The 1980 U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team was honored by President Donald Trump at the White House on Friday at a bill signing awarding the Congressional Gold Medal.
“We’re delighted to be joined today by true legends of American sports history, heroes for the entire nation, the 1980 U.S. Olympic ice hockey team,” Trump said. “This was one of the biggest moments that I’ve ever seen in sports, and I like sports. These are the men who gave us one of the most storied athletic wins of all time, it’s called the miracle on ice, and I guess that’s what it was.”
The bill, which was first introduced in October 2024, was passed the House of Representatives in April and then in the Senate in September, receiving unanimous support. The highest award given to a civilian by Congress, the Congressional Gold Medal is awarded to “persons who have made a major and long-standing impact on American history and culture.”
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The honor comes nearly 46 years after the U.S. team won gold at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.
The American squad, made up mostly of amateur players and led by Herb Brooks, made it through the tournament, which included upsetting the vaunted Soviet Union in the famous “Miracle on Ice” game that saw Al Michaels exclaim: “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!”
In the final game, the U.S. defeated Finland to secure the gold medal.
Team captain Mike Eruzione, goaltender Jim Craig and the family of the late Brooks were among those on hand in the Oval Office on Friday.
The bill will see three medals awarded, with one to be displayed at the Lake Placid Olympic Center, the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame Museum in Eveleth, Minnesota, and at the U.S. Olympic & Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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Billie Jean King, Willie O’Ree, Steve Gleason and Larry Doby are other sports figures who have been awarded a Congressional Gold Medal in the past decade.
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