Herb Brooks

Brooks married Patti in 1965, and they had two children, Danny and Kelly.

As part of the 25th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice” celebration, the Olympic ice arena in Lake Placid, New York, where the United States won the gold medal, was renamed Herb Brooks Arena.

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.

Herb Brooks was born on August 5, 1937 in Saint Paul, Minnesota, to Herbert Brooks, Sr. and Pauline Brooks. He was the oldest of three children, and grew up in a modest duplex, on the East side of St. Paul.

He attended Johnson High School, and led his school to the Minnesota high school title. He continued playing with the University of Minnesota Gophers from 1955 to 1959.

Initially, Herb Brooks was a member of the 1960 Olympic roster but his name was cut just a week before the games. He was disappointed, but worked harder. He made to the team for the next two Olympics, but a medal eluded him.

He began his coaching career in 1969, as an assistant coach for his alma mater, the University of Minnesota, and in the following year, coached the Minnesota Junior Stars.

He became the head coach at the University of Minnesota. The team won three NCAA Division I championships, and a WCHA title between 1974 and 1979.

He finished his collegiate coaching with a record of 175 wins, 101 losses and 20 ties. He was hired to coach the Olympic team in 1979, and hand-picked several Minnesota Boston University players.

To compete with the Soviet Union team specifically, Brooks developed a hybrid of American and Canadian styles, and the faster European style, which emphasized on creativity and teamwork.

Brooks received one of hockey’s most prestigious awards, the Lester Patrick Awards in 2002. The trophy is named after Lester Patrick, a player and coach, who was the developer of ice hockey.

In 2006, he was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The inscription reads: “A man of passion and dedication, Herb Brooks inspired a generation of Americans to pursue any and all dreams”.

In 1980, Brooks was the head coach of the gold medal-winning US Olympic hockey team at Lake Placid that upset the much fancied Soviet team in a match described as the “Miracle on Ice”.

He coached the US squad a second time at the 2002 Olympics in Salt Lake City. They beat Russia in the semi-final, but lost to Canada 2-5 in the finals, to take the silver.