Herb Brooks 1937-2003

[talkingcanes]

What a great hockey legacy he leaves behind :sad:


Herb Brooks killed in car accident


TSN.ca Staff
8/11/2003

Legendary hockey coach Herb Brooks who led the U.S. collegians to the 1980 Olympic gold medal in the famed 'Miracle on Ice,' was killed today when his vehicle rolled over and he was ejected on Interstate 35 near Forest Lake.

Brooks, 66, was traveling alone in his vehicle, and no other vehicles were involved. The incident took place at 2:44 p.m. on southbound I-35 just north of the split of I-35E and I-35W.

As a player, he played for the University of Minnesota, five U.S. National teams and the 1964 and 1968 Olympic Hockey Teams. Coaching at the University of Minnesota for seven years, his teams won three NCAA Championships.

On the pro level, Herb coached for the New York Rangers, where he was named 1982 NHL Coach of the Year; the Minnesota North Stars, and the New Jersey Devils.

Brooks was admired for the 1980 Olympic victory and was glorified in a movie starring Karl Malden as Brooks. Another movie, starring Kurt Russell as Brooks, is in the works. Brooks coached the championship University of Minnesota Gophers teams in the 1970s.

In recent years Brooks was a scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins and also coached the 2002 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team.

[Turbulence]

What a tragedy...
I just saw the HBO special on the 1980 Olympic team...he was a heckuva coach.
Very sad...

[Jillsdad]

My condolences to the Brooks family on this tragic loss. He was a helluva coach and probably the only guy who could have gotten those guys to believe they could beat the Russians. Hopefully he didn't suffer and was not in pain. Hockey is worse off today than it was yesterday after losing such a great man. He will be missed. God Bless You Herb and Rest in Peace!!!!

[StormShaman]

The first time I saw Herb Brooks was on TV, when I was home sick with the flu and watching the 1980 men's hockey team play in Lake Placid. That was my first exposure to hockey, when I was living in Los Angeles.

There was this place that we used to go to every once in a while when I lived in North Dakota. It's called the Totten Trail Lounge. We'd play the video games, and shoot pool, and have pizza and soda and all sorts of stuff that's way bad for you but tastes so damn good. Was a great place. It's probably still a great place. If you're ever traveling on US 83 between Bismarck and Minot, stop in there and check it out.

Anyway. Up on the wall they had up a picture of the 1979 (I believe it was '79) Minnesota Golden Gophers hockey team, signed by Herb Brooks (who was coaching them at the time). Sam (the owner) apparently knew him. Sam was a very cool bloke, though I never realized it until later, after I'd graduated and moved away. He and I would occasionally talk puck, on those days when he'd be a substitute teacher at my high school.

Every time I thought of Herb Brooks, I thought of some of the few happy times of my childhood. I always associated him in some small way with fried cheese curds and breaded mushrooms and thin-crust pizzas and Pac-Man and pinball and pitchers of Coke and pink comforters on an old overstuffed couch, because I associate those with good times from my childhood.

And now he's gone, and I feel like a part of my childhood has gone with him.

Farewell, Herb. Perhaps when I finally get my ticket to the Eternal Game, I'll be able to tell you how much you meant to me--though I never realized it until after you were gone.

[nccanes]

Excellent post Cam. Thanks for sharing! :sad: :)

[SouthernHockeyChick]

Rough time for hockey lately, huh? Neilson and now this. :cry:

[Jeff O Rocks]

What a tragedy...
I just saw the HBO special on the 1980 Olympic team...he was a heckuva coach.
Very sad...

Me too Turby...I cried watching it because of joy...next time I see it, I will cry because of sadness too!! :cry:

[Jillsdad]

Just in case anybody cares, ESPN Classic will be running a tribute to Herb tomorrow August 13th from 5PM to 6Am on Thursday Aug 14. It will include the 1980 Miracle on Ice game against the Russians which is a must have on tape for any hockey enthusiast.

[SouthernHockeyChick]

Just in case anybody cares, ESPN Classic will be running a tribute to Herb tomorrow August 13th from 5PM to 6Am on Thursday Aug 14. It will include the 1980 Miracle on Ice game against the Russians which is a must have on tape for any hockey enthusiast.


I get every other freakin' channel on the planet....why not ESPN Classic? :sad: Oh well, thanks for posting anyway, JD!

[nccanes]

Article from CNN (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/hockey/news/2003/08/12/brooks_stcloud_ap/)

Quote from Hedican who came to St. Cloud the year after Brooks left to coach the North Stars:

"Herb giving St. Cloud the opportunity to get a program up and running, and to get the National Hockey Center, I reaped the benefits of those," said Bret Hedican, who has spent 15 years in the NHL. "He's a reason my career has been as long as it has. There weren't a lot of schools looking at me out of high school. If it wasn't for Herb and St. Cloud State, who knows what would've happened?"

[nccanes]

http://us.news2.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20030816/capt.1061055828.brooks_funeral_mnjm101.jpg
Honorary pall bearers form a corridor with hockey sticks as the casket of hockey legend Herb Brooks is brought out of the St. Paul Cathedral after funeral services Saturday, Aug. 16, 2003, in St. Paul, Minn. Brooks, who coached the 1980 USA Olympic gold medal team, died earlier in the week in a one vehicle crash. Pall bearer Lou Nanne, who was general manager when Brooks coached the Minnesota North Stars, is second from left in front of man with pink coat.


Thousands pay final respects to hockey legend

By ANDRES YBARRA, Associated Press Writer
August 16, 2003

ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) -- Herb Brooks was not afraid to speak his mind to anyone, former U.S. Olympic team captain Mike Eruzione told more than 2,000 people who gathered to mourn the hockey coach.

``Right now, he's saying to God: `I don't like the style of your team. We should change it,''' Eruzione said, drawing laughter from the crowd.

About 2,500 filled the Cathedral of St. Paul on Saturday to pay their final respects to Brooks, the man best known for coaching the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team dubbed ``The Miracle on Ice.'' Brooks was killed Monday in a car accident just north of the Twin Cities.

Pittsburgh Penguins great Mario Lemieux and Toronto Maple Leafs coach Pat Quinn were among the attendees, along with former NHL stars Nick Fotiu and Neal Broten.

Penguins GM Craig Patrick and head scout Greg Malone were honorary pall bearers, which included former Minnesota North Stars players and coaches, Minnesota college coaches and even a few media members. They flanked the casket holding hockey sticks above their heads.

One arrangement of flowers on the alter was from NHL commissioner Gary Bettman and another was from the Boston Bruins.

A lone bagpiper played ``Amazing Grace'' as the casket, followed by tearful mourners, made its way to a waiting black hearse before heading to a private burial location. Overhead, a squadron of planes flew the missing man formation. The Mass lasted about an hour and 45 minutes.

It was a fitting goodbye for a man who inspired many.

``I'm sure he was the greatest coach ever,'' Bill Butters, who played for Brooks at the University of Minnesota, told the crowd. ``But to me, he was a father figure.''

Most of the sports world knew Brooks for the United States' stunning victory over the Soviet Union in the 1980 Lake Placid Games. The service was peppered with references to the team, and several team members attended.

But for those who knew and played for him, Brooks' impact was felt far beyond hockey.

He was eulogized as a coach who was extremely hard on his players, but also a compassionate person who was devoted to his family. Ex-players spoke lovingly of a coach they had feared at times.

``He touched a lot of people, both inside and outside the sport of hockey,'' said Jack O'Callahan, a member of the 1980 team. ``He had a broad impact, he had many friends. Everyone's going to miss him dearly.''

Eruzione, who scored the game-winner against the Soviets, said: ``He had a passion to coach, a passion to teach. It was hard for him to show his emotions. He's like your dad -- you love your dad, but sometimes you don't like him because he makes you do things you don't want to do.''

Born in St. Paul, Brooks played hockey at Minnesota, where he later coached from 1972-79, winning three national titles.

After the Lake Placid Games, Brooks coached the New York Rangers (1981-85), where he reached the 100-victory mark faster than any other coach in franchise history. He coached the North Stars (1987-88), New Jersey (1992-93) and Pittsburgh (1999-00). He also led the French Olympic team at the 1998 Nagano Games.

He was inducted into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990.

[nccanes]

Report: Brooks fell asleep before fatal crash


September 16, 2003
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- A State Patrol investigation determined that former U.S. Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks fell asleep before his fatal crash on Interstate 35, his son said.

The coach of the 1980 ``Miracle on Ice'' team was returning from northeastern Minnesota on Aug. 11 when his car went off the highway and rolled. He wasn't wearing a seatbelt and was thrown from the vehicle.

The State Patrol report confirmed that Brooks wasn't drinking, speeding, talking on his cell phone or having a health problem when his minivan drifted off the interstate around 2:30 p.m., his son, Dan Brooks, said Monday.

``It was pretty much what we thought the report would say,'' Dan Brooks told the Star Tribune. ``The State Patrol investigated the scene, and talked to eyewitnesses, the people my dad was with that weekend and the coroner and concluded to the best of their ability that he fell asleep. We would have been surprised if we learned he had been stung by a bee or something like that.''

The report hadn't been released publicly Monday night.