Brophy was a tough defenseman who played 18 seasons in the Eastern Hockey League, racking up nearly 4,000 career penalty minutes between 1955 and 1973—the most in EHL history—playing parts of nine seasons with the Long Island Ducks and retiring at the age of 40. He was reported to be the model for the character Reggie Dunlop (played by Paul Newman) in the movie Slap Shot.