He was a highly regarded Seattle citizen who befriended athletes such as Jack Dempsey and Babe Ruth and movie stars like Bing Crosby.
[3][4] At age 74, he stepped down as sports editor in 1968, succeeded by John Owen,[5] but continued to write for the P-I for ten more years.
Midway through the Seattle Seahawks' third season in 1978, Brougham was still on the job at age 84, in the Kingdome press box during a game against division rival Denver on October 29.
In the closing minutes, he suffered a major heart attack and was rushed to Swedish Hospital, where he died shortly after 1 am.
The Royal Brougham Sports Pavilion at Seattle Pacific University and South Royal Brougham Way (formerly known as South Connecticut Street, bordering both T-Mobile Park and Lumen Field) in Seattle commemorate his legacy to the community.