James Downey Craig (born May 31, 1957) is an American former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

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 ...

who is best known for being part of the U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal at the

1980 Winter Olympics The 1980 Winter Olympics, officially the XIII Olympic Winter Games and also known as Lake Placid 1980, were an international multi-sport event held from February 13 to 24, 1980, in Lake Placid, New York, United States. Lake Placid was elected ...

. Craig had a standout Olympic tournament, including stopping 36 of 39 shots on goal by the heavily favored

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

in the '

Miracle on Ice The "Miracle on Ice" was an ice hockey game during the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. It was played between the hosting United States and the Soviet Union on February 22, 1980, during the medal round of the men's hockey tourna ...

', as the U.S. won 4–3, in what is widely considered one of the greatest upsets in sports history. Two days later, the U.S. defeated Finland, 4–2, to clinch Olympic gold. Craig went on to play professionally in the

National Hockey League 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 ...

for the

Atlanta Flames The Atlanta Flames were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta from 1972 until 1980. They played home games in the Omni Coliseum and were members of the West and later Patrick divisions of the National Hockey League (NHL). Along with t ...

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

, and

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

from 1980 to 1983.

Playing career

Amateur career

After starring at

Oliver Ames High School Oliver Ames High School is a public high school in Easton, Massachusetts, United States. The school currently enrolls approximately 1200 students in grades 9 through 12 and is named after Oliver Ames, who was the 35th governor of Massachusetts. ...

in his hometown, Craig spent one year at

Massasoit Community College Massasoit Community College is a public community college in Brockton, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1966 and named for Massasoit, the Great Sachem of the Wampanoag. Massasoit Community College is accredited by the New England Commission of H ...

Brockton, Massachusetts Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population is 105,643 as of the 2020 United States Census. Along with Plymouth, Massachusetts, Plymouth, it is one of the two county seats of ...

. He then transferred to

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

, leading the Terriers to the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges an ...

Division I championship in 1978 and was an

All-Star in 1979. He was inducted into the BU

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

in 1989.

1980 Winter Olympics

Craig played a key role in one of the landmark moments in United States sports history, as the goalie for the United States in the

, when the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team defeated the favored Soviet Olympic hockey team, which was led by greats including Boris Mikhailov and

Vladislav Tretiak Vladislav Aleksandrovich Tretiak, MSM ( rus, links=no, Владислав Александрович Третьяк, p=trʲɪˈtʲjak; born 25 April 1952) is a Russian former goaltender for the Soviet Union national ice hockey team. Considere ...

. In that game, Craig stopped 36 of 39 shots from the Soviet team. His composure was evident in the final moments of the game and allowed the underdog U.S. team to protect their one-goal lead and win 4–3. The

American Flag The national flag of the United States of America, often referred to as the ''American flag'' or the ''U.S. flag'', consists of thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white, with a blue rectangle in the ca ...

that Craig draped over his shoulders after the upset is now displayed at the

Sports Museum of America The Sports Museum of America (SmA) was the United States' first national sports museum dedicated to the history and cultural significance of Sports in the United States, sports in America. It opened in May 2008 and closed less than nine months lat ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

."The Sports Museum of America Opens in Lower Manhattan"
. (May 6, 2008). City Guide. Retrieved May 6, 2008. Two days later, he again led the U.S. to victory, 4–2 victory over Finland, clinching the gold medal.

Professional career

Originally drafted by the

with the 72nd pick in the 1977 NHL Entry Draft, Craig joined the Flames shortly after the Olympics and won his first game as an NHL professional. However, he found it difficult to duplicate his magic in the NHL. The following season, the

brought him home to

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

in a trade with Atlanta. He served as the Bruins'

backup 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 ...

during the 1980-81 regular season but again failed to make an impression and he did not participate in the 1981 NHL Playoffs. Craig returned to the U.S. national team for the 1981 Canada Cup but missed the tournament due to injury and the following season was spent in the minor leagues with the

Erie Blades The Erie Blades name was used by two professional ice hockey teams in Erie, Pennsylvania. Both teams played their home games in the Erie County Field House. After the second Blades team folded, the void was filled by the Erie Golden Blades, a tea ...

. Craig's final moment of glory was in 1983 when he again played very well for the United States in the 1983

IIHF The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF; french: Fédération internationale de hockey sur glace; german: Internationale Eishockey-Föderation) is a worldwide governing body for ice hockey. It is based in Zurich, Switzerland, and has 83 m ...

Pool B tournament. Craig was named goaltender of the tournament and the

promptly signed him to a free agent contract. He would make a final three NHL appearances for the North Stars in 1984 before retiring from hockey.

Personal life

Two years after the Lake Placid victory, he was issued a citation "charging him with driving to endanger after an accident on a rain-slicked highway that left one woman dead and another critically injured." Although neither alcohol nor drugs was a factor in the accident, the charge was later changed to motor vehicle homicide. He pleaded not guilty and waived his right to a jury trial, electing to go before a judge instead. He was found not guilty by a Wareham District Court judge in September 1982. Craig is employed as a motivational speaker, spokesperson, marketing and sales strategist. He is president of Gold Medal Strategies, a Boston-area based promotions and marketing firm that also manages and represents Jim and his appearance business. Over the past 25 years, Craig has provided strategic direction for employees and associates from more than 300 organizations. Musician

Dave Grohl David Eric Grohl (born January 14, 1969) is an American musician. He is the founder of the rock band Foo Fighters, in which he is the lead singer, guitarist, and principal songwriter. Prior to forming Foo Fighters, he was the drummer of gru ...

has mentioned being an admirer of Craig over the years, as evidenced by the #6 entry of the "47 Things You Might Not Know About Dave Grohl" list on TeamRock.com, which stated, "Dave’s first hero was Jim Craig, the 1980 American ice hockey team goalie from Easton, Massachusetts. After the team beat Russia, he found the phone numbers of all the Jim Craigs in that area, phoned them up and congratulated them. Dave and the real Jim Craig met years later at a Winter Olympics."

In popular culture

In the 1981 made-for-TV movie film ''

'', Craig is portrayed by

Steve Guttenberg Steven Robert Guttenberg (born August 24, 1958) is an American actor, author, businessman, producer, and director. He is known for his lead roles in Hollywood films of the 1980s and 1990s, including ''Cocoon'', ''Police Academy'', ''Three Men and ...

. In the 2004

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...

film ''

Miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

'', he is portrayed by

Eddie Cahill Edmund Patrick Cahill (born January 15, 1978) is an American actor known for portraying "Miracle on Ice" goalie Jim Craig in the 2004 film ''Miracle'', and for playing the roles of Tag Jones in ''Friends'' and Detective Don Flack in ''CSI: NY.' ...

, who considers Craig to be one of his childhood heroes.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards and achievements

*ECAC First All-Star Team (1979) *NCAA East First All-American Team (1979) *Olympic Gold Medal Team U.S.A (1980) *Ice Hockey World Championships B Pool Tournament All-Star Team (1983) *Inducted into International Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999

References

External links

*
Jim Craig USA Website
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Craig, Jim 1957 births Living people 1980 US Olympic ice hockey team AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans American men's ice hockey goaltenders Atlanta Flames draft picks Atlanta Flames players Boston Bruins players Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey players Cincinnati Stingers draft picks Erie Blades players Ice hockey players at the 1980 Winter Olympics Ice hockey players from Massachusetts IIHF Hall of Fame inductees Medalists at the 1980 Winter Olympics Minnesota North Stars players NCAA men's ice hockey national champions Olympic gold medalists for the United States in ice hockey People from Easton, Massachusetts Salt Lake Golden Eagles (CHL) players United States Hockey Hall of Fame inductees