Pelle Lindbergh

Playing career

Having gained fame while playing for Hammarby in his youth, and while making his debut in the highest Swedish hockey league with AIK (Stockholm) leading him to the Swedish national team in the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics, Lindbergh set his sights on the North American game. Lindbergh owns the distinction of being the goaltender on the only team that did not lose to the gold-medal-winning Team USA at the 1980 Olympics, as Team Sweden and Team USA played to a 2–2 tie in the first game of the tournament. After being drafted by the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft (second round, 35th overall), he started his North American career during the 1980–81 season by playing one and a half seasons for the Maine Mariners of the AHL before playing his first games for the Flyers in 1982. In 1983, he was named goalie of the NHL All-Rookie Team. He led the NHL with 40 victories during the 1984–85 season and won the Vezina Trophy, the first European goaltender to do so in NHL history. That same year, he was also named a First Team All-Star. Lindbergh was the first goalie to bring a water bottle on ice with him during NHL games. Lindbergh did this to combat severe dehydration he commonly suffered from. This practice first drew criticism from opponents and coaches alike, but is now the norm for NHL goaltenders.

Death

In the early morning hours of Sunday, November 10, 1985, Lindbergh lost control of his customized Porsche 930 Turbo and struck a wall in front of a Somerdale, New Jersey elementary school, critically injuring himself and severely injuring his two passengers. Although declared brain dead a few hours later, he was kept on life support until his father arrived from Sweden late the next day and his parents gave their permission to terminate treatment. He died on Monday, November 11 after a five-hour operation to harvest his heart and other organs for transplant. At the time of the accident he had just left the Coliseum, the former practice center for the Flyers located in Voorhees Township, where he was attending a team party. He was intoxicated at the time of the accident, with a blood alcohol level of .24%, well above New Jersey's legal limit (.10%) even at that time. Lindbergh topped the fan voting for the 1986 NHL All-Star Game. It would mark the first time that a player was chosen posthumously for an all-star team in a major North American team sport. Sean Taylor's selection to the 2008 Pro Bowl was the only other time this has happened. Although his number 31 was never officially retired by the Flyers, no Flyer has worn the number 31 since Lindbergh's death. Lindbergh is buried in Skogskyrkogården, a cemetery in southern Stockholm.

Pelle Circle, a residential street in Far Northeast Philadelphia, was named in his honor when it was constructed in 1986.

In 2006, a Swedish biography entitled Pelle Lindbergh: Behind the White Mask was written by Swedish author Thomas Tynander. An English version was published in fall 2009. The English version was translated by Bill Meltzer and published by Middle Atlantic Press.

Awards and achievements

The Philadelphia Flyers named a team award, the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy, in his honor. Since the 1993–94 season it has been annually awarded to the most improved player on the team.