International Hockey History

National, World, and Olympic Teams

Americans Shock the World

In 1960, at Squaw Valley, the US Olympic Hockey Team won the Gold Medal . At that time it was an upset over a Russian team but even more so over a highly favored Canadian Team. At that time Canada and Canadian players dominated hockey at all levels.

The Williamson Era (1966-1975)

After that Gold Medal victory the US National and Olympic teams went on a six year drought. After successive 6th place finishes in 1965 and 1966, the AHAUS international Committee led by Bob Fleming and Walter Bush, accepted a proposal to make the USHL senior league St. Paul Steers, the nucleus of the 1967 US National Team. It was a team with proven success and a league to play in.

Thus began a six year era, interrupted only in 1969, which returned USA Hockey back to a level of respectability in the International and Olympic arenas.

Bob Fleming and Herb Brooks were major contributors in the years prior to 1972, Fleming as the Chairman of the International Ice Hockey Committee and Brooks as a player. It can be said that the seeds for the success of "Miracle On Ice" team were born in the programs of 1968 and especially the Silver Medal Team of 1972, a team which has since been labeled as "The Team That Time Forgot".

A brief pictorial and written history of those teams, their programs and the many individuals who made many sacrifices for American Hockey are chronicled in this website. For those who participated with those teams it should be a walk down memory lane.

Astonishing Victories

After the 1972 Olympic Games the American successes at the International and Olympic levels were disappointing at best until the 1980 Olympic Games.

The disappointing results in World Competition from 1973 to 1979 make the Silver Medal of 1972 and the 1980 "Miracle On Ice" even more astonishing.