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Philadelphia Flyers Blogger • NHL.com •
I will never forget where I was on November 10, 1985. My family was away at a wedding and I was at home with my younger sister, Liza. I received a phone call from David Kramer, my best friend from childhood.
"Turn on the TV-- now!" he commanded.
I flipped on the set and saw a live televison report, detailing what was known at the time about the horrible car crash in Somerdale, New Jersey shortly before the crack of dawn. Lee and I watched the report in silence over the phone. Not another word was spoken until I finally said "I have to go," and hung up.
Pelle was one of my favorite players and, like so many Flyers fans in Philadelphia, his senseless drinking-and-driving death (all the more shocking because Lindbergh was never known as a big partier) devastated me.
I can honestly say Pelle's death drummed home the lesson that it only takes one lapse in judgment to snuff out a life in a much more personal way than all the "Just Say No" school assemblies and made-for-television specials combined.
This was an athlete, beloved by his teammates, a hero in a homeland and the Flyers' fans greatest hope for a Stanley Cup. He was already the reigning Vezina Trophy winner and was only just starting to truly hit his stride as an NHL goaltender. In his private life, he was engaged to a beautiful woman named Kerstin and planned to get married the next summer.
He had everything to live for, all the physical strength and supreme self-confidence in the world and it all shattered in an instant because he got behind the wheel after drinking.
Just as sadly, Pelle today is usually remembered only for the circumstances of his death and not for the incredibly engaging, warm person he was in addition to being a world-class goaltender. The irony of him dying so young, however, is that Pelle will forever remain 26 years old and at the height of his powers to those who knew him or watched him regularly.
In early 2006, I received an email from Swedish newspaper writer Thomas Tynader of Aftonbladet. The subject line said "Gump" (Pelle's nickname, after legendary Hall of Fame goalie "Gump" Worsley). A year earlier, Thomas wrote an excellent magazine article to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Pelle's death. Months before Thomas wrote me, a Swedish friend sent me a photocopy of the article. I also knew of Thomas because I'm in periodic contact with one of his Aftonbladet hockey-writing colleagues, Thomas Ros.
I opened the email with interest. In it, Thomas explained he was working on a biography of Pelle to be released in Sweden in 2006. He asked if I'd be willing to be interviewed for the book.
I said sure, although I didn't really know what I could add that Thomas didn't already know. He'd interviewed dozens of Pelle's former teammates, coaches, family members and off-ice friends for the article. Apart from the 1984 Flyers' Wives Fight for Lives Carnival, which I attended as a 13-year old fan, I never had any direct contact with Pelle Lindbergh.
I did a short interview with Thomas, recounting the story at the top of this blog. We stayed in contact in the forthcoming weeks and months. I reviewed sections of the Swedish text pertaining to the Flyers and the NHL and offered some additional suggestions.
Eventually, Thomas and I came up with the idea of co-writing an English version of the book, which will take shape over the next year or so. Thomas also told me there would be an official Pelle Lindbergh website, authorized by his surviving family members, as a sister project for the book. The site would be bilingual.
Thomas introduced me to a man named Rolf Alex, an old friend of Pelle's. "Roffe" was a musician in the Wellander Ronander Band, a well-known Swedish band of the late '70s and early 80s that was one of Lindbergh's favorites. Their common love of hockey and music forged a friendship that lasted the rest of Pelle's life. In fact, Roffe visited Pelle in Philadelphia in early 1983 and attended the game against the Soviets where Pelle went down with an injury.
Today, Roffe heads a Swedish multi-media company called Mungo Productions. He was only too happy to offer his services as designer of the Lindbergh website, doing so as a tribute to his late friend.
Roffe did an incredible job weaving rare photos of Pelle and video clips while Thomas and I wrote the text for the site and I wrote captions for the Swedish video clips.
Thomas' Swedish version of the book was published last week. Today, it gives me great pleasure to announce the launch of the official Pelle Lindbergh website.
The URL of the site, to which we will add more video segments and additional features, is http://www.pellelindbergh.se
To view the videos, click the movie camera icon beneath the photos on any of the pages on the site.
"Turn on the TV-- now!" he commanded.
I flipped on the set and saw a live televison report, detailing what was known at the time about the horrible car crash in Somerdale, New Jersey shortly before the crack of dawn. Lee and I watched the report in silence over the phone. Not another word was spoken until I finally said "I have to go," and hung up.
Pelle was one of my favorite players and, like so many Flyers fans in Philadelphia, his senseless drinking-and-driving death (all the more shocking because Lindbergh was never known as a big partier) devastated me.
I can honestly say Pelle's death drummed home the lesson that it only takes one lapse in judgment to snuff out a life in a much more personal way than all the "Just Say No" school assemblies and made-for-television specials combined.
This was an athlete, beloved by his teammates, a hero in a homeland and the Flyers' fans greatest hope for a Stanley Cup. He was already the reigning Vezina Trophy winner and was only just starting to truly hit his stride as an NHL goaltender. In his private life, he was engaged to a beautiful woman named Kerstin and planned to get married the next summer.
He had everything to live for, all the physical strength and supreme self-confidence in the world and it all shattered in an instant because he got behind the wheel after drinking.
Just as sadly, Pelle today is usually remembered only for the circumstances of his death and not for the incredibly engaging, warm person he was in addition to being a world-class goaltender. The irony of him dying so young, however, is that Pelle will forever remain 26 years old and at the height of his powers to those who knew him or watched him regularly.
In early 2006, I received an email from Swedish newspaper writer Thomas Tynader of Aftonbladet. The subject line said "Gump" (Pelle's nickname, after legendary Hall of Fame goalie "Gump" Worsley). A year earlier, Thomas wrote an excellent magazine article to commemorate the 20th anniversary of Pelle's death. Months before Thomas wrote me, a Swedish friend sent me a photocopy of the article. I also knew of Thomas because I'm in periodic contact with one of his Aftonbladet hockey-writing colleagues, Thomas Ros.
I opened the email with interest. In it, Thomas explained he was working on a biography of Pelle to be released in Sweden in 2006. He asked if I'd be willing to be interviewed for the book.
I said sure, although I didn't really know what I could add that Thomas didn't already know. He'd interviewed dozens of Pelle's former teammates, coaches, family members and off-ice friends for the article. Apart from the 1984 Flyers' Wives Fight for Lives Carnival, which I attended as a 13-year old fan, I never had any direct contact with Pelle Lindbergh.
I did a short interview with Thomas, recounting the story at the top of this blog. We stayed in contact in the forthcoming weeks and months. I reviewed sections of the Swedish text pertaining to the Flyers and the NHL and offered some additional suggestions.
Eventually, Thomas and I came up with the idea of co-writing an English version of the book, which will take shape over the next year or so. Thomas also told me there would be an official Pelle Lindbergh website, authorized by his surviving family members, as a sister project for the book. The site would be bilingual.
Thomas introduced me to a man named Rolf Alex, an old friend of Pelle's. "Roffe" was a musician in the Wellander Ronander Band, a well-known Swedish band of the late '70s and early 80s that was one of Lindbergh's favorites. Their common love of hockey and music forged a friendship that lasted the rest of Pelle's life. In fact, Roffe visited Pelle in Philadelphia in early 1983 and attended the game against the Soviets where Pelle went down with an injury.
Today, Roffe heads a Swedish multi-media company called Mungo Productions. He was only too happy to offer his services as designer of the Lindbergh website, doing so as a tribute to his late friend.
Roffe did an incredible job weaving rare photos of Pelle and video clips while Thomas and I wrote the text for the site and I wrote captions for the Swedish video clips.
Thomas' Swedish version of the book was published last week. Today, it gives me great pleasure to announce the launch of the official Pelle Lindbergh website.
The URL of the site, to which we will add more video segments and additional features, is http://www.pellelindbergh.se
To view the videos, click the movie camera icon beneath the photos on any of the pages on the site.
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