April 7, 2025 • 7 mins
On this episode of Our American Stories, Ralph Cox is a former college hockey star who was squeezed out of arguably the greatest moment in sports history. Here's Ralph himself to share the moment that changed his life forever.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
This is Lee Habib, and this is our American Stories,
and we tell stories about everything here on this show,
from the arts to sports, and from business to history
and everything in between, including your stories. We've told the
story of both the nineteen eighty US Olympics Miracle on
Ice story and the captain of that team story, Miaica Ruzione.
Here's Greg Hengelo with an alternative look at that miraculous tale.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
In his book Win at Losing, How our biggest setbacks
can lead to our greatest gains. Sam Wyman explores how
failure can often be beneficial. Among the people he profiles
is Ralph Cox, a former college hockey star who was
squeezed out of arguably the greatest moment in sports history.
(00:56):
What you might know about Ralph comes from the two
thousand and four Disney movie Miracle, which is the true
story of the nineteen eighty US Olympic hockey team that
upset the powerful Soviets en route to the gold medal
at Lake Placid. One of the movie's bit characters is
a very likable forward with a thick Boston accent. Ralph
(01:16):
Cox had shaky hair and a handlebar mustache, and in
college hockey he was a prolific goal scorer. The problem
is Cox also suffered an ankle injury in the run
up to the games, and it continued to nag him.
As the Americans were paring down their roster for Lake Placid.
In one of the movie's most emotional scenes, US coach
(01:39):
Herb Brooks calls Cox into his office to relay the
news that he had to make one more cut, and
Cox was it. Now Here's Ralph Cox picking up the story.
Following the last day of training camp in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
People in Minneapolis were going to give us a going
away bank for you know, living there. We all lived
in Minneapolis, and that's where we trained. I get to
the hotel where the banquet hall is, and Herb wants
to see me, and someone sits downstairs in a small
conference room, a small banquet hall, And because I'm walking
down the stairs, I'm realizing that this is probably the moment,
Like I knew her even though no one had said it.
(02:17):
I really thought I was going to be on the team.
I really thought I would be on the team and
go to Lake Placid. I sensed that he was calling
me to tell me otherwise, so you know, you know,
I tell you, I stayed outside the room for about
the doors closed for a good five minutes, just trying
to catch my breath, get my composure because it was
(02:38):
a very emotional moment. It was very, very hard to
think about that possibility, and so your emotions are running high.
And I opened the door finally. I just said to myself,
you know, have some courage to take a breath, go
in there and see what's going on. And when I
walked in, Herb was pacing back and forth in the room.
When he saw me come in, he just looked at
(02:59):
me and he well, which I'd never seen that happen.
I mean, Herb was a very powerful guy, and it
took him a few minutes to be able to catch
his breath or get his composure, and he tried to talk.
And again he's a little emotional, and at that moment,
for some reason, I was extremely calm and in control.
And I looked at him and I said, you know, hey,
it's going to be all right, and he sort of
(03:20):
smiled at me a little bit and he said, you know,
I've really enjoyed having you on the team. You've been
great to have around, your enthusiasm and your passion for
the game. I think he's one of the best goalscorers
I've ever seen or coached. He said, I think your
injury has really slowed you down. It's only been five months.
We're going to be playing on a big ice surface,
(03:41):
and I have to make one of the toughest, if
not the toughest coaviching decision I've ever had to make, Ralph,
and I'm not going to be able to take you.
And again he welled up and stood up and walked
around the room a little bit, and you know, he
sat back down again and we talked a little bit
about about the Olympics. I told him it was always
(04:05):
a dream that I had to actually go there. I said,
I really have a I don't know where this came from,
but I said, I really have a funny feeling about
this team that you're gonna have a real shot at
a medal. And I said, I think you can really
win the gold medal. And he started laughing and he said, jeez,
I'll be happy if we just have a good showing.
There's a lot of people are not sure about that.
And he said, and it's nice to see you feel
(04:27):
like that, you know, He said, if I can ever
do anything for you ever in your career, he said,
it'd be a pleasure to be able to do that.
And what I didn't know at that time, and I
didn't know for almost ten years, but it made sense
after the ten years because it was an article and
Sports Illustrated and the author of the article asked her,
(04:51):
you know, at that moment, when the final seconds ticked
down and you knew you were going to win the
gold medal, what were you thinking about? And he said,
I was thinking about Ralph Cox. And I'm reading the
article and I'm thinking that's unusual. And then it went
on to talk about herb being the last cut in
the nineteen sixty Olympics, right before the Olympics, and just
(05:15):
the ironic moment that you know, he when he was
probably letting me go, he was thinking of himself. I
knew it was hard for him, and it was obviously
a crushing moment for me as an athlete. And I
remember when I left there, you know, I thought my
life was over. This was going to be it, you know,
(05:36):
it would never be the same and my life would
be very different, which it has been. And it took
a few years to sort of adjust who you are
in the world because you think you know at that
point as an athlete, you think yourself as a hockey player.
But it really forced me and helped me think about
(05:59):
my in the world around me in a much, I think,
a much healthier way, in a good way. And I
went on, I had a great career playing in Europe
and you know, a lot of good moments in hockey
and a lot of good moments working with the Penguins
with Herb And people used to tell me, don't you
hate her Brooks. Not for a second. I enjoyed him
as a coach. He was a phenomenal hockey coach, you know,
(06:20):
and I don't think people need me to say that,
but he was the best bench coach that I think
most of us on that team ever had. And you know,
it wasn't easy, I think, melding that team together. We
were all young and enthusiastic guys, and all of us
were the captains of our team. We all had big egos,
and we all wanted to play, and we thought we
should be playing all the time, killing penalties on the
(06:42):
power play. And you know, the guys from the East,
really that's true. And the guys from the West. They
had this culture clash, and he had a way of
bringing us together and he certainly was as good as
coach as I've ever played for.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Ralph Cox was the ECAC Player of the Year in
nineteen seventy none and he played professionally in Europe before
joining the Pittsburgh Penguins. Is a scout, winning two Stanley Cups.
He currently has a successful real estate business and still
gets together with the players from the nineteen eighty team and.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Great job on that Greg The story of Ralph Cox
here on our American Stories. Folks, if you love the
great American stories we tell and love America like we do,
we're asking you to become a part of the Our
American Stories family. If you agree that America is a
(07:39):
good and great country, please make a donation. A monthly
gift of seventeen dollars and seventy six cents is fast
becoming a favorite option for supporters. Go to Ouramerican Stories
dot com now and go to the donate button and
help us keep the great American stories coming. That's our
American Stories dot Com.
This is Lee Habib, and this is our American Stories,
and we tell stories about everything here on this show,
from the arts to sports, and from business to history
and everything in between, including your stories. We've told the
story of both the nineteen eighty US Olympics Miracle on
Ice story and the captain of that team story, Miaica Ruzione.
Here's Greg Hengelo with an alternative look at that miraculous tale.
Speaker 2 (00:34):
In his book Win at Losing, How our biggest setbacks
can lead to our greatest gains. Sam Wyman explores how
failure can often be beneficial. Among the people he profiles
is Ralph Cox, a former college hockey star who was
squeezed out of arguably the greatest moment in sports history.
(00:56):
What you might know about Ralph comes from the two
thousand and four Disney movie Miracle, which is the true
story of the nineteen eighty US Olympic hockey team that
upset the powerful Soviets en route to the gold medal
at Lake Placid. One of the movie's bit characters is
a very likable forward with a thick Boston accent. Ralph
(01:16):
Cox had shaky hair and a handlebar mustache, and in
college hockey he was a prolific goal scorer. The problem
is Cox also suffered an ankle injury in the run
up to the games, and it continued to nag him.
As the Americans were paring down their roster for Lake Placid.
In one of the movie's most emotional scenes, US coach
(01:39):
Herb Brooks calls Cox into his office to relay the
news that he had to make one more cut, and
Cox was it. Now Here's Ralph Cox picking up the story.
Following the last day of training camp in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Speaker 3 (01:57):
People in Minneapolis were going to give us a going
away bank for you know, living there. We all lived
in Minneapolis, and that's where we trained. I get to
the hotel where the banquet hall is, and Herb wants
to see me, and someone sits downstairs in a small
conference room, a small banquet hall, And because I'm walking
down the stairs, I'm realizing that this is probably the moment,
Like I knew her even though no one had said it.
(02:17):
I really thought I was going to be on the team.
I really thought I would be on the team and
go to Lake Placid. I sensed that he was calling
me to tell me otherwise, so you know, you know,
I tell you, I stayed outside the room for about
the doors closed for a good five minutes, just trying
to catch my breath, get my composure because it was
(02:38):
a very emotional moment. It was very, very hard to
think about that possibility, and so your emotions are running high.
And I opened the door finally. I just said to myself,
you know, have some courage to take a breath, go
in there and see what's going on. And when I
walked in, Herb was pacing back and forth in the room.
When he saw me come in, he just looked at
(02:59):
me and he well, which I'd never seen that happen.
I mean, Herb was a very powerful guy, and it
took him a few minutes to be able to catch
his breath or get his composure, and he tried to talk.
And again he's a little emotional, and at that moment,
for some reason, I was extremely calm and in control.
And I looked at him and I said, you know, hey,
it's going to be all right, and he sort of
(03:20):
smiled at me a little bit and he said, you know,
I've really enjoyed having you on the team. You've been
great to have around, your enthusiasm and your passion for
the game. I think he's one of the best goalscorers
I've ever seen or coached. He said, I think your
injury has really slowed you down. It's only been five months.
We're going to be playing on a big ice surface,
(03:41):
and I have to make one of the toughest, if
not the toughest coaviching decision I've ever had to make, Ralph,
and I'm not going to be able to take you.
And again he welled up and stood up and walked
around the room a little bit, and you know, he
sat back down again and we talked a little bit
about about the Olympics. I told him it was always
(04:05):
a dream that I had to actually go there. I said,
I really have a I don't know where this came from,
but I said, I really have a funny feeling about
this team that you're gonna have a real shot at
a medal. And I said, I think you can really
win the gold medal. And he started laughing and he said, jeez,
I'll be happy if we just have a good showing.
There's a lot of people are not sure about that.
And he said, and it's nice to see you feel
(04:27):
like that, you know, He said, if I can ever
do anything for you ever in your career, he said,
it'd be a pleasure to be able to do that.
And what I didn't know at that time, and I
didn't know for almost ten years, but it made sense
after the ten years because it was an article and
Sports Illustrated and the author of the article asked her,
(04:51):
you know, at that moment, when the final seconds ticked
down and you knew you were going to win the
gold medal, what were you thinking about? And he said,
I was thinking about Ralph Cox. And I'm reading the
article and I'm thinking that's unusual. And then it went
on to talk about herb being the last cut in
the nineteen sixty Olympics, right before the Olympics, and just
(05:15):
the ironic moment that you know, he when he was
probably letting me go, he was thinking of himself. I
knew it was hard for him, and it was obviously
a crushing moment for me as an athlete. And I
remember when I left there, you know, I thought my
life was over. This was going to be it, you know,
(05:36):
it would never be the same and my life would
be very different, which it has been. And it took
a few years to sort of adjust who you are
in the world because you think you know at that
point as an athlete, you think yourself as a hockey player.
But it really forced me and helped me think about
(05:59):
my in the world around me in a much, I think,
a much healthier way, in a good way. And I
went on, I had a great career playing in Europe
and you know, a lot of good moments in hockey
and a lot of good moments working with the Penguins
with Herb And people used to tell me, don't you
hate her Brooks. Not for a second. I enjoyed him
as a coach. He was a phenomenal hockey coach, you know,
(06:20):
and I don't think people need me to say that,
but he was the best bench coach that I think
most of us on that team ever had. And you know,
it wasn't easy, I think, melding that team together. We
were all young and enthusiastic guys, and all of us
were the captains of our team. We all had big egos,
and we all wanted to play, and we thought we
should be playing all the time, killing penalties on the
(06:42):
power play. And you know, the guys from the East,
really that's true. And the guys from the West. They
had this culture clash, and he had a way of
bringing us together and he certainly was as good as
coach as I've ever played for.
Speaker 2 (06:56):
Ralph Cox was the ECAC Player of the Year in
nineteen seventy none and he played professionally in Europe before
joining the Pittsburgh Penguins. Is a scout, winning two Stanley Cups.
He currently has a successful real estate business and still
gets together with the players from the nineteen eighty team and.
Speaker 1 (07:17):
Great job on that Greg The story of Ralph Cox
here on our American Stories. Folks, if you love the
great American stories we tell and love America like we do,
we're asking you to become a part of the Our
American Stories family. If you agree that America is a
(07:39):
good and great country, please make a donation. A monthly
gift of seventeen dollars and seventy six cents is fast
becoming a favorite option for supporters. Go to Ouramerican Stories
dot com now and go to the donate button and
help us keep the great American stories coming. That's our
American Stories dot Com.
Host
Lee Habeeb
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