As United States Olympic performances go, few compare in enduring fame to the gold medal won by the men’s hockey team at the 1980 Lake Placid Games. While Team USA is often the favorite in Olympic events, Herb Brooks’s team was a clear underdog in comparison to the talent-laden Soviet roster.
Yet in one of the great moments in U.S. sports history, the Americans scored a memorable 4-3 win over the Soviets in what has become popularly known as the “Miracle on ice.” Led by captain Mike Eruzione, a Boston University graduate from Winthrop, Massachusetts, the team went on to win gold.