George Nagobads

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Visvaldis George Nagobads (born November 18, 1921 in Riga , Latvia ) is a Latvian-American doctor . He became known in ice hockey as a team doctor for the Minnesota Golden Gophers and numerous US national teams . In 2010 he was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame .

Nagobads grew up in Latvia and learned to play ice hockey at the age of ten. In 1941 he began studying medicine at the University of Latvia , where he was also active in ice hockey. In 1944 he went to Germany and completed his studies at the universities in Gießen and Tübingen . When he was given the opportunity to emigrate to the United States with his family , he left Germany in 1952 and went to Minneapolis , Minnesota . There he first worked in a hospital.

In 1955, Nagobads began working at the University of Minnesota Hospital and thus came into contact with the university ice hockey players. His own experience with injuries in ice hockey helped him treat injured players. In 1958 he became a team doctor for the ice hockey team, the Golden Gophers . He held this position until 1992. During this time, the Gophers won the NCAA's national ice hockey championship three times (1974, 1976 and 1979). In addition, he coached numerous US national teams between 1967 and 1990. He was a doctor for the teams at five Olympic Games (including the Miracle on Ice in 1980 ), 15 World Championships , two Canada Cups , six Junior World Championships and the US women's national ice hockey team at the first World Cup in 1990 .

From 1984 to 1990 he was in charge of the Minnesota North Stars and from 1973 to 1976 the Minnesota Fighting Saints . Between 1984 and 1992, Nagobad was the medical director of USA Hockey and also represented for many years on the USA Hockey's Safety and Protective Equipment Committee and the IIHF medical commission .

In 2003 Nagobads received the Paul Loicq Award for special services to ice hockey. In 2010 he was inducted into the US Hockey Hall of Fame. He lives in Edina , Minnesota.

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personal data
SURNAME Nagobads, George
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Nagobads, V. George; Nagobads, Visvaldis George
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Latvian-American doctor
DATE OF BIRTH November 18, 1921
PLACE OF BIRTH Riga , Latvia