Posted on 03/06/2021 4:01:22 PM PST by Joe 6-pack
A central figure in one of the most iconic moments in American sports has died.
Mark Pavelich, a member of the "Miracle on Ice" USA Hockey team, was found dead Thursday morning at a mental health treatment center, the Star Tribune reports. He was 63.
USA Hockey confirmed Pavelich's death Friday.
Pavelich is the second member of Miracle on Ice team to die, following the death of Bob Suter in 2014.
The cause of Pavelich's death is not known, per the Star Tribune, though emergency dispatch audio reportedly disclosed that Pavelich had not been seen since 8 p.m. Wednesday, and responding personnel said he appeared to have been dead for several hours.
Pavelich's body was reportedly taken to the Midwest Medical Examiner's Office in Anoka, Minnesota, which still has yet to determine a cause of death.
Pavelich had been receiving mental health treatment at the center as part of a civil commitment ordered by a judge in 2019 following Pavelich's assault of a neighbor. Facing four counts of felony assault, Pavelich was ruled mentally ill and dangerous after reportedly attacking a friend of 20 years with a metal pole after a day of fishing. The assault, which reportedly came after Pavelich accused his friend of spiking his beer, left the victim with cracked ribs, a bruised kidney, a vertebrae fracture and many bruises.
(Excerpt) Read more at sports.yahoo.com ...
I watched it as it developed in Germany at an ice rink where the local team played. They had a big screen TV set up and when the USA won the Germans were ecstatic. Couldn’t have been prouder than right then watching the world’s or at ;east the German’s reaction. Later ran into the coach in a NY elevator and told him the story. He was pleased and said he often got good reactions like mine.
I lived in Revere, MA at the time and remember going to Winthrop, MA to see the parade for Mike Eruzione. This was of course the year that Ronald Reagan was elected president but at that time, it was not a sure thing.
Suicide in a mental health facility takes determination. I am not making fun—I worked in a health system and I had to go to the behavioral health building often. The things they have to do to prevent someone from dying are incredible.
He probably died of a heart attack or stroke—the meds will bring those on.
What a shame.
Great movie. Just watched it again after posting this thread.
After reading the story I’m wondering how ‘accidental’ his wife’s fall really was. This guy has a major screw loose.
“My thoughts exactly.........what a tragedy.........”
Truly terrible. Mark Pavelich was a skill player and he is a legend.
Yeah, I attended enough games back in the day to witness the crowd yelling, “shoot.”
We all wanted Beck to shoot more. But he was a great defensemen. Just an All-Star caliber player year in and year out.
I’m very sorry to hear he suffers from depression he connects to concussions. A big part of the fans love affair with Beck was his smooth style and size. We always wanted him to check other players more.
Yet, here we are and it’s thought concussions have caused health problems by Beck himself.
God be with him.
“I remember that very well from 1980. I was in my senior year of high school...”
Ha! My senior year too. I remember I had to miss the last bit of the final game against Finland because we had to go to church (it was on a Sunday).
https://www.tampabay.com/sports/lightning/2020/02/10/a-broken-star-family-hopes-olympic-hockey-player-mark-pavelichs-story-helps-others/
Heartbreaking. An American hero who showed his grit at every level of the game is paying a heavy price for his determination.
His wife’s fall and death seems to have further accelerated his problems connected to CTE head injuries.
https://www.ctvnews.ca/w5/how-joe-murphy-went-from-nhl-star-to-homeless-on-the-streets-1.4131687
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