ST. PAUL -- Herb Brooks was remembered Friday as an innovative hockey coach who inspired some of the best to play the sport and as a modest man who didn't comprehend the impact he had.

From the altar and through the front doors of the massive Cathedral of St. Paul, well wishers waited on one of the year's hottest days to say goodbye to Brooks, best known as the architect of the "Miracle on Ice" for coaching the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to a historic upset over the Soviet Union.

Brooks died Monday in a car accident.

"It's really a tragedy for a guy who gave so much to this state and to hockey," said Glen Sonmor, former Gophers, North Stars and Minnesota Fighting Saints coach. "He was an inspiration to all of us.

"When Herbie believed in something, there wasn't anything he wouldn't do. He's one of the brightest guys I've ever known in my life."

Friends -- including former Gov. Jesse Ventura, players from the 1980 Olympics team and Colorado Avalanche coach Tony Granato -- and family walked somberly by the open casket containing Brooks' body, dressed in a dark suit and striped tie. Peeking out of his suit pocket was a coloring of a flower from his 4-year-old granddaughter, Olivia Paradise.

Outside, Salvation Army workers handed out cups of water, trying to help keep passersby cool in the withering heat. The funeral was to be held Saturday morning at the Cathedral, the fourth-largest in the country. Normally, the church holds 2,800 people, but if extra chairs are brought in, as many as 4,000 people could fit under its copper dome.

Authorities were still investigating what caused 66-year-old Brooks to crash. Witnesses say his car veered to the right and Brooks may have overcorrected, spinning his van counterclockwise across three lanes of traffic in a 70-mph stretch of interstate.

A preliminary check of Brooks' van uncovered no mechanical problems, and investigators say they don't know of any preexisting medical conditions that might have been a factor. They're trying to obtain Brooks' cell phone records to see whether he might have been talking on the phone when the accident happened.

Brooks is remembered best nationally for that historic night in 1980. It was more than a hockey game as the United States upset the mighty Soviet Union team during the Cold War. Brooks coached his squad to a 4-3 victory to advance to the Olympic finals. The U.S. team went on to beat Finland for the gold medal.

But Brooks has had a hand in nearly every type of hockey program -- from college to the NHL. He took over the cellar-dwelling Minnesota Gophers and coached them to three national championships in the 1970s. And he was instrumental in bringing programs to schools such as St. Cloud State and Mankato State, now Minnesota State University, Mankato.

Ventura said he watched the video of the "Miracle on Ice" twice while he was running for governor because it inspired him.

"Everyone told me I couldn't win, and they told Herb that, too," Ventura said.

Mark Johnson, the leading scorer from the 1980 team, remembered Brooks as an intense, passionate teacher.

"He knew how to push the right buttons and motivate a group of individuals," Johnson said.

Sonmor, who served as the University of Minnesota hockey coach when Brooks was an assistant, said Brooks was so focused on hockey and so modest, he probably never realized the impact he had.

Brooks was known for his tough coaching style, and players and other coaches at one point began calling line drills "Herbies," Sonmor said.

"He was a working-class guy who did it his way," said friend and former University of Minnesota hockey coach Doug Woog.

He said Brooks once told him, "Whatever you do, do it on your own. Build your own house because if it breaks down, you'll know how to fix it."