Tales from the San Diego Chargers Sideline: A Collection of the Greatest Chargers Stories Ever Told

Sid Brooks · Gerri Brooks

Set 2014 · Ibinebenta ng Simon and Schuster

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During his 27-year tenure with the San Diego Chargers, equipment manager Sid Brooks kept over 5,000 football players from appearing naked before their cheering fans. The first African American to hold the job of equipment manager in the NFL, Brooks’ job was to see that each player left the locker room in uniform. But the means to that end was far more complicated—and outrageous—than one would believe.

This reissue of Tales from the Chargers Locker Room takes the reader aboard the elevator to B2, the basement of Qualcomm Stadium, where the Chargers locker room is housed. In that basement, the equipment department and trainers, affectionately known as "dungeon rats," ran the Chargers locker room. There, Sid Brooks became caretaker for all who crossed its threshold.

In this book, Sid recounts stories unique to a life spent working behind the scenes in the Chargers locker room. He features stories about Chargers greats like Dan Fouts, Charlie Joiner, Kellen Winslow, Louie Kelcher, John Jefferson, Rodney Harrison, and Junior Seau. With an eye for detail, he recounts tales of spies sent out to capture the opposing team’s playbooks; the night the lights went out on Don Shula; wild cab rides with Fouts, Joiner, and Winslow; the zany pre-game rituals and idiosyncrasies of Russ Washington, Wilbur Young, Pat Curran, Woodrow Lowe, and others; rivalries born not on the playing field, but at the dominoes table; and plenty of pranks and good-natured ribbing.

Rarely does a book offer more than a passing glance at what makes a football team a family. But Sid Brooks not only introduces the family here—he also invites the reader over for dinner.

Skyhorse Publishing, as well as our Sports Publishing imprint, are proud to publish a broad range of books for readers interested in sports—books about baseball, pro football, college football, pro and college basketball, hockey, or soccer, we have a book about your sport or your team.

Whether you are a New York Yankees fan or hail from Red Sox nation; whether you are a die-hard Green Bay Packers or Dallas Cowboys fan; whether you root for the Kentucky Wildcats, Louisville Cardinals, UCLA Bruins, or Kansas Jayhawks; whether you route for the Boston Bruins, Toronto Maple Leafs, Montreal Canadiens, or Los Angeles Kings; we have a book for you. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to publishing books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked by other publishers and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

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Sid Brooks (1935-2007), a retired Air Force Senior Master Sergeant who served his last duties in the military in Vietnam and the Air Force Academy, was the equipment manager of the San Diego Chargers from 1973 to 2000. Known throughout the league as "Doc," he sat at the draft table for the Chargers during the NFL draft from 1990 to 2000. Sid lived and worked day to day inside the Chargers locker room, befriending and nurturing almost all who made his acquaintance. He was declared a legend by the Junior Seau Foundation in San Diego.
Gerri Brooks is the widow of Sid Brooks. She is the author of Love Potion (2006).