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1980 USA Hockey "Miracle on Ice" Display w/Signed Herb Brooks Photo
"Do you believe in miracles?" said ABC television announcer Al Michaels in the closing seconds of the medal round men's hockey game of the 1979 Winter Olympics that was played in Lake Placid, New York, on Feb. 22 - with the underdog U.S. leading the heavily favored Soviet Union 4-3. And then Michaels said, "Yes!" when time expired in the game, and the U.S. had won. After passing the daunting hurdle of the Soviet team, the U.S. Team won the Olympic Gold Medal two days later against Finland. This iconic game, termed "The Miracle on Ice," was named by Sports Illustrated as the top sports moment of the Twentieth Century. Presented is a wonderful opportunity to obtain this very rare display, obtained by a professional hockey scout who worked with Head Coach Herb Brooks to select the Olympic Team. The display is entitled "The Start of a Miracle." The large 22x53" framed display goes behind the scenes to memorialize in exquisite detail the early selection process of the United States' Olympic Hockey Team. This survival of the fittest team selection was designed as an initial process to whittle the Olympic hopefuls into a manageable group that would necessarily have to experience more cuts as the Olympics drew closer. It took place in late March and early April in a two-week tournament held in Colorado Springs, Colorado entitled the 1979 Summer National Sports Festival. This gorgeous display runs the gamut of "inside" memorabilia about the difficult selection process. The display includes the Sports Illustrated issue of Dec. 22-29, 1980 Sportsmen of the Year issue with this Gold Medal winning team gathering the honors and featured on the cover. All the other documents in the display were faxed directly from Herb Brooks office to the above mentioned hockey scout. Brooks invited 70 hockey players for this preliminary tryout. They were divided into four teams: Midwest, Great Lakes, Northeast, and Central. In this tournament, the Great Lakes team won. One of the Great Lakes team's top players was forward Mike Eruzione, who scored the winning goal in "The Miracle on Ice" game. The display includes the faxed copy (matted at 9x10") of the handwritten list of the 70 invited players and the teams to which they were assigned. Also included in the display is a 2.5" diameter emblem of the tournament reading, "National Sports Festival Colorado Springs 1979," and another emblem, measuring 3" in diameter reading, "National Sports Festival 1979." Also in the display is a black and white team photo (matted at 8.75x10.25") autographed by Brooks and inscribed by him as "Bill, Thanks for all you help." Another memorable part of the display is a faxed duplicate of the (at that point) final selections for the Olympic team, dated August 1, 1979. In addition, the display contains a color photo (matted at approximately 5.5x7.5") of the team's star goalie, Jim Craig. Overall, the display is in excellent condition, and it makes a valuable, and patriotic, addition to any sports assemblage.
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