Remembering Pelle Lindbergh - 22 Years Later
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by Christof
Shortly before dawn on November 10, 1985, Pelle Lindbergh jumped into his super-charged Porsche. Lindbergh had spent the night celebrating another victory for the Philadelphia Flyers. Lindbergh had that game off, but the Flyers still won. Next up for the Flyers was the defending Stanley Cup champions, the Edmonton Oilers. The Oilers had defeated the Flyers in the Cup Finals the previous spring.
Unfortunately, Lindbergh had way too much to drink. He should have never been behind the wheel of a car. Yet, Pelle was driving. The remaining story is all well known and quite sad. Lindbergh, who loved to speed in his Porsche, was unable to see a curve in a road. At a high rate of speed, Lindbergh slammed straight-forward into a stone wall. There are two other passengers into the car, both of whom were critically injured. Pelle, however, was the most injured.
Besides fractures to his leg, Pelle shattered his brain stem and spinal cord. By the time he arrived at the hospital, he was brain dead. Nonetheless, Lindbergh was placed on life support for a day. Thereafter, he was removed from life support, and his organs donated.
I was seven years old back then. Hockey was my favorite sport back then, and the Flyers were my favorite hockey team. And of course, Pelle Lindbergh was my favorite Flyer.
I still remember first hearing about the accident. It was a Sunday morning, and my mom heard it first on the radio. She told me about it. At 7, I figure Pelle was indestructible and he would bounce back from it. My dad tried to explain that this was not possible. Yet, I still held out hope that Pelle would recover. That hope ended a day later when the life support was removed.
Pelle Lindbergh, at the time of his death, was considered the best goalie in the NHL. He had his best professional season in 1984-1985. His prime was just beginning.
All of this was lost in a moment. And for what? Pelle decided to get behind the wheel of a car when he was extremely drunk. Because of that, he not only lost his career, he lost his life.
Everybody in this world can be a role model. At times, you can be a role model for the good that you do. At other times, you can be a role model for the mistakes that you make. Pelle Lindbergh is a role model in both.
On this twenty-second anniversary of his death, the memory of Pelle Lindbergh is still alive. So to are the questions of what if and what could have been. I can only hope that Lindbergh’s soul is at rest.
