Royal Brewer Brougham (September 17, 1894 – October 30, 1978) was one of the longest tenured employees of a U.S. newspaper in history, working for the ''

Seattle Post-Intelligencer The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was foun ...

'' in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered on ...

, primarily as sports editor, for 68 years, starting at age 16. Born in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, Brougham moved to Seattle as a youngster with his family. He was a highly regarded Seattle citizen who befriended athletes such as

Jack Dempsey William Harrison "Jack" Dempsey (June 24, 1895 – May 31, 1983), nicknamed Kid Blackie and The Manassa Mauler, was an American professional boxer who competed from 1914 to 1927, and reigned as the world heavyweight champion from 1919 to 1926. ...

and

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

and movie stars like

Bing Crosby Harry Lillis "Bing" Crosby Jr. (May 3, 1903 – October 14, 1977) was an American singer, musician and actor. The first multimedia star, he was one of the most popular and influential musical artists of the 20th century worldwide. He was a ...

. At age 74, he stepped down as sports editor in 1968, succeeded by John Owen, but continued to write for the ''P-I'' for ten more years.

Death

Midway through the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) West, which they rejoined in 2002 as ...

' third season in

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

, Brougham was still on the job at age 84, in the

Kingdome The Kingdome (officially the King County Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium located in the Industrial District, Seattle, Industrial District (later SoDo, Seattle, SoDo) neighborhood of Seattle, Washington (state), Washington, United States. O ...

press box during a game against division

rival A rivalry is the state of two people or groups engaging in a lasting competitive relationship. Rivalry is the "against each other" spirit between two competing sides. The relationship itself may also be called "a rivalry", and each participant o ...

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

on October 29. In the closing minutes, he suffered a major heart attack and was rushed to

Swedish Hospital Swedish Hospital (formerly Swedish Covenant Hospital) is a 312-bed nonprofit teaching hospital located on the north side of Chicago, Illinois. The hospital offers over 50 medical specialties, including neurosurgery for the spine and brain, integr ...

, where he died shortly after 1 am. His funeral in Seattle that Friday was attended by nearly five hundred.

Legacy

Brougham was a devout Christian and philanthropist. The Royal Brougham Sports Pavilion at

Seattle Pacific University Seattle Pacific University (SPU) is a private Christian university in Seattle, Washington. It was founded in 1891 in conjunction with the Oregon and Washington Conference of the Free Methodist Church as the Seattle Seminary. It became the Seat ...

and the street named S. Royal Brougham Way (formerly known as S. Connecticut St., it borders

T-Mobile Park T-Mobile Park is a retractable roof stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. It is the home ballpark of Major League Baseball's Seattle Mariners and has a seating capacity of 47,929. It is in Seattle's SoDo neighborhood, near the western t ...

and

Lumen Field Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL, the ...

) in Seattle commemorate his legacy to the community. The

Emerald City Supporters Emerald City Supporters (ECS) is an independent supporters' group for Major League Soccer's Seattle Sounders FC. The ECS is known for large choreographed tifo displays. History and name Emerald City Supporters was founded in 2005 by the suppor ...

, a supporter group for the

Seattle Sounders FC Seattle Sounders Football Club is an American professional men's soccer club based in Seattle. The Sounders compete as a member of the Western Conference of Major League Soccer (MLS). The club was established on November 13, 2007, and began ...

soccer team, have nicknamed the team's home stadium "

Royal Brougham Park Lumen Field is a multi-purpose stadium in Seattle, Washington, United States. Located in the city's SoDo neighborhood, it is the home field for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League (NFL), the Seattle Sea Dragons of the XFL, the ...

" in honor of the sportswriter. The supporters' section behind the southern goal, closest to S. Royal Brougham Way, is known as the "Brougham End". Two of these supporters' groups take his name: The Brougham Boys '74 are an invite-only

Ultras Ultras are a type of association football fans who are renowned for their fanatical support. The term originated in Italy, but is used worldwide to describe predominantly organised fans of association football teams. The behavioural tende ...

group affiliated with the ECS, as are the Royal Femmes for Women.

References

External links

''Seattle P-I'': Royal Brougham slideshowSeattle Pacific University: Royal Brougham Pavilion
* American sports journalists 1978 deaths 1894 births Writers from Seattle Franklin High School (Seattle) alumni {{US-journalist-19thC-stub