John Powers of the Boston Globe delivers a fantastic portrait of one of the 1960 team’s most deserving gold-medalists, captain Jack Kirrane. Kirrane was coach Jack Riley’s former teammate from the 1948 Olympics in St Moritz, Switzerland. When coach Riley needed a leader for his 1960 team he called on Kirrane to return to the Olympics as captain of the squad. Smart choice.
Read the full Boston Globe article here.
This Day in 1960 US Olympic Hockey
Feb. 20, 1960 – Squaw Valley, CA – The USA has the day off a day after beating Czechoslovakia. In the other two groups, Canada and the USSR are both on the schedule, playing the second of back-to-back games. Defending World Champion Canada wins pool B by defeating Sweden 5-2 and Japan 19-1. The USSR, defending Olympic Champions, wins Pool C with an 8-0 victory against Germany and an 8-4 victory against Finland. One day of pool play remains, with the USA facing Australia for the opportunity to win Pool A.
Bill Cleary tells the story of Soviet super star Alexandrov getting in trouble with the refs during the Sweden game in the 1960 Squaw Vally Winter Olympics.
Bill Cleary plays ping pong with Alexandrov from Forgotten Miracle on Vimeo.
This Day in 1960 US Olympic Hockey
Feb. 19, 1960 – Squaw Valley, CA – John Mayasich scored 3 unassisted goals in a 7-5 comeback win over Czechoslovakia. Mayasich, in his first action with his new teammates, helped the USA overcome a 4-3 deficit in the final period. It was the third time the USA had played Czechoslovakia in just over a week. In every game, the USA had trailed midway through the contest. The trend would foreshadow the eventual final game vs Czechoslovakia on February 28.
Box Score
USA vs Czechoslovakia | February 19, 1960
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Scoring
| Period 1 | ||
| USA | 5:50 | Mayasich (unassisted) PP |
| TCH | 7:04 | Cerny (Volf) |
| USA | 16:56 | Mayasich (unassisted) |
| Period 2 | ||
| TCH | 3:37 | Bubnik (unassisted) |
| USA | 8:54 | Williams (McVey, W. Christian) |
| TCH | 9:57 | Vlach (Pantucek, Bubnik) PP |
| TCH | 13:37 | Pantucek (unassisted) SH |
| Period 3 | ||
| USA | 1:58 | Johnson (Mayasich, McVey) |
| USA | 4:29 | Mayasich (unassisted) |
| USA | 7:12 | Williams (W. Christian) SH |
| USA | 15:20 | W. Cleary (unassisted) |
| TCH | 18:32 | Golonka (Starsi, Gut) |
Goalie Saves
| 1 | 2 | 3 | Total | |
| USA, McCartan | 9 | 9 | 12 | 30 |
| TCH, Nadrchal | 11 | 9 | 7 | 27 |
This Day in 1960 US Olympic Hockey
Feb. 18, 1960 – Squaw Valley, CA – The day before competition will begin, the athletes march in the opening parade behind the American flag. The parade culminates at Blythe Arena, where the stands have been removed from one side of the building, allowing the parade to enter through the open side of the arena. A crowd of roughly 12,000 watched 1948 gold-medalist Andrea Mead Lawrence ski down Papoose mountain to deliver the torch. The US hockey team woudl begin play against Czechoslovakia the following day.
This Day in 1960 US Olympic Hockey
Feb. 17, 1960 – Squaw Valley, CA – The US roster is completed when John Mayasich arrives from Minnesota. The former University of MInnestoa standout and 1956 silver medalist had long been promised a spot on the team by coach Jack Riley. Mayasich was working and playing hockey in Green Bay, WI. During the pre-Olympic tour, the US Team played teh Green Bay Bobcats, the team Mayasich coached and captained. The Bobcats won 6-3, making it apparent to all that Mayasich was the biggest impact player in the United States. Mayasich, once a high-scoring center, would play defense for the USA.
This Day in 1960 US Olympic Hockey
Feb. 16, 1960 – Squaw Valley, CA – Skating again on the outdoor rink, the US hockey team wins 10-0 over an overmatched Japanese hockey team. The scrimmage was also a chance for coach Jack Riley to have some more fun with the press and the opponents.
In the book, Squaw Valley Gold Bill Christian recalls “at the end, he wanted us to stage a donnybrook. Riley’s big thing was playing games with the press.” The Americans fought amongst themselves, trying to play up their internal strife. “We just put our sticks up and kind of bumped around. They (the Japanese) didn’t know what was going on. Riley thought he was going to fool the press, but it didn’t work out.”
This Day in 1960 US Olympic Hockey
Feb. 15, 1960 – Squaw Valley, CA – Team USA’s hockey squad, unable to get on the ice a day earlier, finally gets ice time again on the outdoor practice rink. At Blythe Arena, crews drape the open side of the stadium in heavy rope to block the sun and eliminate problems with melting ice.
Meanwhile, CBS television crews prepare for the upcoming Olympic broadcast. It will be the first time that the games are broadcast in the United States, with CBS paying a reported $50,000 for the rights to air the Olympics. Walter Cronkite will host, and the black-and-white footage will be broadcast to the growing number of Americans with a living room television set.
This Day in 1960 US Olympic Hockey
Feb. 14, 1960 – Squaw Valley, CA – The warm morning sun is wreaking havoc on the ice of Blythe Arena. One side of the skating arena is open-air, allowing the sun to stream in and melt the ice along the opposite boards, preventing teams from practicing on the rink. The US Olympic hockey team is forced to fight for ice time with the other 8 teams and dozens of figure skaters on the one remaining outdoor sheet of ice. The New York Times also reports that the ice-making equipment is also causing problems and the arena maintenance crews had been unable to fix the problem. Four days until the opening ceremonies.
This Day in 1960 US Olympic Hockey
Feb. 13, 1960 – Squaw Valley, CA – Coach Jack Riley predicts the American hockey team will go undefeated in 1960. In a meeting to determine the schedule of the games, each coach is asked for input on the schedule. None of the teams want to play the two favorites, the Canadians and the Soviets, back-to-back. But, when asked for his opinion, Riley stated that he didn’t care who they played, “we’re gonna go undefeated anyway.” It was more a bit of bluster than a real prediction. Riley would later admit that even he didn’t believe what he said. It wouldn’t be the last time Riley played head games with his opponents and the press.
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