<< 1979 | 1981 >>

Photograph by Heinz Kluetmeier/Lane Stewart

"They owned the whole country for a while. It made you want to pick up your television set and take it to bed with you. It really made you feel good."

Text by E.M. Swift
Issue Date: December 22, 1980

Against all odds, the U.S. Olympic hockey team won the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Games in Lake Placid. The squad, made up mostly of college players, defeated the heavily favored Soviets in the semifinals by a score of 4-3 on Mike Eruzione's slop goal in the third period. In the finals, the U.S. team knocked off Finland 4-2 to win gold and earn the moniker "The Miracle on Ice."