Sports
"I think we should follow a simple rule: if we can take the worst, take the risk." - Dr. Joyce Brothers
Dr. Joyce Brothers and boxing: two topics that may seem utterly incompatible, but the conjunction is in fact where Dr. Brothers’ fame began. To appear on The $64,000 Question, Dr. Brothers had to choose a topic to master. She decided on boxing, so as to have something to talk about with her husband (he also enjoyed golf, which she found more boring than boxing). Her outstanding knowledge of boxing rules, regulations, and general trivia won her The $64,000 Question, The $64,000 Challenge, and a contract as a reporter and interviewer with Sports Showcase in 1956. Her interest in the psychology of sports continued for the next fifty years, as she was frequently called in for her professional advice on football, tennis, baseball, basketball, and of course, boxing.
Dr. Brothers weighing in Sugar Ray Robinson and Carl Bobo Olson before a match, December 9, 1955.
Dr. Brothers publicity photograph, putting on a boxing glove, circa 1955.
Photograph of Dr. Brothers with an unidentified boxer, circa 1956-1958.
Photograph of Dr. Brothers with two former boxers, circa December 1955.
Photograph of Dr. Brothers on "Brothers Day" for the New York Yankees, undated.
Photograph of Brothers with Julius Erving, Dr. Ruth Westheimer, DeForest Kelley, Macdonal Carey, Dr. Ernie Vandeweghe, "Doc" from Snow White and the Seven Dwarves, Ferdie Pacheco, and Dr. Bernard Meltzer, 1987.
National Boxing Association certificate, December 6, 1955.
National Boxing Association certificate, awarded to Brothers for her boxing knowledge after winning The $64,000 Question.
Invitation from Prince Aly Khan to meet the members of the Pakistan Cricket Team, May 7, 1958.
Contract for Carmen Basilio-Sugar Ray Robinson match, March 3, 1958.
Dr. Brothers sat ringside and offered her analysis on the match, making her one of the first female sports commentators.
Audio recording of the Sugar Ray Robinson vs. Carmen Basilio match, March 1958.
Draft of an article about "Football Fever,” circa 1973.
Dr. Brothers’ relationship with football predated this article: in 1969, she interviewed Joe Namath at his recently opened club, The Bachelors III, in New York.
CBS Network segment on the psychology of football, December 16, 1973.
Draft of an article for Tennis Magazine on the psychological aspects of teaching children to play tennis, March 1974.
“Dear Dr. Brothers” article draft on “Football Mania,” undated.
Brothers article for Sports Illustrated, September 30, 2002.
Script for The Naked Gun, May 20, 1988.
One of Dr. Brothers’ dozens of cameos was as an announcer for the baseball game scene.
Monitor on NBC. Dr. Joyce Brothers interviews Floyd Patterson, 1957.
Sports Showcase. Dr. Joyce Brothers interviews Floyd Patterson and advisor Carl Schreiber, 1957.
Dr. Joyce Brothers answering questions on Sports Showcase, 1957.
Sports Showcase. Dr. Joyce Brothers interviews Johnny Addie, 1957.
Sports Showcase. Dr. Joyce Brothers interviews Mickey “Toy Bulldog” Walker, and gives boxing news, 1957.
Sports Showcase. Dr. Joyce Brothers interviews Barney Ross, circa 1956-1957.
Sports Showcase. Dr. Joyce Brothers interviews James Braddock, circa 1956-1957.
Sports Showcase. Dr. Joyce Brothers interviews Sandy Saddler, circa 1956-1957.
Dr. Joyce Brothers gives news updates and predictions on Sports Showcase, circa 1956-1957.
Dr. Joyce Brothers gives news updates on Sports Showcase, circa 1956-1957.
Sports Showcase. Dr. Joyce Brothers interviews Lippy Breitbart, circa 1956-1957.
Dr. Joyce Brothers gives news updates on Sports Showcase, June 15, 1956.