No miracles in the Garden - Uncovering the Past - death of hockey coach Herb Brooks - Brief Article

Hockey Digest, Dec, 2003 by Alex Gordon

BEATING THE RUSSIANS? THAT'S nothing. After all, it had only been 20 years since Team USA's last gold medal when Herb Brooks led his squad to its historic victory over the USSR at the 1980 Olympics.

When Brooks went to the NHL in 1981, he decided to really challenge himself taking over a New York Rangers team that had last captured the Stanley Cup in 1940.

By the time Brooks--who we pay tribute to in this issue starting on page 22--landed on his first and only cover of HOCKEY DIGEST in March 1985, the strain of trying to reverse four-plus decades of Rangers misery was clearly weighing on him. Our story speculated that 1984-85 might be Brooks last season in the Garden, and in fact, we were right, as shortly after the story appeared, Brooks was fired.

Brooks landed on his feet, coaching the Minnesota North Stars in 1987-88, the New Jersey Devils in 1992-93, and the Pittsburgh Penguins for 58 games in 1999-2000. In between Brooks worked in various capacities with NHL teams. Despite a career 219-222-66 record as an NHL coach and never winning a Stanley Cup, nothing Brooks did in the two decades following his Olympic gold diminished his stature as a hockey deity.

In 2002, Brooks returned to the bench, leading Team USA once again in the Olympics. A lot had changed in the ensuing 22 years. The Russians were now our allies and NHL superstars dominated the Olympic rosters. But what hadn't changed was the old Brooks magic.

Brooks one again led Team USA to the gold medal game, where a match against the powerhouse Canadians loomed. Team USA and Brooks were on the wrong end of history this time, though, as the Canadians prevailed 52, capturing their first gold in 50 years.

Herb Brooks died in a single-car crash on August 11, 2003. He was 66. He will be missed.