Jim Craig

Jim Craig (born May 31, 1957, North Easton, Massachusetts, U.S.) is an American ice hockey goaltender who was part of the U.S. hockey team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics at Lake Placid, New York, U.S. The American victory in the hockey tournament, known as the Miracle on Ice, was one of the greatest surprises in the history of the Olympics, and Craig, who started every game in goal, was a leading figure in the team’s success.

1980 Olympics: Miracle on Ice

The U.S. squad was ranked 7th out of 12 teams at the beginning of the games. The Soviet hockey team, considered the best in the world, was the clear favorite. They had beaten a National Hockey League (NHL) All-Star team the previous year and crushed the American team 10–3 in an exhibition game a week before the Olympics. In fact, the U.S.S.R. was virtually unbeatable in Olympic competition between 1956 and 1992 (in 1992 athletes from the former Soviet republics competed together as the Unified Team). The only teams to break the Soviet hold on the gold medal were the American teams of 1960 and 1980, when the Winter Olympics were held in the United States.

Craig, an All-American goalie at Boston University before joining the U.S. ice hockey team, played nearly every minute of every game. He led the U.S. team through a surprising series of victories in the first round, typically giving up an early goal or two but then shutting out the opponents in the final period. The U.S. team made it to a semifinal game against the Soviets, where Craig made 39 saves and fought off a heavy barrage of shots in the game’s final minutes. The Americans beat the Soviet team 4–3 and went on to beat Finland 4–2 in the championship game. One of the enduring images of the 1980 Games was of Craig, wrapped in the American flag, searching the stands for his widowed father in order to share the gold-medal-winning victory.

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NHL

Following the Olympics, Craig was recruited by the NHL’s Atlanta Flames. Media pressure and injuries hurt his performance, however, and his professional career ended in 1984, after only 30 games with Atlanta, the Boston Bruins, and the Minnesota North Stars.

Personal life

In June 1982 Craig was cited for driving to endanger after he was involved in a car collision that left the other driver dead and two passengers injured. No alcohol or drugs were involved in the incident. Craig was later charged with vehicular homicide, but he was found not guilty in a trial held in September 1982. The following year he settled a civil suit.

In 1986 Craig married Sharlene (Charlie) Pettit. The couple had later two children, son J.D. Craig and daughter Taylor Craig.