Honoring Coach Herb Brooks

Tony Mussari

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Recently, Kitch and I made our way to the Arena at Casey Plaza. It’s one of the most impressive symbols of change, progress and growth in northeastern Pennsylvania. It’s a place where thousands of people go to cheer on the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, and it’s become a cultural center for thousands of people not only from northeastern Pennsylvania but from beyond.

But there’s a little known story about the Arena that I think is appropriate to tell. You see someone visited the Arena, someone who helped the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, someone who really liked northeastern Pennsylvania is about to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. His name is Coach Herb Brooks; yes, the legendary coach who orchestrated the Miracle at Lake Placid.

The last few years Kitch and I have been privileged to study the Miracle at Lake Placid, to study the life of Coach Brooks, to meet the members of the Brooks family and to tell the story of that wonderful time in American history. And as we were doing the research for our Miracle project, we learned something about Coach Brooks and his connection to northeastern and central Pennsylvania.

He was the head scout for the Pittsburgh Penguins when the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins were about to begin the franchise.

And his wife, Patti, told me that during the first year of that franchise, her husband spent virtually every evening on the telephone with the first coach of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins helping him, teaching him, sharing with him insights about the game of hockey. Coach Brooks wanted the franchise to be successful and he was willing to share all he knew to make that happen.

There’s another wonderful story about Coach Brooks that very few people know. He was a frequent visitor here in northeastern Pennsylvania and to the Arena. And often times when he would come, he would find his way to various shops. On a rainy afternoon, he made his way to the Eagle Golf Shop and the person who owned the store at the time told me this wonderful story.

This big man quietly entered, closed up his umbrella and started to look at the equipment. The owner recognized him immediately and walked over and said, “I don’t mean to intrude, but aren’t you Coach Herb Brooks?” The big man looked down at him with a smile quietly said, “Yes.” And then the obvious question…the owner asked if he could have an autograph. Coach Brooks walked to his office to give him an autograph and while he was there, the owner asked one other question. He said, “Can the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins produce a winning franchise?” The coach sat down and for the next hour and a half on plain scraps of paper, he diagramed plans and he outlined the strategy and he showed him exactly how the Penguins could become competitive. That was the measure of Coach Herb Brooks.

He took the time to care. He had an interest that wasn’t just a pedestrian interest in northeastern Pennsylvania. He wanted this franchise to be successful, and he wanted this team to be a winner.

Recently, Coach Brooks was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame, an honor that those of us who admire him believe is long overdue, and I think there’s one other honor he deserves. I believe that Coach Brooks should have a plaque in his name placed in the Wachovia Arena at Casey Plaza so that all those people who visit and all those people who will visit in the future will know that this great man was here and this great man shared his talent with those who were building the franchise when it was just beginning. What a marvelous way to pay tribute to Herb Brooks and to say thank you to him for all that he did to make the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins a winner.

Just a comment, just a thought in an Unplugged segment of The New Windsor Park Stories.

 

 

 

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