Gold medal-winning Olympian Suter remembered on Pine Island
Pine Island residents remembered gold medal winner Bob Suter this week in the wake of the “Miracle on Ice” Olympian’s death from an apparent heart attack.
Suter, who was a part-time resident of St. James City, was 57 years old. He was stricken in the lobby of the Capitol Ice Arena in Middleton, Wis., a suburb of Madison.
“Bob Suter was the most unassuming guy I’ve ever known,” said Capt. John “Giddyup” Bunch, a next-door neighbor. “Bob was my neighbor on Pine Island for 10 years. He absolutely loved the island, the people and the atmosphere.”
Suter was a defenseman for the men’s hockey team, Team USA, in 1980. It was on Feb. 22, during the 1980 Winter Olympics, in Lake Placid, N.Y., that the United States national team (Team USA) was matched to play the Soviet Union national team. The Soviet team had won the gold medal in six of the seven previous Olympic games. When Team USA won the game 4-3, Sports Illustrated labeled the victory the “Miracle on Ice.” The “Miracle on Ice” is the best-remembered game of the tournament and the best-remembered hockey game in the United States. Team USA went on to defeat Finland to win the gold medal. Sports Illustrated named the victory the Top Sports Moment of the 20th Century.
After the Olympics, Suter returned to his hometown to open a sporting goods store and became co-owner of the Capitol Ice Arena where he worked helping young people develop their hockey skills. He also was a scout for the United States Hockey League and the Minnesota Wild Hockey Team.
Suter would come to Pine Island for short stays frequently traveling back to Madison to fulfill his scouting duties.
“When he was here Bob had an intense schedule, a work ethic,” Bunch said. “Early in the morning he would take care of his property. Then about 1 p.m. he would go out on the water in his boat – always without checking the weather. I tried to tell him to use sunscreen and check the weather but he rarely did either. But I can say he loved Pine Island and when he was here he embraced the life here to the fullest.”
“Bob and I moved here about the same time 10 years ago,” neighbor Graham Reedy said. “When he moved in he did a lot of work on his house and we didn’t talk a lot. We did get into a couple of conversations a year or two ago. I was really big into hockey and coached kids on a much smaller scale than he did. When I told him that it sort of broke the ice. I told him that I thought that the Olympic team of 1980 was a real turning point for kids to get involved in hockey. After that hockey became much more popular.”
A statement released from USA Hockey said, “Bob Suter will always be remembered for his role as a member of the 1980 ‘Miracle on Ice’ Team that captivated our country and whose impact is impossible to measure. His legacy however, is far beyond that as he dedicated his life to advancing hockey and helping young people achieve their dreams.”
“Bob was very humble and unassuming, a very nice guy,” Bunch said. “He was so humble that it took him nine months to tell me he was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic men’s hockey team. Bob was the best neighbor I’ve ever had – I’m going to miss him terribly.”