Herb Brooks, Coached U.S.
to 'Miracle on Ice,' Dies in Auto Accident
By GERALD ESKENAZI
New York Times, 11-August-2003

Herb Brooks who molded an unheralded collection of United States hockey players,
most of them collegians, into the "Miracle on Ice" team that captured the gold medal
at the 1980 Winter Olympics, died yesterday (Sunday, August 10th) in an auto accident north of the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Brooks, who lived in Birchwood Village, Minn., was 66.

Brooks, according to witnesses, evidently lost control of his minivan on an interstate
highway and was ejected from the vehicle after it rolled over, said Lt. Chuck Walerius, the supervisor at the scene for the Minnesota State Patrol. Walerius said there was no indication that alcohol was involved in the crash.

Brooks was returning from a golf tournament in northern Minnesota that raised money for the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, Minn., its executive director, Tom Shersha, said in a televised interview.

Brooks, who was inducted into the Hall in 1990, earned a special niche in American sports as the orchestrator of the 1980 Olympic team that stunned the Soviet Union, 4-3, in the semifinal game, then defeated Finland for the gold medal.

In 1979, Brooks was coaching the University of Minnesota, where he had also played, when he was asked to put together a squad for the Lake Placid Games. The reigning world hockey power was the Soviet Union, whose team was composed of older players from military teams or clubs, and who performed together on a year-round basis. The United States had captured the 1960 gold medal, but its hockey program had been overtaken by many counties in the two decades after that.

Brooks, who liked to describe himself as a street guy from St. Paul, knew he had to work with players who did not know one another and who came from rival hockey areas, New England and Minnesota for the most part. They would be together for less than a year when the Olympics began.

But he made it work, in part because he made himself the focus of the players' animosity, playing the bad cop to his easygoing assistant, Craig Patrick.

Brooks took Mike Eruzione, a smallish but spirited player from Boston University, and appointed him captain, to the surprise of many on the team. His No. 1 goalie was another Boston University player, Jim Craig.

A week before the Olympics got under way, the Soviet squad trounced the American team in an exhibition game by 10-3.

But Brooks had instituted an American style based on speed and motion away from the puck. Despite that loss, the club entered the Games at a physical peak. The Americans tied Sweden in their Olympic opener by scoring with only 27 seconds to play.

Before the semifinal game with the Soviet Union, Brooks told his players, "You were born to be here," and walked out of the locker room.

The game was not televised live, but when word came of the victory, enthralled Americans watched the taped replay later in the evening. They heard the broadcaster Al Michaels, in what became a memorable call, exclaim, "Do you believe in miracles?"

The upset victory provided a lift for America at a time when hostages were still being held in Iran and the end of the cold war was nowhere in sight.

"When it came to hockey he was ahead of his time," Ken Morrow, a defenseman on the 1980 Olympic team and now a scout for the Islanders, said yesterday. "All of his teams overachieved because Herbie knew how to get the best out of each player and make him part of a team."

Lou Lamoriello, the Devils' president and general manager, said in a telephone interview that "Herb opened the door for college players to get the opportunity to play in the National Hockey League." He added: "It was a closed door before the 1980 Winter Olympics. That year opened the door."

Brooks was the last player to be cut in tryouts for the 1960 United States gold-medal-winning team, then played on the American squads in 1964 and 1968.

Having played hockey for the University of Minnesota, Brooks coached the team from 1971 to '79, capturing three national championships.

Brooks later coached in the N.H.L., with the Rangers (1981-85), the Minnesota North Stars (1987-88), the Devils (1992-93) and the Pittsburgh Penguins (1999-2000). He coached the French team at the Nagano Olympics in 1998, coached the United States team to a silver medal at the Salt Lake City Olympics last year and was director of player development for the Penguins at the time of his death.

Brooks is survived by his wife, Patti; a daughter, Kelly; and a son, Daniel.