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Herb Brooks and the 1980 Olympic Hockey Team
will be included in the Minnesota Historical Society's "Minnesota 150"
exhibit at the Minnesota History Center on October 13, 2007.
Place: Minnesota History Center
Address: 345 Kellogg Blvd W., St. Paul MN 55102-1903
Cost: $8 adults, $6 seniors and college students, and $4 children ages 6
to 17. Free for children age 5 and under and MHS members.
Phone: 651-259-3000, 800-657-3773, 651-282-6073 (tty)
Website:
http://www.minnesotahistorycenter.org
MINNESOTA WOULDN'T BE MINNESOTA WITHOUT_______! 'MN150' EXHIBIT TO OPEN
AT THE HISTORY CENTER OCT. 13
What do Prince, the GPS system, Hubert H.
Humphrey and the 1980 Olympic Hockey Team have in common? They all
changed Minnesota.
The new exhibit “MN150,” presented by Best Buy and opening Oct. 13 at
the Minnesota History Center, launches the 2008 celebration of 150 years
of Minnesota statehood by exploring changes – changes wrought by
powerful people and by ordinary citizens, sparked by something as simple
as a hockey game or as broad as a new political party – changes ranging
from those that have shaken up Minnesota to those that have rocked the
world. One hundred fifty people, places and things are presented and
interpreted in the “MN150” exhibit, through a variety of public programs
and on the web site.
READ MORE HERE!
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Blaine, Minn. (December 15, 2006) – The
National Sports Center (NSC) announced that the official dedication of the
newly expanded Schwan Super Rink was held on Friday, January 19, 2007.
Two sheets of ice were opened on October 1 and the final two sheets came
on line on December 16. The addition of the four new rinks, called rinks
5-8, bring the Schwan Super Rink's capacity to eight sheets of ice in a
single facility, making it the largest ice arena of its kind in the world.
The Herb Brooks Training Center is a year-round state-of-the-art 12,500
square foot training center made possible by the work of the Herb Brooks
Foundation and will utilize the Total Hockey Training System, featuring
strength training and goaltending development.
Here is the time schedule for the dedication ceremony:
4:30 pm: Ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Herb Brooks Training Center,
adjacent to the Herb Brooks Rink (rink #6).
5:00 – 6:00 pm: Tours, refreshments, figure skating exhibition, Bethel
University Rink (rink #5). Book signing by Ross Bernstein, author of
America's Coach.
6:00 – 7:00 pm: Free public skating, Herb Brooks Rink.
7:00 – 9:30 pm: Bethel vs. St. John's men's college hockey game, Rink #5.
The new sheets of ice are part of a 128,000-square-foot four-hockey rink
addition, which brings the size of the facility to 300,000 square feet.
The addition was designed by Rozeboom Miller Architects and constructed by
Kraus-Anderson Construction Company. The four new sheets are NHL-size ice.
The original Schwan Super Rink, which opened in 1998, featured four
Olympic-size rinks. In addition to the skating surfaces, the arena offers
the Herb Brooks Center training facility, a figure skating training room,
the Hat Trick Café, and 32 locker rooms.
From ground breaking to opening, the new arena was built in just over a
year. Construction began in early December of 2005.
"The new Herb Books Training Center is dedicated to hockey players to help
move their game from good to great and develop a lifetime love for the
game," said Skip Peltier, Executive Director of The Herb Brooks
Foundation. "We are carrying forward Herbie's beliefs, vision, and
commitment to better the game of hockey. The Herb Brooks Training Center
is the first part of a $7 million multi-phase commitment by the Foundation
and was designed as a part of "The Four Pillars of Program Development &
Training:" dryland training, on-ice training,
character/leadership/officials training, and unstructured play in a
'pond-hockey' environment.
"We are actively working with leading companies, former players and others
to sponsor and bring to reality this commitment to better the game," said
Peltier.
"My dad loved the game of hockey and committed his life to making it
better for all," said Dan Brooks, son of Herb Brooks and a member of the
Foundation board. "Read his comments; they are what the Herb Brooks
Foundation is committed to doing."
"Herbie envisioned what is now the Herb Brooks Training Center when he
first developed the original Super Rink plans in 1998, but the concept was
cut off the final budget," said Dean Talafous Herb Brooks Training Center
Program Director. "This training center, is just the kind of facility
Herbie envisioned. Training programs for all ages and skill levels will be
conducted both in the training center and on the ice year-round at the
Schwan Super Rink".
Well-known Minnesota sports author Ross Bernstein will sign copies of his
new book, America's Coach. The book profiles the life of Herb Brooks and
the leadership messages Brooks used in his career of coaching. Bernstein
had been working with Brooks on writing a series of motivational books at
the time of his passing in 2003,
The new Schwan Super Rink addition was built without any money from the
State of Minnesota. The proceeds from the sale of Columbia Arena were
applied to the new construction. Building partners include Blaine,
Centennial, Forest Lake and Tri-City Youth Hockey, Bethel University and
the Herb Brooks Foundation, who committed to be long-term tenants of the
facility. This allowed Anoka County to sell construction bonds to finance
the remainder of the construction costs, which will be paid for by
ice-rental revenues. The cities of Blaine, Circle Pines, Centerville and
Lino Lakes are also partners in the new expansion.
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 View the PHOTO Gallery from the Hockey Hall of
Fame Ceremony
TORONTO — Jim Gregory, Chairman
of the Hockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee, announced that
Terrance 'Dick' Duff and Patrick Roy have been elected to the Hockey
Hall of Fame in the Player Category. In the Builder Category, former
coach Herbert Brooks and NHL Chairman of the Board, Harley Hotchkiss
were elected. The vote took place in June at the annual meeting of the
Selection Committee in Toronto. All four were inducted on November 13th,
2006.
Brooks led an Olympic team of college players
from the United States to the greatest upset in hockey history, the
"Miracle on Ice" victory over the mighty Soviet machine in the 1980
semifinals. The Americans went on to win the gold medal, their only one
since 1960
"I just wish my father was still alive to
enjoy this moment," son Dan Brooks said. "I know he's looking down and
is very proud of this honor. ... He felt the U.S. player could compete
at all levels of hockey, especially the NHL."
Download Dan
Brooks speech (pdf)
Brooks led the University of Minnesota to
three NCAA titles and also coached the New York Rangers, Minnesota North
Stars, New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins.
 Roy won four Stanley Cup championships and
three Vezina Trophies as the NHL's top goalie in 19 seasons with the
Montreal Canadians and Colorado Avalanche. He retired in 2003 as the
league's career leader with 551 regular-season victories.
"It was a great career," the 40-year-old Roy
said. "It was fun, every minute of it, and I'm happy to still be
involved in hockey today. Hockey is my passion."
Duff played with Toronto, Montreal, Los Angeles, Buffalo and the New
York Rangers during an 18-year career that ended in 1972. He won a total
of six Stanley Cups with the Maple Leafs and the Canadians, was a
seven-time All-Star and finished his career with 283 goals and 572
points in 1,030 games.
Hotchkiss was part of the group that moved
the Flames to Calgary from Atlanta. He's still a part owner of the team,
and is the chairman of the NHL's Board of Governors.
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The Wall of Discovery, a 253-foot display
featuring the work of 99 distinguished University of Minnesota alumni and
professors was unveiled September 29, 2006. This is a $4.5 million
privately funded landscaped walkway featuring monuments to the U of M’s
most distinguished scholars.
Designed to look like a long chalkboard, the
Wall of Discovery runs along the north wall of the U of M’s Electrical
Engineering and Computer Science Building and brightens up an alleyway
once considered one of the bleakest stretches of the U's Minneapolis
campus. It cost upwards of $300,000 in donated funds.
It took designer Drew Sternal more than 1˝ years to find the documents,
which he calls "moments in time from genius at work."
Though inventors and academic researchers are
widely represented, the display is leavened with others: writers,
musicians and more.
"The breadth of the disciplines at the U are
well covered," Sternal said. Hockey coach Herb Brooks is there,
represented by a page from his journal representing thoughts about the
1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team's "Miracle on Ice." This transcends sports
in my eyes," Sternal said.
Others include novelist Saul Bellow, Gore-Tex
fabric inventor Robert Gore, astronaut Donald (Deke) Slayton, poet John
Berryman, Bob Dylan, and Hubert Humphrey.
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The late Herb Brooks, who coached the American hockey team to victory over the Soviet Union in 1980,
was inducted into the United States Olympic Hall of Fame.
Brooks also led the U.S. to a silver medal at the 2002 Olympics and played on the 1964 and '68 teams. But the 4-3 victory over Russia in the semifinals, known as the "Miracle on Ice," is widely regarded as the greatest upset in Olympic history, if not in all of modern sports. The Associated Press and Sports Illustrated voted it the top sports story of the 20th century.
''Herb is the architect of the most famous achievement in American hockey history and we are extremely pleased to learn that he will be inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame,'' Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey, said in a
statement . "Quite simply," he said, "he is one of the greatest hockey coaches who ever lived."
Other inductees included the 1984 U.S., men's gymnastics team, Olympians Evelyn Ashford (track and field), Rowdy Gaines (swimming), Bob Hayes (track and field), Shannon Miller (gymnastics) and Kristi Yamaguchi (figure skating) and Paralympian Diana Golden-Brosnihan (skiing). Speed skater Jack Shea will be inducted in the veterans category and NBC executive Dick Ebersol is going in as a special contributor. The group
was honored during a ceremony Dec. 8 at the Harris Theater in Chicago. The U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame was established in 1979 and honors 182 athletes, coaches and special contributors. The 2005 class is the first after a 12-year hiatus.
Click on this collage to see the
full picture...
Brooks’ continued recognition well deserved
By Chuck Grillo
Another honor was bestowed on Herb Brooks recently with his induction ...
(full
article)
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The Herb Brooks Foundation was very excited to announce our involvement with the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships (USPHC), an event that
shared our goal of upholding the noble traditions of outdoor hockey.
It was set for January 20-22, 2006 on the frozen waters of Lake Calhoun in Minneapolis, the USPHC (www.uspondhockey.com)
was a three-day, 128-team, four-on-four competition for men and women, and
called on outdoor hockey enthusiasts nationwide to participate.
Developed by a group of passionate pond hockey enthusiasts from Minnesota with a sincere appreciation and respect for the purity of the game, the USPHC
sought to draw attention to the traditions of outdoor hockey while giving back to the hockey community. A percentage of proceeds
went to benefit the Herb Brooks Foundation and DinoMights Inner City Youth Hockey.
Click thumbnails below for
fuller views of these pictures
The USPHC was officially launched Oct. 18 in a press conference at Lake Calhoun. Herb Brooks Foundation co-director Danny Brooks was honored to share the stage with other pond hockey enthusiasts including: Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty; former Minnesota Governor and 1956 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team player Wendell Anderson; Phil Housley, the NHL’s all-time U.S.-born lead scorer; Fred Haberman, event co-organizer, president of Haberman & Associates; Paul Ridgeway, event co-organizer, president of Ridgeway International; John Foley, Director and Coach, DinoMights Inner-City Youth Hockey; and other legends in their own right.
Click the link below to see photos from the press conference launch:
US
Pond Hockey Website Pictures
“It’s hockey as nature intended: on the pond, outside in the elements and during the absolute coldest time of year,” said Fred Haberman, co-founder of the tournament and president of Haberman & Associates public relations. “We hope the U.S. Pond Hockey Championships will provide the community a weekend to pay tribute to a true Minnesota tradition, while bringing nationwide attention to the purity that still exists in sport.”
The tournament featured 25 rinks on the west side of Lake Calhoun and a field of 128 teams competing in open, women’s, and senior men’s divisions. There
were openings for 96 open teams, 16 women’s teams, and 16 senior men’s teams.
The ice site featured 24 150-by-75 foot hockey rinks “Calhoun Gardens,” a 25th and central rink,
was surrounded by bleachers and lights for night-time exhibition and notable games.
Teams carried six players, with games being played in a four-on-four, no goalie format. Games will be two 17.5-minute halves with a two-minute intermission. Rinks will be cleared in true pond fashion — shoveled off prior to games by the two teams on deck. Official rules will be no checking or lifting the puck, and goals must be scored on the attacking side of center ice.
Opening ceremonies were held Friday night with a series of pond hockey exhibition games featuring NHL, Olympic and college Alumni facing off under the lights. After the games a musical guest
perfored in the warming house tent for a night of celebration and camaraderie.
Saturday was the qualifying round tournament play, with each team guaranteed three games. Sunday featured the medal round, where the divisions will be whittled down to the top team, who will receive “The Golden Shovel.”
What the Stanley Cup is to the NHL, the Golden Shovel is to the USPHC. It will be awarded to tournament winners each year, and they will be inscribed on the shovel as U.S. Pond Hockey Championship champions.
Sponsors included Volvo Cars of North America, Rider Bennett Law, Haberman & Associates Public Relations, Ridgeway International Events, Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board, KFAN-AM and KARE-TV.
For more information, visit www.uspondhockey.com or call 612.372.6471.
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LAKE PLACID, N.Y. The rink where Herb Brooks
coached the U.S. Olympic hockey team to its stunning gold-medal victory
25 years ago now bears his name. It was renamed February 23, 2005 at a
special 25th Anniversary celebration in Lake Placid.
The announcement capped a celebration of the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Games,
and it came 25 years and a day after Team USA's miraculous 4-3 victory
over the Soviet Union.''
The ceremony featured 35 members of the 1980 U.S. Olympic team and included
18 of the 20 members of the hockey team, skier Phil Mahre, and figure
skaters Linda Fratianne, Tai Babilonia, Randy Gardner, Peter Carruthers
and Scott Hamilton, who is recovering from a brain tumor. New York Gov.
George Pataki also attended the event. “You need the dedication of
good players, but you need the vision of a coach to win.”
Just over 6,000 people attended the ceremony, which was capacity because
several sections of seats were blocked off for the production. Normal
capacity for hockey is 7,700, except 25 years ago when nearly 11,000 crammed
every corner of the arena to see a miracle unfold.
Click on images below for
full view
``Herb used to tell us that there was a method to his madness, and at
times we kind of wondered,'' Mike Eruzione said. ``And when the smoke
cleared and the victory was done, I think we looked back and went, `Wow!
The guy was right.'
``He believed in us and we believed in each other. It was a special time.
It started a journey for us that we never would have imagined 25 years
later would have taken us back here. Who'd ever have thought that 25 years
later we'd come back here and share in the joy?''
The Herb Brooks Arena will host countless local and high school leagues,
CanAm tournaments, USA Hockey Men’s and Women’s training camps
and international events. It is also the home for the USA Hockey Women’s
National Team.
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Feeling locked out? Satisfy your urge to see NHL
players on the ice at the Hockey for Heroes for American Heroes
competition. The game took place at the University of Minnesota’s
Mariucci Arena. Local professional hockey players will face off against MN
Governor Tim Pawlenty and ringers from the Minnesota National Guard and
St. Paul Police hockey teams. It’s not being done just for the love of
the game. “Dwayne Roloson and I thoroughly enjoy our opportunity to play
hockey in Minnesota in large part because of the fans,” says
professional hockey left winger Andrew Brunette. “We wanted to share our
love of hockey with our fans and give back to local charities at the same
time. We came up with this idea and are excited that hockey lovers have
come together to support it.”
Proceeds from the game were donated to several charities, including the
primary beneficiary Herb Brooks Foundation, the National Guard’s
Minnesota Military Family Foundation and the Shjon Podein Children’s
Foundation.
“This is a way for us to say thank-you to important causes in the way
that we know best — by playing hockey,” says Brunette. “It was
important to us to honor our nation’s heroes who face-off with danger
every day along with a couple of our local hockey heroes: Herb Brooks and
Shjon Podein, who give a lot to hockey and their home state.” The Herb
Brooks Foundation is carrying on the ideals of Herb Brooks and will focus
its efforts on helping to make youth hockey and youth sports of all kinds
the type of environment that nurtures our young people and helps to make
them better adults.
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SAINT PAUL/MINNEAPOLIS,
Minn. – The Minnesota Wild 10,000 Rinks Foundation and the
Herb Brooks Foundation in partnership with the National Hockey League
(NHL) had put together a raffle that was held in conjunction with the
USA vs. Russia World Cup of Hockey game on Thursday, September 2nd at
Xcel Energy Center at 6:00 PM.
The raffle featured USA Hockey and World Cup autographed
memorabilia including a Herb Brooks signed print, a Jim Craig signed print,
a signed Brian Rolston USA jersey and a signed Marian Gaborik Slovakian
jersey. The foundations will be located at the Community Relations
Center, located at Section 124 of the Xcel Energy Center. All money raised
from the raffle was split evenly between the two foundations and was used to support youth hockey associations in Minnesota.
In addition to the raffle, Jim Craig, Buzzy Schnieder,
Mike Ramsey and John Harrington of the 1980 USA Gold Medal Olympic team
signed autographs at the booth. Jim Craig signed before
the game and John Harrington signed between the first and second
intermissions. The Herb Brooks Foundation had their booth set up
at all the World Cup games at the Excel Center, St. Paul, Minn.
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The Wayne Gretzky International Award was presented
posthumously by the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame to Herb Brooks as part of
the hall of fame's annual celebrity golf classic fund-raiser tournament
on July 25 in Red Wing, Minn. It was presented to Wayne Gretzky
in 2001, the Gordie Howe family in 2002, and Bobby Hull in 2003.
The award went to Danny Brooks in honor of his father,
a 1990 inductee into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame. The Gretzky award is
given annually to an international citizen who has made a major contribution
to the growth and advancement of American hockey. Brooks was an
advocate of American hockey through his college and amateur career and
coaching stints at the University of Minnesota and St. Cloud State University,
as well as in the NHL.
The golf tournament took place at Mississippi
National Golf Links, MN and the awards ceremony at Treasure Island Resort
& Casino.
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On May 11, 2004, the Minnesota State High School League
inducted Herb Brooks along with other outstanding leaders in the community,
into their Hall of Fame. This year's honorees believe in sportsmanship,
honesty, teamwork, self-discipline, loyalty, and cooperation. They have
personified those values, which the League holds as fundamental to the
education of younge people, in thier exemplary careers as teachers, coaches,
and directors.
Herb was an outstanding leader who had shown the way to a pinnacle of
achievement. "For Herb Brooks, nothing could replace the neighborhood
unity, the friendships and the bonds that were formed on outdoor ice rinks,
in warming houses, and in the Johnson High School hallways," stated
David Stead, Executive Director, Minnesota State High School League.
The most often repeated quote from Herb is: "Winning the state championship,
that represented your neighborhood...I would have to say that was my biggest
thrill ever. It was just the guys in neighborhood and that was special."
This quote stands as testimony to the value of high school sports.
Accepting the award was his wife, Patti Brooks: "Herbie would be
honored and yet humbled to be included with this year's Hall of Fame inductees.
He was always grateful for the opportunity to work with young people,
to instill values that would serve them for a lifetime. In his mind, character
was just as important as talent. Herbie always said that the highlight
of his sports career was winning the 1955 Minnesota Hockey Tournament.
This ignited his desire to help young people pursue their goals and become
the best person they could be. He would want to share this honor with
all the young people who enriched his life."
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St. Cloud, Minn.
-- St. Cloud State University honored the late Herb Brooks with a special
ceremony between the first and second period of the SCSU men’s hockey
game against Northern Michigan on Saturday, Oct. 16. At that time, SCSU formally dedicated Herb Brooks Way that is located adjacent to the
National Hockey Center in St. Cloud.
Earlier this year, the city of St. Cloud approved the change of 13th Street
S. east of 4th Ave. S. (the street just south of the SCSU’s National
Hockey Center) to Herb Brooks Way. The street name change was done to
recognize the contributions that Brooks made to the sport of hockey, and
in particular, his help in bringing NCAA Division I hockey to St. Cloud
State and obtaining funding for the National Hockey Center -- home of
SCSU Husky hockey.
Brooks served for one season as the Huskies’ head coach in 1986-87,
as SCSU posted a 25-10-1 record during that season and placed third in
the nation at the NCAA Division III level. The following season, thanks
in part to the groundwork laid by Brooks, SCSU made the move to the NCAA
Division I level. Since that time, SCSU has become a college hockey power
under the direction of head coach Craig Dahl. An assistant coach for Brooks
during the 1986-87 season, Dahl has served as head coach for the Huskies
since 1987-88 and he will begin his 18th season as head coach in 2004-05.
“Herb (Brooks) did so many things to promote the sport of hockey
during his lifetime, and a great example of that were his contributions
to the Husky hockey program,” SCSU Director of Athletics Dr. Morris
Kurtz said. “He played an integral role in our move to the NCAA Division
I level and was instrumental in helping us gain the funding for the National
Hockey Center. Herb Brooks Way is a fitting tribute to the memory of Herb
and all the great things he did for hockey at St. Cloud State.”
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April 25, 2004, about 500 people gathered at St. Paul
Johnson High School, where the hockey jersey of the late Herb Brooks was
retired. From a bronze sculpture to "Miracle", the celebrations
of hockey legend Herb Brooks have been plenty. Herb got his first taste
of championship hockey when he led his St. Paul Johnson squad to the Minnesota
high school title in 1955.
But it was Sunday morning's pancake feed and retirement
of his Johnson High School hockey number at the East Side school that
would have made Brooks, feel most at home. He never forgot his roots.
Local sports personality John Henk, also a Johnson
graduate, took the podium and addressed the crowd that gathered in the
auditorium about how Herbie would have felt on this day. The audience
included his wife, Patti, son Danny, daughter Kelly, and his five grandchildren
along with the Johnson High School hockey team — conference and Twin
Cities champs this year — sitting in rows behind the proud 1955 championship
team on which Brooks played.
On the dais sat Mayor Randy Kelly and a line
of hockey greats from long ago, including Herb's brother Dave Brooks,
National Hockey League veteran Bobby Paradise and former North Stars owner
and USA Hockey president Walter Bush.
 There was little talk of the Americans' "miracle"
victory over the Russians in 1980 that paved the way for the U.S. to win
Olympic gold. Rather, much of the 1-1/2-hour ceremony included recollections
of friends and family about how hockey touched the East Side in the 1950s
and 1960s, when fathers and sons spent bitterly cold nights "pouring"
a rink, and kids learned and played the game outside.
After the school presented the Brooks family
with a framed No. 5 jersey, senior hockey player Pat Conrad considered
the mark Brooks had made on so many lives. "It nice to hear how much
someone from here did for people. It made me realize there's a lot more,
after high school, that you can become," he said.
Herb Brooks is "Pride of the East Side"...
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No matter where his hockey career took him, Herb
Brooks’ heart always remained in his home city of Saint Paul, Minn.
With the focus of the hockey world on St. Paul for
the 2004 NHL All-Star Weekend, city fathers used the occasion to unveil
a permanent bronze statue of Brooks outside the Rivercentre’s east
entrance, which is next door to the Xcel Energy Center.
Brooks’ family and friends, along with other celebrity
guests, were on hand for the unveiling on Feb. 5. The event also marked
the kick off of the Herb Brooks Foundation, which is dedicated to providing
more opportunities for kids to play hockey.
True to Brooks’ words, the foundation will assist
in “making hockey fun for kids and letting them learn to love the
game the way we did.”
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