Former BSU Hockey Coach R.H. ‘Bob’ Peters Immortalized with Bronze Sculpture

The family of R.H. “Bob” Peters stands by a bronze bust of the former BSU men’s hockey coach at an unveiling ceremony on Thursday. (Screenshot: Lakeland News)

They say heroes live forever, but legends never die.

BSU men’s hockey immortalized former head coach R.H. “Bob” Peters on Thursday night with a commemorative bust made of bronze that will overlook the entrance to the rink at the Sanford Center. Over 100 former and current players, as well as family and friends, gathered in the arena’s main lobby to witness the unveiling and honor the late coach.

Peters coached the Beavers to 13 national titles and 702 wins in his time at the helm from 1966 to 2001. He was the first to win 700 or more games at a single school and did it while the program progressed from NAIA to NCAA Division III, and then II, and eventually Division I.

But the bench boss was commemorated for reasons beyond the statistics that solidify his greatness.

“He was a fun guy, too. He liked to go fishing. He liked to do things with his family,” said Steve Peters, R.H. “Bob” Peters’ son. “But it was always about hockey, and hockey always came first, and this community came first. And once he retired, it was always about what can he do to better the community. And the Sanford Center is part of that. And I think he brought this community together, and I think it’s important that he was recognized today.”

“You know he cared about you,” said BSU men’s hockey head coach Tom Serratore. “He’s like a parent. Like, your parents disciplined ya. There’s expectations, there’s accountability. It was no different. He had that impact on you where you never wanted to let him down. I’m glad we could do it, because it’s a testament to everything he did it for this university and this community. It’s well deserving. He’s our John Wooden, he’s our Dean Smith. He’s our [Nick] Saban, he’s our Vince Lombardi. You know, that’s what he is and that’s well deserved.”

On the inside, the bronze sculpture hides it a secret: it contains memorabilia, including the hockey puck from the final game at the John Glas Fieldhouse, Peters’ practice whistle, and a note with the name of every player who took the ice for the legendary coach. On the outside, the bust captures one of Coach Peters’ most iconic looks: looking out at someone with a finger on his chin.

“I want it to express a sense of his style of coaching,” explained Nick Legeros, who sculpted the bust of Peters. “He wanted the best out of people, that he really wanted you to perform up to your highest level of potential. That’s what you’re trying to get across. It’s not easy to do in bronze, but the biggest test is, how does his wife feel about it? Because it really doesn’t matter how the rest of the world looks at it. And when she saw it, she was very pleased, started to cry a little, and I started to cry a little. That’s all the thanks I needed.”

“It’s funny because that pose we saw that as kids growing up, and it usually meant we were in trouble. But to me, it’s a perfect situation because he looks over every single person that comes into this arena now,” added Steve Peters. “And as long as this building is standing, he’s going to watch over this arena. He’s going to watch over this program, this team, these players. And I think that him being the guardian of this facility, this campus, this university, I think is really important.”

With bronze lasting thousands of years, it doesn’t seem like Coach Peters’ will be soon forgotten, and neither will his 744 career wins, which ranks 6th all-time among collegiate hockey coaches. He also currently holds the collegiate ice hockey record for most wins in an unbeaten season with 31 in 1983-84, and the longest unbeaten streak that spanned 43 games from November 8th, 1983 to January 1st, 1985.