Remembering Sidney 'Doc' Brooks: Chargers' equipment manager known most for family

By: PAUL EAKINS - Staff Writer | Thursday, April 19, 2007 7:17 PM PDT ∞

RANCHO BERNARDO -- To members of the San Diego Chargers, Sidney "Doc" Brooks was a well-liked equipment manager known as "the doc of dominoes" who was hard to beat in a game.

To his wife of 38 years, Geraldine Brooks, he was a loving husband and father.

"Everything he ever did in his whole life was for his children," she said Thursday.

Sidney Brooks passed away Saturday from a head injury at the couple's home in Gilbert, Ariz., at the age of 72. The Brooks had lived in the Tierrasanta neighborhood in San Diego just south of Miramar Marine Corps Air Station until recently.

After 20 years with the U.S. Air Force, Brooks worked for the Chargers from 1973 to 2000. He then worked for five years as director of athletic equipment for the University of Southern California before retiring for a third time in 2005.

Brooks was personable and put people at ease, his wife said. He became friends with many Chargers stars through the years and loved working for the organization, she said.

"He enjoyed himself every day of his life. He was fun, and he made other people have fun at his job," his wife said. "He was genuinely interested in people and he showed that to them."

Brooks played dominoes every Sunday before football games with famed quarterback Dan Fouts and other players, not only from the Chargers, but also from visiting teams.

The 6-foot-1-inch, 200-pound Brooks was athletic, having run track in high school and in the Air Force. So at the end of each training season, he ran a race with one of the rookie players, his wife said.

One of the few times that he lost was when he raced quarterback Stan Humphries, but only because the other players who were holding the finish line kept moving it to help Humphries win, she said.

"He said at the end of that race, 'I should've stuck with the linemen,' " his wife said.

Brooks even wrote a book about his experiences that was published last year, called, "Sid Brooks' Tales from the San Diego Chargers Locker Room."

Brooks always supported his three sons and daughter, going to their track meets and other sporting events, his wife said. And his dedication to his job and to the people around him rubbed off on their children, she said.

"They have so much of him," she said. "They have wonderful friends. They are kind and wonderful people. They learned it from him."

Brooks grew up in a small Missouri town before joining the Air Force and serving in the Korean and Vietnam wars.

He later worked in equipment purchasing for the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colo., before being chosen for the Chargers job from among 400 applicants, his wife said.

The couple made many friends in San Diego, and she often traveled with Brooks to Chargers events and games, even once to the Super Bowl.

"It was the most wonderful time in our lives," his wife said of the Chargers years.

-- Contact staff writer Paul Eakins at (760) 740-5420 or peakins@nctimes.com.