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Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter
Perhaps the most significant moment in American hockey history is being immortalized in one of the most American ways possible.
On Thursday, the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum unveiled three officially licensed “Miracle on Ice” Team USA bobbleheads. The reveal came on the 42nd anniversary of the United States upsetting the Soviet Union in a 4-3 win at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.
“I was born in 1983, so I didn’t see the Miracle on Ice team play live. However, as a huge sports fan, it’s one of those legendary stories that I have been able to relive many times through replays of the game and the movie ‘Miracle’ which just celebrated its 20th anniversary,” said Phil Sklar, the CEO and co-founder of the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum.
Famed Team USA coach Herb Brooks will be one of the bobbleheads. Brooks, who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006 as a builder, won three national titles at the University of Minnesota. He was hired by USA Hockey to take over the national team that used an all-collegiate roster and led the U.S. to its second Olympic gold medal, with the first coming back in 1960.
Defenseman Jack O’Callahan will also have a bobblehead. O’Callahan played four seasons at Boston University and then spent the 1979-80 season playing for the national team. He was injured earlier in the tournament but returned for the medal-round game against the Soviet Union.
A third bobblehead will feature a generic Team USA player donning the 1980 Olympic team sweater, complete with a sticker pack that will let fans customize the name and number on the back of the sweater along with the logo on the base of the bobblehead.
The special-edition bobbleheads are being produced by the National Bobblehead Hall of Fame and Museum in collaboration with Lowsport, the official licensee of Herb Brooks and Jack O’Callahan.
“The stories of Coach Brooks, Jack O’Callahan and the entire 1980 U.S. hockey team have [inspired] generations of people who were alive during the 1980 Olympics as well as future generations who have been able to read about and watch them,” Sklar said. “We’re excited to play a part in that legacy through these three new bobbleheads which celebrate Coach Brooks, Jack and the team.”