John William McCartan (born August 5, 1935) is a retired

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...

for the gold medal-winning 1960 United States ice hockey team. He is also a member of the

United States Hockey Hall of Fame The United States Hockey Hall of Fame was established in 1973 with the goal of preserving the history of ice hockey in the United States while recognizing the extraordinary contributions of select players, coaches, administrators, officials and ...

, inducted in 1983. McCartan was born in

Saint Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County, Minnesota, Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississip ...

. He was a college standout at the

University of Minnesota The University of Minnesota, formally the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, (UMN Twin Cities, the U of M, or Minnesota) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in the Minneapolis–Saint Paul, Tw ...

from 1955 to 1958. McCartan also played baseball at Minnesota. McCartan was named First Team All-America after the 1957–1958 season. He played for the bronze medal-winning US team in

baseball at the 1959 Pan American Games Baseball at the 1959 Pan American Games was contested between nine teams. The 1959 edition was the first Pan American Games held in the United States and the third overall. Games were held at Comiskey Park and Wrigley Field in Chicago from Augu ...

. After graduating, he joined the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. While in the army, he joined the United States Olympic hockey team. His heroics helped the U.S. team defeat Canada, the Soviet Union, and Czechoslovakia and win the

gold medal A gold medal is a medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture. Since the eighteenth century, gold medals have bee ...

at Squaw Valley. For his efforts, he was named as the "All-World" goaltender of the Winter Games. The

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

gave him a four-game trial late in the 1959–60 season and he did quite well, the highlight being a save on

Gordie Howe Gordon Howe (March 31, 1928 – June 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seaso ...

of the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. He had maintained his amateur status by not signing a contract with the Rangers. Instead, he acted on advice from his University of Minnesota hockey coach

John Mariucci John Mariucci (May 8, 1916 – March 23, 1987) was an American ice hockey player, administrator and coach. Mariucci was born in Eveleth, Minnesota. He attended the University of Minnesota where he played for both the hockey and football teams. H ...

and was paid $1,000 a game with the hope that good performances would get him a contract worth more than the $7,000

National Hockey League (NHL) The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

minimum. Attendance at

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

for his four starts totaled 48,340 which was about 10,000 more than anticipated for a team that had been eliminated from playoff contention. After getting a win, two draws and a loss and stopping 92 of 99 shots on goal, McCartan signed with the Rangers for the following season for more than $10,000.Anderson, Dave. "Jack McCartan: the one-man American invasion of big-time hockey," ''Maclean's'' (magazine), October 22, 1960.
Retrieved August 26, 2020 He could not duplicate his success in the NHL. Coach

Alf Pike Alfred George Pike (September 15, 1917 – March 1, 2009) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who spent six National Hockey League (NHL) seasons with the New York Rangers between 1939 and 1947. Born in Winnipeg, Manitoba, he was a prod ...

decided to alternate

Gump Worsley Lorne John "Gump" Worsley (May 14, 1929 – January 26, 2007) was a professional ice hockey goaltender. Born and raised in Montreal, Quebec, 'Gump' was given his nickname because friends thought he looked like comic-strip character Andy Gump. ...

and McCartan in 1960–61, but when McCartan gave up 36 goals in 7½ games, Worsley became the full-time goaltender and McCartan was demoted to the minors. He played for several minor league teams over the next several years. He played in the Eastern Professional League, Western League, Central League, and World Hockey Association. In the early 1970s he resurfaced when the

Minnesota Fighting Saints The Minnesota Fighting Saints was the name of two professional ice hockey teams based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that played in the World Hockey Association. The first team was one of the WHA's original twelve franchises, playing from 1972 to 19 ...

of the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

signed him, but he retired after two seasons. He later scouted for the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...

Awards and honours

*Named Best Goaltender at Olympic Games (1960) *WHL Second All-Star Team (1969) *WHL First All-Star Team (1970, 1971)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:McCartan, Jack 1935 births Living people AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans American men's ice hockey goaltenders Baseball players at the 1959 Pan American Games Baseball players from Saint Paul, Minnesota Ice hockey people from Saint Paul, Minnesota Ice hockey players at the 1960 Winter Olympics IIHF Hall of Fame inductees Los Angeles Blades (WHL) players Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1960 Winter Olympics Minnesota Fighting Saints players Minnesota Golden Gophers baseball players Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey players Minnesota Rangers players New York Rangers players Olympic gold medalists for the United States in ice hockey Omaha Knights (CHL) players Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in baseball San Diego Gulls (WHL) players San Francisco Seals (ice hockey) players St. Louis Braves players Suncoast Suns (SHL) players United States Army soldiers United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Vancouver Canucks scouts