Another Miracle?

Do you believe in karma? USA fans certainly will when they hear this. 50 years ago on February 28th Team USA won gold at the 1960 Squaw Valley Winter Games.


The Americans, backed by the awesome goaltending display of Jack McCartan and timely scoring of brother combinations Bill and Roger Christian (pictured above) and Bob and Bill Cleary, picture below, defeated Canada, USSR and Czechoslovakia in consecutive games to win the gold medal on home ice.

There was some friction between the two sets of brothers, who, along with McCartan and John Mayasich, were the stars of the team. While most of the team had competed all season for the right to play at the Olympics, Bill Cleary, decided he wanted to play late in the season. Because he was so good the American managers allowed it to happen, and to allow brother Bob to join the team too. Bob's inclusion created some friction on the tight American team, but ultimately Bill lead the Americans in scoring and was a major reason for the gold medal victory.

Make no mistake, the biggest reason for gold was goaltender Jack McCartan, who made 39 saves in a 2-1 win against the Canadians to all but give the Americans the championship. McCartan would be named as the tournament's top goaltender.

By the way, Bill Christian's son Dave would go on to his own notable career. In addition to becoming a NHL standout, Dave would be a major contributor to the 1980 Olympic gold medal winning American team.



There is an amazing documentary out on the 1960 "Forgotten Miracle" team: