HERB BROOKS

'Herbert Paul 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.^[1]

Contents

Early life

Later career

Death and legacy

Personal

Coaching statistics

See also

External links

References

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 was the first to beat the Soviets in 12 years, which spanned three Olympics.

Later career

He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990 and into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006.
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 again coached the U.S. hockey team in 2002 at the Winter Olympics, this time winning a silver medal. He also coached France in the 1998 Winter Olympics.

Death and legacy

Brooks died in a one-car accident on the afternoon of August 11, 2003, near Forest Lake, Minnesota, on Interstate 35, only six days after he turned 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. 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."^[2]
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."^[3]

Personal

Brooks was married to his wife Patti and had two kids, Dan and Kelly.

Coaching statistics

Team                   Season    Wins Losses OTL/T

New York Rangers       1981-82    39    27    14
★ 
★ 
★ 
★ 

New York Rangers       1982-83    35    35    10
★ 
★ 
★ 
★ 

New York Rangers       1983-84    42    29    9
★ 
★ 
★ 
★ 

New York Rangers       1984-85    15    22    8

Minnesota North Stars  1987-88    19    48    13

New Jersey Devils      1992-93    40    37    7
★ 
★ 
★ 
★ 

Pittsburgh Penguins    1999-00    29    17    11
★ 
★ 
★ 
★ 

               
★ 
★ 
★ 
★  - Qualified for NHL PLayoffs

               NHL coaching Record - 219-215-72

81-82 Playoffs - Beat Phi 3-1 Lost NYI 2-4

82-83 Playoffs - Beat Phi 3-0 Lost NYI 2-4

83-84 Playoffs - Lost NYI 2-3

92-93 Playoffs - Lost Pit 1-4

99-00 Playoffs - Beat NJ 4-3 Lost Phi 2-4

                NHL PLayoff Record - 19-21

See also

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

External links

★ Herb Brooks Hockey Hall of Fame

★ Biography – The Herb Brooks Foundation

★ Miracle (2004) – Movie Origins

★ Coach known best for 1980 hockey gold – ESPN Classic

★ Herb Brooks killed in car accident – Sports Illustrated

★ 'Herb Brooks' U.S. Olympic Team bio'

★ Herb Brooks' Gravesite

★ Gopher Hockey History Player Info

References

1.
2. 2006-2007 MSHSL Athletic Rules and Policies Manual
3. Hockey Hall of Fame: Herb Brooks