Men's 1980 Olympics USA #21 Mike Eruzione White Throwback Stitched Vintage Ice Hockey Jersey

Mike Eruzione 1980 Team USA Hockey Jersey

Called the "Miracle on Ice" the name given for a medal-round men's ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, on Friday, February 22. The United States team, made up of amateur and collegiate players and led by coach Herb Brooks, defeated the Soviet team, who were considered to be the best ice hockey team in the world at the time. Team USA went on to win the gold medal by winning its last match over Finland.

The Soviet Union entered as heavy favorites, having won the ice hockey gold medal from 1956 until the 1980 games except for the 1960 games at Squaw Valley which was won by Team USA.

The Soviet players were classed as amateurs, but soft jobs provided by the Brezhnev government allowed them to essentially play professionally in a well-developed league with world class training facilities. They were led by Captain Boris Mikhailov, with  Vladislav Tretiak,  Valeri Kharlamov, Viacheslav Fetisov, Vladimir Krutov and Sergei Makarov.

U.S. head coach Herb Brooks conducted tryouts in Colorado Springs in the summer of 1979. Of the 20 players who eventually made the final Olympic roster, Buzz Schneider was the only one returning from the 1976 Olympic team. Nine players had played under Brooks at the University of Minnesota, while four more were from Boston University. Assistant coach Craig Patrick had played with Brooks on the 1967 U.S. national team.

Team captain Mike Eruzione did not play professional hockey,  after the 1980 Olympics, as he felt that he had accomplished all of his hockey goals with the gold medal win. He did work as a hockey television analyst in the 1980s and 90s.

Team hero, goalie, Jim Craig did appeared in 30 NHL games from 1980 through 1984. After hockey Jim started Gold Medal Strategies and became a motivational speaker, spokesperson, marketing and sales strategist.

Of the 20 players on Team USA, 13 eventually played in the NHL. Five of them went on to play over 500 NHL games, and three would play over 1,000 NHL games.