Vietnam in 1972.<ref name=1998mg/><ref name=col_springs_02081973>{{cite news|title=Sid Brooks Named Charger Manager|date=February 8, 1973|newspaper=Colorado Springs Gazette Telegraph|page=1-D|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/colorado-springs-gazette-telegraph/198429107/|url-access=limited|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 27, 2026}}</ref> For five years from 1968 to 1973, he led the Air Force Academy's Cadet Athletic Supply Branch before retiring from the Air Force.<ref name=1998mg/><ref>{{cite news|title=Sid Brooks Named Equip. Mgr. Of S. D. Chargers|date=March 1, 1973|newspaper=Ste. Genevieve Herald|page=13|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ste-genevieve-herald/198360444/|url-access=limited|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref>
==San Diego Chargers== Brooks became the equipment manager for the San Diego Chargers in 1973.{{efn|Some sources have called Brooks the first Black equipment manager in the NFL.<ref>{{cite news|title=Seau Makes an Early Impression On Chargers|date=October 26, 2003|newspaper=South Florida Sun Sentinel|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/2003/10/26/seau-makes-an-early-impression-on-chargers/|url-access=subscription|access-date=May 28, 2026|quote=The two have remained close. Brooks, the NFL’s first black equipment manager, was honored as the 2000 Legend of the Year by Seau’s charity foundation.}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|title=Chargers Name Brooks To Equipment Manager Post|date=June 7, 1973|work=Jet|volume=44|issue=11|page=52|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=o68DAAAAMBAJ&lpg=PA52&pg=PA52#v=onepage&q&f=false|issn=0021-5996|access-date=May 28, 2026|via=Google Books|quote=The San Diego Chargers of the American Football Conference of the National Football League will begin its 1973–74 football schedule with pro football's first Black equipment manager in 38-year-old Sid Brooks.}}</ref> However, ''The Louisiana Weekly'' wrote that Charlie Shepherd was the first with the New Orleans Saints in 1967.<ref>{{cite news|first=Jim|last=Hall|title=Time Out|date=June 23, 1973|newspaper=The Louisiana Weekly|at=Sect. 2, pp. [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-louisiana-weekly/198328873/ 9], [https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-louisiana-weekly/198328780/ 10]|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-louisiana-weekly/198328873/|url-access=limited|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2026|quote=A recent story from the west coast, stated that 38-year-old Sid Brooks, had been named pro football's first black equipment manager with the San Diego Chargers of the American Football Conference. A check in the record books, reveals that Charlie Shepherd won the honor in 1967, when he became the equipment manager of the New Orleans Saints.}}</ref>}}<ref name=col_springs_02081973/> Among his achievements with the team, he was credited with co-inventing colored face masks, colored football shoes, and three-color jersey numbers.<ref name=wells_03012000/><ref name=holland_03212022>{{cite news|first=Peter Jr.|last=Holland|title=Pro Football Hall of Fame announces inaugural 'Awards of Excellence' honorees|date=March 21, 2022|newspaper=The Canton Repository|url=https://www.cantonrep.com/story/sports/2022/03/21/pro-football-hall-fame-awards-excellence-honorees-jimmy-raye-fritz-shurmur-alex-gibbs-terry-robiskie/9456629002/|access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> The Chargers changed to yellow face masks after general manager and head coach Harland Svare made a request in 1973 for fiercer uniforms, like the darker blue jersey and blue helmet he wore with the New York Giants.<ref name=lukas_04072017>{{cite news|first=Paul|last=Lukas|title=Uni Watch's Friday Flashback: How the Chargers started the colored face mask revolution|date=April 7, 2017|work=ESPN|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/19100328/uni-watch-friday-flashback-how-chargers-started-colored-face-mask-revolution|access-date=May 28, 2026}}</ref><ref name=brooks2014_17-18>Brooks, Brooks 2014, pp. 14, 15.</ref> At the time, every team had gray face masks.{{efn|In a few rare cases, individual players had changed their face mask color, but it was not done across the team.<ref name=lukas_04072017/>}} Brooks and Chargers business manager Bob Hood first went to their face mask supplier, Riddell, but they said they could not change the color. Brooks and Hood then approached a dentist who was selling face masks under the brand name Dungard, who was able to change the color by using a dental process. Some players were still wearing old single- and double-bar masks, which Brooks painted yellow himself. The Chargers introduced their new uniforms in 1974, after Svare had resigned as coach at the end of the 1973 season.<ref name=lukas_04072017/><ref name=brooks2014_17-18/>
Standing at {{convert|6|ft|1|in}} and {{convert|200|lb}}, Brooks was athletic, and he annually raced a designated rookie in a 40-yard dash.<ref name=eakins_04202007/><ref name=tsn_01151990>{{cite news|title=Doc is Topped|date=January 15, 1990|volume=209|issue=2|work=The Sporting News|pages=16, 17|url=https://newspaperarchive.com/st-louis-sporting-news-jan-15-1990-p-16/|url-access=subscription|access-date=May 30, 2026|issn=0038805X|via=NewspaperArchive}}</ref> He entered his final race in 1989 with an undefeated record of 16–0–1, tying Dennis McKnight in 1982. Brooks usually raced a lineman, but the 54-year-old agreed to go against quarterback Billy Joe Tolliver that year. The fleshy Tolliver started slow but recovered to win. According to Brooks, the two players holding the tape, Billy Ray Smith and Gary Plummer, kept moving the finish line.<ref name=tsn_01151990/><ref name=brooks2014_75-78>Brooks, Brooks 2014, pp. 75–78.</ref> "Billy Joe might not have been as fast as I was, but he'd last longer", Brooks wrote.<ref name=brooks2014_75-78/>
In a Chargers road game against the New York Giants in 1995, fans at Giants Stadium threw snowballs throughout the game at players and coaches of both teams, as well as photographers, reporters, and security personnel.<ref name=glauber_12241995>{{cite news|first=Bob|last=Glauber|title='A Cowardly Act'|date=December 24, 1995|newspaper=Newsday|page=Sports-13|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/newsday-suffolk-edition/198456598/|url-access=limited|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2026}}</ref> In the fourth quarter, Brooks was hit near his left eye by an ice ball. He collapsed and was unconscious for 30 seconds before being placed on a stretcher.<ref>{{cite news|first=Mike|last=Freeman|title=Giants Express Regrets Over Snowball Throwers|date=December 28, 1995|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1995/12/28/sports/pro-football-giants-express-regrets-over-snowball-throwers.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=May 27, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=Bill|last=Plaschke|title=A Lot of Good Things Snowball for the Chargers|date=December 24, 1995|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1995-12-24-sp-17494-story.html|access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref><ref name=plaschke_12182001>{{cite news|first=Bill|last=Plaschke|title=Trashing the Game|date=December 18, 2001|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-dec-18-sp-15806-story.html|access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|first=N. R.|last=Kleinfield|title=Meadowlands in February? Watch for Snowballs|date=May 26, 2010|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/27/nyregion/27super.html|url-access=subscription|access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> "After all those years in Korea and Vietnam, I didn't get hurt until I came back here to New York. I'm sorry, I mean New Jersey", said Brooks.<ref name=anderson_12241995>{{cite news|first=Dave|last=Anderson|title=Fans' snowballs steam Chargers|date=December 24, 1995|newspaper=The Times|page=C7|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-times/198326181/|url-access=limited|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> He called it "a cowardly act".<ref name=glauber_12241995/> He was not angry or bitter.<ref>{{cite news|first=Glenn J.|last=Kalinoski|title=Chargers employee reflactive|date=December 24, 1995|newspaper=Rockland Journal-News|page=D3|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-journal-news/198454104/|url-access=limited|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2026}}</ref> NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue wrote him a letter for his "professionalism and class" in downplaying the incident.<ref>{{cite news|first=Gordon|last=Forbes|title=Cowboys' Eddy jumps into new assignment|date=January 4, 1996|newspaper=USA Today|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/usa-today/198422865/|url-access=limited|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2026}}</ref>
After 27 years with the Chargers, Brooks retired from the team in April 2000.<ref>{{cite news|title=Chargers' Brooks to call it a career|date=April 13, 1999|newspaper=North County Times|page=C-4|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/north-county-times/198370164/|url-access=limited|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 27, 2026}}</ref>
==USC== In July 2000, shortly after leaving the Chargers, Brooks accepted an offer to become the director of athletic equipment operations at USC. He said that he was "too young to retire" at age 65, and wanted to be "around young people and keep me young".<ref>{{cite news|first=Mike|last=Sullivan|title=Brooks takes job with USC|date=July 6, 2000|newspaper=The Californian|page=C-6|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-californian/198364862/|url-access=limited|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 27, 2026}}</ref> In 2001, Brooks missed work for two months due to problems with his head related to the beaning at Giants Stadium. He first experienced problems several years earlier.<ref name=plaschke_12182001/> He retired in 2005 after five years with the Trojans.<ref name=eakins_04202007/>
==Honors== In 2022, Brooks was among the Pro Football Hall of Fame's inaugural recipients of its Awards of Excellence for off-the-field contributions to the NFL.<ref name=holland_03212022/><ref>{{cite news|title=Pro Football Hall of Fame announces inaugural excellence awards|date=March 21, 2022|work=ESPN|agency=Associated Press|url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/33567354/pro-football-hall-fame-announces-inaugural-excellence-awards|access-date=May 28, 2026}}</ref> He was made an honorary Blue Angel in 1996.<ref name=shinabarger_02212001/>
==Personal life== Brooks and his wife, Gerri, were married for 38 years. They had three sons and a daughter.<ref name=eakins_04202007/><ref>{{cite news|title=Sid Brooks Serving As Equipment Mgr. With Charger F.B. Staff|date=January 17, 1975|newspaper=Ste. Genevieve Fair Play|page=4|url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/ste-genevieve-fair-play/198500994/|url-access=limited|via=Newspapers.com|access-date=May 28, 2026}}</ref> He wrote a book about his experiences, ''Sid Brooks' Tales from the San Diego Chargers Locker Room'', which was published in 2006.<ref name=eakins_04202007/>
On April 14, 2007,<ref name=legacy/> Brooks died at home in Gilbert, Arizona,<ref name=eakins_04202007>{{cite news|first=Paul|last=Eakins|title=Remembering Sidney ‘Doc’ Brooks: Chargers’ equipment manager known most for family|date=April 20, 2007|newspaper=The San Diego Union-Tribune|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2007/04/20/remembering-sidney-doc-brooks-chargers-equipment-manager-known-most-for-family/|access-date=May 26, 2026}}</ref> after a head injury from a fall at a health club sauna. He was 72.<ref>{{cite news|title=Arkansas quarterback to transfer to USC|date=April 20, 2007|newspaper=Orange County Register|url=https://www.ocregister.com/2007/04/20/arkansas-quarterback-to-transfer-to-usc/|url-access=subscription|access-date=May 26, 2026|quote=Brooks died last Saturday in Gilbert, Ariz., of a head injury from a fall in a health club sauna.}}</ref>
==Publications== *{{cite book|first1=Sid|last1=Brooks|first2=Gerri|last2=Brooks|title=Sid Brooks' Tales from the San Diego Chargers Locker Room|publisher=Sports Publishing|year=2006|isbn=9781596700970}}
==Notes== {{notelist}}
==References== {{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Brooks, Sid}} Category:1935 births Category:2007 deaths Category:American football people from Missouri Category:Military personnel from Missouri Category:People from Ste. Genevieve County, Missouri Category:San Diego Chargers personnel Category:United States Air Force Academy people Category:United States Air Force personnel of the Korean War Category:United States Air Force personnel of the Vietnam War Category:University of Southern California staff