William Thomas Brooker (October 31, 1939 – September 21, 2019) was an American professional football player who was a placekicker and

end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...

. He played for the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs of the American Football League (AFL) from 1962 to 1966. Brooker played college football at the

University of Alabama The University of Alabama (informally known as Alabama, UA, or Bama) is a public research university in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Established in 1820 and opened to students in 1831, the University of Alabama is the oldest and largest of the publi ...

under legendary coach Bear Bryant. 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 club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) N ...

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 Events January * January 1 – Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand. * January 3 – Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro for preaching communism. * January 8 – Harmelen train disaster: 93 die in the wor ...

. He caught four passes, three for

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchdown by advancing the ball into the opponent's end zone. In Amer ...

s, the only ones he would score during his career. He also made all 33 of his

extra point The conversion, try (American football, also known as a point(s) after touchdown, PAT, or (depending on the number of points) extra point/2-point conversion), or convert (Canadian football) occurs immediately after a touchdown during which the sc ...

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. The entire ba ...

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 from its founding in 1960 to 1996 before relocating to Memphis, and later Nashville, Tennessee becoming the Tennessee Titans. The Oilers began play in 1960 a ...

(who had won the first two AFL title games, in 1960 and 1961) at

Jeppesen Stadium John O'Quinn Field at Corbin J. Robertson Stadium (often referred to as simply Robertson Stadium) was a multi-purpose stadium in Houston, located on the campus of the University of Houston. It was the home of the Houston Cougars football and wome ...

. It would be the franchise's final game before their move from

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

to Kansas City. Teammate

Bill Hull Harry William Hull Jr. (August 4, 1940 – May 3, 2020) was an American football defensive end who played in the American Football League (AFL) for the History of the Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Texans in 1962. Career Hull played college football ...

intercepted the Oilers'

George Blanda George Frederick Blanda (September 17, 1927 – September 27, 2010) was an American football placekicker and quarterback who played professionally in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). Blanda played 26 seaso ...

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 Jack Erwin Spikes (born February 5, 1937) is a former American football running back and placekicker. He played in the American Football League (NFL) for the Dallas Texans/Kansas City Chiefs, Houston Oilers, and the Buffalo Bills. He played ...

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 (born September 19, 1937) is an American former professional football player who was a running back in the American Football League (AFL). Early years and integration of major college football in Texas Born in Denton, Texas, Hay ...

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 franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

. This remains tied as a franchise single-game record, Mike Mercer and

Lawrence Tynes Lawrence James Henry Tynes (born May 3, 1978) is a Scottish-born former American football placekicker. After playing soccer for Milton High School a coach suggested he try out for the football team as a kicker. He played college football at Troy ...

equaling it in 1966 and 2004 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 Patriarc ...

and 1965. In the former, during which he would be named to the

AFL All-Star Game The American Football League All-Star game was the annual game which featured each year's best performers in the American Football League (AFL). The game was first played in 1961 and the final AFL All-Star game occurred in 1969, prior to the leagu ...

, 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.

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

See also

External links