Robert J. Brodrick, BA 43, LLD 87, doctor, lecturer, athlete and former member the Loyola College Board of Governors
Brodrick’s affiliation with Concordia dates back to his high school years. Following his graduation from Loyola High School, Brodrick attended Loyola College — one of Concordia’s founding institutions — where he received his bachelor’s degree in 1943.
During his four years at Loyola College, Brodrick was class president, president of the student council, president of the Loyola College Athletic Association and valedictorian of his graduating class.
As a young scholar, Brodrick held the distinction of being only one of two students ever to receive the Representative Loyola Boy medal in high school and the Governor General’s medal upon graduating from Loyola College.
A distinguished college athlete, Brodrick received the Loyola Sportsmanship Trophy and was among the first 10 inductees into the Loyola Sports Hall of Fame (now the Concordia University Sports Hall of Fame) in 1967.
After Loyola College he enrolled at McGill University, where he earned his medical degree in 1947. A specialist in internal medicine and radiology, Brodrick later lectured at McGill’s Department of Medicine.
While studying medicine Brodrick captained the McGill Redmen to the 1945-46 Intercollegiate Hockey Championship. He went on to play for the Montreal Royals and South London’s Streatham Hockey Club in the United Kingdom.
In 1951, Brodrick wrote Ice Hockey, a book that was used for several years as a hockey reference by Encyclopaedia Britannica.
Brodrick combined his love for athletics and his medical expertise before sports medicine formally emerged as distinct field. In 1969, he joined the Montreal Expos as medical director for the newly formed Major League Baseball expansion team. He also became president of the league’s Physicians’ Association.
As a devoted physician at Montreal’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital and Canadair, Brodrick served the medical profession for almost 50 years.
An active Concordia alumnus, he served on Loyola College’s Board of Governors and as president of the Loyola Alumni Association. He co-wrote the criteria for the Loyola Medal, a prize awarded to outstanding Concordians who enrich Canadian society.
In 1987, Concordia bestowed an honorary doctorate upon Brodrick, calling him a “distinguished athlete, community leader and lifelong friend.”
Brodrick is survived by his wife, Claire Veilleux Brodrick, and his children, Lynne, Jo, Robbie and Mark. He is predeceased by his daughter Laurie, who played hockey at Loyola College in the 1970s.