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Fred Shero

Frederick Alexander Shero, nicknamed The Fog (October 23, 1925 – November 24, 1990) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player, coach, and general manager. He played for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). However, he spent most of his playing career in the minor leagues. Following his playing career, Shero went into coaching. He spent 13 years coaching in the minor leagues before making it to the NHL. As the head coach of the NHL's Philadelphia Flyers, Shero won the Stanley Cup in 1974 and 1975 and reached the Stanley Cup Finals a third time, in 1976. He also had four consecutive seasons of having a 0.700 or better winning percentage and remains the Flyers all-time leader in coaching victories. Shero controversially left the Flyers following the 1977–78 season to become the head coach of the New York Rangers, whom he led to the Stanley Cup Finals in his first season. He resigned from the Rangers after coaching for less than three seasons. Shero had a unique style of coaching that led to several innovations that are still used today. He was the first coach to hire a full-time assistant coach, employ systems, have his players use in season strength training, study film, and he was one of the first coaches to utilize a morning skate. In 2013 Shero was recognized for his contributions when he was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder.

He was known for his enigmatic and introverted personality often appearing or disappearing from a room unnoticed, or being completely lost in thought. He often left philosophical sayings on a chalkboard as a way of provoking thought or as a motivational tool. Prior to game six of the 1974 Stanley Cup Finals, Shero wrote his now famous quote "Win together today and we walk together forever" – a statement that continues to be quoted to this day. His son, Ray Shero, also pursued a career in hockey, serving as general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins (2006–2014) and New Jersey Devils (2015–2020).

Coaching style

Shero's introverted, enigmatic personalityhad an effect on the way in which he coached players. Shero often communicated with his players by way of notes left in their lockers. When he did talk to them, he was known for never yelling. He believed that when coaches yell they do it for their own sake.He always defended his player whether it was in the press or even against management.He always tried to make sure his players were focused during the game. He often asked them how much time was left in the period to force them to pay attention. He had a unique take on practice as well. If the team was winning then he worked the team hard. If they were losing then there would be a low key practice. He believed that he could get more out of players when they were winning. He often had drills designed to let the players have fun, stating that "Hockey is a child's game played by men. Since it's a child's game it ought to be fun". To have fun the Flyers occasionally had 12-on-12 games with the winning team earning a small monetary reward. He sometimes had the players perform drills that lacked purpose which the team performed until a player questioned the validity of the drill. At that point Shero stopped the drill and praised the player for being alert.] Shero was notoriously bad with names. On one occasion it led to him trading for the wrong player. While GM of the Rangers Shero traded for Cam Connor believing it was Colin Campbell. Upon his arrival Connor had to explain that he was a winger and not a defenceman.

Often credited with using fighting and intimidation as a tactic,[62] Shero never coached players to fight. He valued team toughness and insisted that players take the body and follow through with their checks.When it came to fighting Shero was quoted as saying "I swear I have never told a player to attack another player. In fact, I have told my players if they ever hear me saying something like this, they can break a stick over my skull. I ask only that they play aggressively." In an interview in the HBO documentary Broad Street Bullies Shero states that he had a team that liked fighting so he let them fight. Demonstrating his personal coaching philosophy that "You have to learn to win with what you got or you don't win at all."

Shero was an innovator, aside from being the first coach to employ systems, and known as one of the first Western coaches to study Soviet influences, he was the first coach to study film. His son Ray even recalls his father breaking down games from radio broadcasts. He was also the first to have his players use in season strength training, with the use of an Apollo machine, a precursor to Nautilus equipment.], as well as one of the first coaches to adopt the morning skate. He was one of the first coaches to have a game plan specifically designed on how to attack opposing teams, although not all of them worked to plan. Bernie Parent recalls a game against Montreal in which Shero decided to outskate the highly skilled Canadiens. After the first period, during which the Flyers' goaltender faced 21 shots, he jokingly summed it up by saying, "the Zamboni didn't even need to resurface the other end of the ice." Yet it illustrates Shero's understanding that he didn't know everything about coaching and his pursuit to learn more.

Personal life

Shero was the son of Russian immigrants who moved to Winnipeg to avoid religious persecution. He was often bullied for being the son of an immigrant and went out of his way to avoid some of the other children in his neighbourhood. Shero credited his childhood experiences as a reason why he tended to be a loner. As a child Shero took up boxing and at age 13 he became a Canadian Bantamweight champion. His success gave him a chance to become a professional boxer, but he decided to play hockey instead. When he signed his first professional contract with the Rangers, his father cautioned him that "hockey players are looking for work when they are 30." When he left Winnipeg's Isaac Newton High School to go off to New York to play for the Rovers, he continued his education in his new surroundings.

In 1957, Shero was introduced to his future wife, Mariette, by his teammate Eddie Johnston in Shawinigan Falls, Quebec. Mariette was the sister of a woman Johnston was dating, at the time. Johnston recalled that Shero told him that he was going to marry Mariette after their first date, which he did shortly thereafter. Fred and Mariette had two sons, Rejean (Ray) and Jean-Paul. Ray Shero also pursued a career in hockey, serving as general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins (2006–2014) and New Jersey Devils (2015–2020).

Fascinated by the law, Shero contemplated retiring from coaching to attend law school following the Flyers Stanley Cup victory, believing he had nothing left to prove in hockey. Although he remained in coaching he did take a correspondence course in law. Known to spend time at his local library, Shero enjoyed the works of William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens and prided himself for being "the very first New York Ranger ever to hold a New York Public Library card."Among other interests was playing the violin.

Courtesy--wikipedia
- Fred Shero

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