The Passing of a Legend
Published on August 12, 2003 under American Hockey League (AHL)
Hershey Bears News Release
I suppose on this day when our profession mourns the loss of one of our own, there will be many people who have stories to tell about perhaps the greatest hockey coach the United States has ever known. The news yesterday that Herb Brooks was killed in a car accident on I-35 north of Minneapolis hit pretty close to home for a lot of people yesterday, and it certainly hit home with me. The first hockey game I ever went to as a kid was at old Williams Arena on the campus of the University of Minnesota, where the Gophers won three national championships under Brooks in 1974, 1976, and again in 1979. He was an icon in the Twin Cities even before he took leave from his coaching duties at the start of the 1979-80 season to coach the U.S. Olympic team. When the United States slipped by the Soviet Union to advance to the gold medal game in 1980, the team captured the imagination of a nation, and the state of Minnesota couldn't have been prouder. Many of the players on that 1980 team hailed from Minnesota, and while it meant a great deal to our nation to have defeated the Russians that day, I think it meant even more to the folks from the land of 10,000 lakes. It was during that time, with Olympic glory and national championships that I truly became a fan of the sport of hockey, a love of mine that hasn't diminished with the passage of time.
Flash forward to the beginning of the 2002-03 season here in HERSHEY. When Dave Mishkin left for Tampa Bay, and I was named to succeed him here, it was a hectic and emotional time for me personally. I was thrilled to be coming, and couldn't wait to start the season, but everything happened so fast, and my transition time was so short. I had to say goodbye to a lot of friends and family in Ohio very quickly, which was one of the most difficult things I've ever had to do. In the business of hockey, it seems like saying goodbye is part of the job description with players, front office personnel, and ever broadcasters moving up or moving on. Coming to HERSHEY for me was saying goodbye to a lot of people I knew in Cincinnati, and I certainly felt the emotion of moving away the night that I left Ohio with the moving van and made my way to central Pennsylvania. I got to town just in time for the first exhibition game against Wilkes-Barre/Scranton at HERSHEYPARK Arena. After pulling into town around 2 a.m. the night before, I left behind a townhouse full of moving boxes and came to the arena for my first game with the BEARS. Charged up with a lot of emotions, I met Coach Foligno before the game, and some of the players as well, and found my way to the press box to watch the game and take it all in. At the same time, my beloved Minnesota Twins were playing Oakland in the American League Division Series, and late in the first period, I snuck away to the old media room at the Arena to check on the progress of the game. When I arrived, there was only one other man in the room who also was a longtime Twins fan: Herb Brooks. He pretty much did the same thing I did, ducking away to see how Minnesota was faring that night against the A's. I was pretty surprised to see him, but I had read before that he was quite a baseball fan and here he was in the media room all by himself, watching and hoping the Twins could advance. I never had a chance to meet Herb Brooks while in Minnesota, and through my years working in hockey, our paths had never crossed. Yet here, on my first night in HERSHEY, here was the coach I had admired for so many years both for his accomplishments at Minnesota as well as the '80 Olympic team, and I'm watching the Twins game with him at HERSHEYPARK Arena. I introduced myself, and we talked a bit about baseball, the Twins, and what a great place HERSHEY was for hockey. We talked about the opening of GIANT Center, the history of HERSHEYPARK Arena, and whether Minnesota could pull the series out with Oakland. In total, it was probably not even five minutes of time, but they are five minutes I won't ever forget. For all the emotion I was feeling that first day in town, Brooks offered something to me that night that was very comforting. It was something familiar, something that made HERSHEY feel like home on my first night here. It was the first moment of many moments I've had since then that HERSHEY is truly a special place to call home. Words like "tradition" and "history" have a special meaning here, and the hockey world passes through here almost daily in the wintertime to only add to the memories. I called my father back in Ohio that night and told him who I was watching the Twins game with in between periods, and I knew suddenly that HERSHEY was where I was supposed to be. Brooks was back in HERSHEY later in the season when the Penguins played at GIANT Center, and as it turned out, it was the final time he ever came to town.
I was in the press box at Riverside Stadium on City Island last night in Harrisburg, filling in for a night in the radio booth for the Senators when I heard the news that Herb Brooks died in a one car accident. Ironic that another member of our hockey "family" was also at the game when I found out, as BEARS head coach Paul Fixter found out just moments before he came up to see me in the broadcast booth. Our "family" is saddened today by the passing of a man who galvanized a nation with perhaps the greatest sports moment in our country's history, and a coach who meant so much to so many people, including a kid who grew up watching his Gopher teams in Minneapolis who followed his hockey dreams to broadcast games in "the sweetest place on earth".
God bless you, Herbie. We will always believe in miracles.
-John Walton
American Hockey League Stories from August 12, 2003
- Brigley Acquired by Avalanche - Hershey Bears
- Panthers Re-Sign Jardine and Novoseltsev - San Antonio Rampage
- Barons to Host In-Line Tournament - Cleveland Barons
- Sharks Acquire Ekman in Trade - Cleveland Barons
- Mulick Signs, Will Appear at Barons Hockey Fest - Cleveland Barons
- Sharks Ink Fibiger - Cleveland Barons
- B-Sens Pre-Season Schedule Announced - Binghamton Senators
- The Passing of a Legend - Hershey Bears
- Admirals Update - Norfolk Admirals
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