Herb Brooks

Herbert Paul "Herb" Brooks, Jr. (August 5, 1937 – August 11, 2003) was an American ice hockey coach, best known for coaching the U.S. hockey team to a gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics in an event known as the "Miracle on Ice".

On November 13, 2006, Brooks was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.cite web
url=http://www.cbc.ca/story/sports/national/2006/06/28/hhof-inductions.html
publisher=CBC.ca/Sports Online
title=Roy tops 2006 Hall of Fame class
date=2006-06-28
accessdate=2006-06-28 ]

Biography

Early life

Born in St. Paul, Minnesota, to Herbert Brooks, Sr. and Pauline Brooks, he played on the Johnson High School hockey team that won the 1955 state hockey championship. Brooks also played baseball during the summer.

Brooks later played hockey at the University of Minnesota and was a member of the 1964 and 1968 United States Olympic teams. He almost made the 1960 Olympic team, only to be cut the week before the Olympic games started. He then sat at home and watched the team he almost made win gold. Later, he coached the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers hockey team to three NCAA championships (1974, 1976, and 1979). He coached St. Cloud State University in the mid-1980s. In Minnesota, many consider Brooks the best hockey coach of all time. In 1980, he became the first coach of the United States to lead his team to victory against the USSR in 20 years.

Later career

He was inducted into the United States Ice Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990.

Herb Brooks later coached in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers, where he became the fastest coach in Rangers' team history to win 100 games. He also coached the Minnesota North Stars, New Jersey Devils, and Pittsburgh Penguins. He was a long time head scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins from the mid 1990s until the day of his death.

He also coached France in the 1998 Winter Olympics. He again coached the U.S. hockey team at the 2002 Winter Olympic Games, this time winning a silver medal.

He was inducted into the International Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Hockey Hall of Fame, posthumously, in 2006.

Death and legacy

Brooks died in a one-car accident on the afternoon of August 11, 2003, near Forest Lake, Minnesota, on Interstate 35. He was 66. It is believed that Brooks fell asleep behind the wheel before the accident after driving all night, and neither drugs nor alcohol were responsible.

Disney released a film about the 1980 Olympic team in 2004 called "Miracle" featuring Kurt Russell playing the part of Brooks (Karl Malden had previously played Brooks in a 1981 television film called "Miracle on Ice"). Brooks served as a consultant during principal photography, which was completed shortly before his death. At the end of the movie there is a dedication to Brooks. It states at the end, "He never saw it. He lived it."

Upon the 25th anniversary of the Miracle on Ice, the Olympic ice arena in Lake Placid, New York, where the United States won their gold medal, was renamed Herb Brooks Arena. A statue of Brooks depicting his reaction to the victory in the "Miracle" game was erected in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 2003.

An award was created in Herb Brooks name, the Herb Brooks Award, is awarded at the conclusion of the Minnesota State High School League's state hockey tournament to "the most qualified hockey player in the state tournament who strongly represents the values, characteristics, and traits that defined Herb Brooks." [cite web
url=http://www.mshsl.org/mshsl/publications/code/athletic/Hockey.htm |publisher=Minnesota State High School League|title=2006-2007 MSHSL Athletic Rules and Policies Manual|date=2006-12-06|accessdate=2007-03-11]

In Blaine, Minnesota, there a training center called Herb Brooks Training Center. It trains hockey players and figure skater skills like Brooks wanted to do.

The road that surrounds the National Hockey Center in St. Cloud, Minnesota is called Herb Brooks Way.

In 2006, Brooks was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builders category. "A man of passion and dedication, Herb Brooks inspired a generation of Americans to pursue any and all dreams." [cite web |url=http://www.legendsofhockey.net/html/ind06Brooks.htm|title=Hockey Hall of Fame: Herb Brooks]

Personal

Brooks was married to his wife Patti and had two kids, Danny and Kelly. [cite web |url=http://www.herbbrooksfoundation.com/pdfs/brooks_essay.pdf|title=Herb Brooks Foundation]

Coaching statistics

"Note: GC = Games coached, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OL = Overtime loss, Pts = Points, Pct = Winning percentage"

ee also

* List of members of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame

References

External links

*
* [http://www.herbbrooksfoundation.com/history.html Biography] – The Herb Brooks Foundation
* [http://www.chasingthefrog.com/reelfaces/miracle.php Miracle (2004)] Movie Origins
* [http://espn.go.com/classic/obit/s/2003/0811/1594173.html Coach known best for 1980 hockey gold] – ESPN Classic
* [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/hockey/news/2003/08/11/brooks_obit_ap/ Herb Brooks killed in car accident] – Sports Illustrated
* [http://www.usolympicteam.com/26_586.htm Herb Brooks' U.S. Olympic Team bio]
* [http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=7753679 Herb Brooks' Gravesite]
* [http://www.gopherhockeyhistory.com/players/playerDetail.asp?plID=147 Gopher Hockey History Player Info]
* [http://www.herbbrooksfoundation.com The Herb Brooks Foundation]