Herb Brooks

Herb Brooks

Brooks in 1983 coaching the New York Rangers.
Born Herbert Paul Brooks, Jr.
(1937-08-05)August 5, 1937
Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Died August 11, 2003(2003-08-11) (aged 66)
near Forest Lake, Minnesota, U.S.
Occupation Ice hockey coach, player
Spouse(s) Patti Brooks (1965–2003)
Children Danny (son)
Kelly (daughter)
Relatives David Brooks (brother)
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing the  USA
World Championships
1962 United States (Player)
Winter Olympics
1980 United States (Coach)
2002 United States (Coach)
The 195859 Gopher Hockey Team, including Lou Nanne, Larry Smith, and Herb Brooks (#9) who is seated bottom row left.

Herbert Paul Brooks, Jr. (August 5, 1937 – August 11, 2003) was an American ice hockey player and coach. His most notable achievement came in 1980 as head coach of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic hockey team at Lake Placid. At the games, Brooks' US team upset the heavily favored Soviet team in a match that came to be known as the 'Miracle on Ice'. Brooks would go on to coach multiple NHL teams, as well as the French hockey team at the 1998 Winter Olympics, and ultimately returned to coach the US men's team to a silver medal at the 2002 games in Salt Lake City. Brooks was killed in a 2003 car accident. At the time of his death, Brooks was the Pittsburgh Penguins' director of player personnel.

Biography

Early years

Herb Brooks was born in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Pauline and Herbert Brooks Sr. He attended Johnson High School, where his team won the 1955 state hockey championship.[1]

Brooks continued his hockey career with the University of Minnesota Gophers from 1955 to 1959.[2] He was a member of the 1960 Olympic team, only to become the last cut the week before the Games started. Three weeks later, Brooks sat at home with his father and watched the team he almost made win gold. Afterwards, Brooks "went up to the coach Jack Riley and said, 'Well, you must have made the right decision—you won.'"; this humbling moment served as motivation for an already self-driven person.[3]

From 1960 to 1970, Brooks set a record by playing on a total of eight US National and Olympic teams, including the 1964 and 1968 Olympic squads.[4]

Coaching career

After retiring as a player, he became a coach, notably leading his alma mater, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, to three NCAA championship titles in 1974, 1976, and 1979. Brooks finished his collegiate coaching with a record of 175 wins, 101 losses and 20 ties.

Soon after Minnesota won their third college championship, he was hired to coach the Olympic team. Hand-picking his team, he named several of his Minnesota players to the team as well as several from their rival, Boston University. To compete with the Soviet Union team specifically, Herb Brooks developed a hybrid of American and Canadian style and the faster European style, which emphasized creativity and teamwork, a difficult thing to do with a tough rivalry between the University of Minnesota and Boston University. He also stressed peak conditioning, believing that one of the reasons the Soviet team had dominated international competition was that many of their opponents were exhausted by the third period.

After his Olympic gold medal win, Brooks moved to Switzerland for a year to coach HC Davos in the National League A. From 1981 to 1985, he coached in the National Hockey League for the New York Rangers, where he became the first American-born coach in Rangers' team history to win 100 games. He also coached the Minnesota North Stars (from 1987 to 1988), New Jersey Devils (1992–93), and Pittsburgh Penguins (1999–2000). He was a long-time scout for the Penguins from the mid-1990s, and held the role of Director of Player Personnel from 2002 to the day of his death. His hiring by the North Stars in 1987 would be the last time a college coach was selected to coach an NHL team until North Dakota coach Dave Hakstol was tapped to coach the Philadelphia Flyers in May 2015.

Brooks also coached two more Olympic team squads: Team France at the 1998 in Nagano, and the U.S. hockey team again at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. The 2002 team defeated the Russians in the semi-finals en route to a silver, losing in the gold medal game to Canada. The U.S. win over Russia came exactly 22 years to the day after the famous 'Miracle on Ice' game.[5][6]

Brooks was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990,[7] the International Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999, and the Hockey Hall of Fame (posthumously) in 2006.

Death and legacy

At the age of 66, Brooks died in a single-car accident on the afternoon of August 11, 2003, near Forest Lake, Minnesota, on Interstate 35.[8] It is believed that he fell asleep behind the wheel before the accident after driving all night, and neither drugs nor alcohol was responsible. Brooks was not wearing his seatbelt at the time of the crash, and according to the Minnesota State Patrol it is likely he would have survived the crash if he had been.[9]

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, "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 the gold medal, was renamed Herb Brooks Arena. A statue of Brooks depicting his reaction to the victory in the 'Miracle' game was erected at the entrance to the RiverCentre in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in 2003.

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."[10]

The Herb Brooks Training Center is located at Blaine, Minnesota.

The National Hockey Center at St. Cloud State University in Minnesota was renamed for Brooks in April 2013.[11]

In 2006, Brooks was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builders' category. The inscription reads: "A man of passion and dedication, Herb Brooks inspired a generation of Americans to pursue any and all dreams."[7]

Personal

Brooks was married to his wife Patti in 1965, and they had two children, Danny and Kelly.[12]

Brooksisms

Brooks' original expressions were known by his players as "Brooksisms." According to Olympians John Harrington, Dave Silk, and Mike Eruzione, these are a few.[13]

Coaching statistics

NHL

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

Season Team League GC W L T Pts Standings Pct
198182 New York Rangers NHL 80392714922nd in Patrick 0.575 (Lost Second Round)
198283 New York Rangers NHL 80353510804th in Patrick0.500 (Lost Second Round)
198384 New York Rangers NHL 8042299934th in Patrick0.581 (Lost First Round)
198485 New York Rangers NHL 4515228385th in Patrick0.422 (fired)
198788 Minnesota North Stars NHL 80194813515th in Norris0.319 (missed playoffs)
199293 New Jersey Devils NHL 8440377874th in Patrick0.518 (Lost First Round)
19992000 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 5829245633rd in Atlantic0.543 (Lost Second Round)
NHL career totals 507 219 222 66 504 0.497

Other leagues

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

Season Team League GC W L T OL Pts Pct
197273 Minnesota Golden Gophers NCAA 3415163330.485
197374 Minnesota Golden Gophers NCAA3417125390.574
197475 Minnesota Golden Gophers NCAA 4231101630.750
1975-76 Minnesota Golden Gophers NCAA 3823141470.618
197677 Minnesota Golden Gophers NCAA 4217223370.440
197778 Minnesota Golden Gophers NCAA 3822142460.605
197879 Minnesota Golden Gophers NCAA 4432111650.739
1980 USA Olympic Men's Team IIHF Gold Medal
198081 HC Davos Swiss-A 2811161230.411
198687 St. Cloud State Huskies NCAA 3625101510.708
199192 Utica Devils AHL 8034406740.463
1998 France Olympic Men's Team IIHF 11th-place finish
2002 USA Olympic Men's Team IIHF Silver Medal
NCAA career totals 308 182 109 17 381 0.619

See also

References

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Fred Shero
Head coach of the New York Rangers
198185
Succeeded by
Craig Patrick
Preceded by
Glen Sonmor
Head coach of the Minnesota North Stars
198788
Succeeded by
Pierre Page
Preceded by
Tom McVie
Head coach of the New Jersey Devils
199293
Succeeded by
Jacques Lemaire
Preceded by
Kevin Constantine
Head coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins
19992000
Succeeded by
Ivan Hlinka
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