Herb Brooks
Hi Folks,
I'm posting this in honor of a man who led the U.S. Olympic Men?s Ice Hockey Team at the 1980 Olympic Winter Games, better known as the "Miracle on Ice." I remember that Mr. Brooks and his family had their house burn down around the same time the apartment building I lived in burned down (1996).
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Coach Herb Brooks
To Be Inducted Into The U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. ? The United States Olympic Committee announced today that legendary coach Herb Brooks has been selected to the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. The late Brooks joins the 1984 Men?s Gymnastics Olympic Team; Olympians Evelyn Ashford, Rowdy Gaines, Bob Hayes, Shannon Miller and Kristi Yamaguchi; Paralympian Diana Golden-Brosnihan; Jack Shea in the Veterans category; and Special Contributor **** Ebersol as the Class of 2006.
The group will be honored during the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame Presented by Allstate Induction Ceremony December 8, 2005, at the Harris Theatre in Chicago, Ill.
?Herb Brooks is quite simply one of the greatest hockey coaches who ever lived,? said Dave Ogrean, executive director of USA Hockey. ?He 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.?
Brooks was the architect of one of the most celebrated moments in the history of sport. His direction of the gold-medal-winning U.S. Olympic Men?s Ice Hockey Team at the 1980 Olympic Winter Games in Lake Placid, N.Y., was achieved with a 6-0-1 overall record and a stunning 4-3 victory against the heavily-favored Soviet Union.
For that tremendous accomplishment, Brooks was presented with the National Hockey League?s Lester Patrick Award for his contribution to hockey in the United States. In 1980, Sports Illustrated tabbed Brooks as its Sportsman of the Year and, 20 years later, called the 1980 team?s performance the ?Greatest Sports Moment of the Century.?
Most recently, Brooks led the U.S. Olympic Men?s Ice Hockey Team to the silver medal at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games. Brooks? other head coaching assignment with USA Hockey came with the U.S. National Team at the 1979 International Ice Hockey Federation World Championship. Brooks also skated for the 1964 and 1968 U.S. Olympic Men?s Ice Hockey Teams.
Brooks experienced coaching success at all levels. He helped lead the University of Minnesota to three national championships between 1972-79. Brooks also coached the National Hockey League?s Minnesota North Stars (1987-88), New Jersey Devils (1992-93) and Pittsburgh Penguins (1999-00).
In 2003, Brooks died tragically in a car accident in his home state of Minnesota. He was 66.
The U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame was established in 1979 to celebrate the achievements of America?s premier athletes in the modern Olympic Games. The first U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame class was inducted in 1983 during ceremonies in Chicago. To date, 182 athletes (including six U.S. teams) and special contributors to the U.S. Olympic Movement have been enshrined. Hall members represent an American honor roll of athletic ambassadors to the ideals of brotherhood and fair play.
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Sincerely,
Richard Graham
Editor
Inline Hockey Central
Sincerely,
Richard Graham
Editor
Inline Hockey Central
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