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Born on August 5, 1937, Herb Brooks grew up in a
modest duplex at the corner of Payne and Ivy Streets, on the East side of
St. Paul. Herb got his first taste of championship hockey when he led his
St. Paul Johnson squad to the Minnesota high school title in 1955. He would
then go on to play at the University of Minnesota under legendary Coach
John Mariucci, where he tallied 45 points from 1957-59. From there, Herbie
went on to play on several U.S. National and Olympic teams from 1962-70.
Brooks then got into coaching and eventually took over at his alma mater
in 1972, where he led the last-place Gopher squad to an NCAA title just
two years later. It would be the first of three crowns at the U of M for
the coach, who added titles in 1976 and 1979 as well. Brooks was simply
dominant in Gold Country, posting a gaudy 175-100-20 record along the way.
"We went to the finals four of my seven years there, and we made a
great run of it," said Brooks. "I think I put a lot of pressure
on the players, and I had a lot of expectations of them. I didn’t give
them an 'out,' and I think I was always able to find the kids who were really
competitive. The common denominator of all the guys who played throughout
my seven years was that they were really competitive, very hungry, very
focused, and mentally tough — to go along with whatever talent they
had. I think that really carried us."
The next stop for Brooks is the one that will forever be linked to his legacy,
the fabled 1980 U.S. Olympic team which won the gold medal at Lake Placid,
NY. The "Miracle on Ice" would later be named as the sporting
event of the 21st century.
"They were really mentally tough and goal-oriented," said Brooks
of his squad. "They came from all different walks of life, many having
competed against one another, but they came together and grew to be a real
close team. I pushed this team really hard, I mean I really pushed them!
But they had the ability to answer the bell. Our style of play was probably
different than anything in North America. We adopted more of a hybrid style
of play — a bit of the Canadian school and a little bit of the European
school. The players took to it like ducks to water, and they really had
a lot of fun playing it. We were a fast, creative team that played extremely
disciplined without the puck. Throughout the Olympics, they had a great
resiliency about them. I mean they came from behind six or seven times to
win. They just kept on moving and working and digging. I think we were as
good a conditioned team as there was in the world, outside maybe the Soviet
Union. We got hot and lucky at the right times, and it was just an incredible
experience for all of us."
Brooks would later enter the NHL coaching ranks, first with the New York
Rangers, where, after three years, he was named NHL Coach of the Year. After
five seasons in the Big Apple, Brooks came home to Minnesota to take over
the reigns at St. Cloud State University. He took the program to a Division
One status that next year and then stepped down to assume the head coaching
duties with his hometown North Stars in 1988.
After a tumultuous season behind the bench with the Stars, Brooks took some
time off to embark on a successful business career which included motivational
speaking, TV analysis and NHL scouting. The coaching bug would bite again
though, as he later took over as the head coach of the New Jersey Devils
(1992) and later the Pittsburgh Penguins (1999-2000). In between, he even
guided the French Olympic Team at the 1998 Winter Games in Nagano. Brooks
would later lead the U.S. squad yet again, this time to a dramatic silver
medal at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City.
Tragically, on the afternoon of August 11, 2003, Brooks was killed in a
one car accident just north of Minneapolis on Interstate 35 near Forest
Lake. Ironically, he was returning home from the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame
Golf Tournament in Biwabik Minn., where he was once again doing his part
to promote the growth of American hockey. He was just 66 years old.
On February 5th, 2004, a statue of Herbie will be erected in St. Paul's
Rice Park across from the one of famed Minnesota author F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Ironically, it was Fitzgerald who wrote the now infamous line: "Show
me a hero and I will show you a tragedy." That was Herbie. Gone from
this earth, Herb Brooks has earned his place in sports immortality and will
never be forgotten. One of our nation's most charismatic and inventive coaches,
he was a true American hero.
The following an excerpt from Ross Bernstein’s new book entitled: "Remembering
Herbie: Celebrating the Life & Times of Hockey Legend Herb Brooks."
A portion of the proceeds from the sale of the book will benefit the Herb
Brooks Foundation. To learn more about the book or to purchase a copy, please
visit WWW.BERNSTEINBOOKS.COM.
The following essay will be published in the
Scribner's Encyclopedia of American Lives, vol. 7,
in October 2006. (PDF
format)
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Herb with St. Paul Johnson
in 1955 (bottom row,
second from left).
Herb with his family in
Lake Placid.
Herb as coach of the
2002 Olympic team.
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