Jim Craig

It appeared that Jim Craig’s story would be one of the happiest to come out of the 1980 Olympics. Craig was a star goalie at Boston University before he made the Olympic team, and he was one of the primary reasons the United States won the 1980 gold medal. After the final game, the television cameras caught him on the ice, with an American flag draped over his shoulders, plaintively looking into the stands, and asking, “Where’s my father?”, hoping to share the moment with him. He quickly signed with the Atlanta Flames and he (and his father) made several television commercials. It seemed Jim Craig had it all. But hard times hit Craig. First, he had difficulty as a pro netminder and suffered some bad games. Then he was beset by a succession of injuries which hampered a comeback. He was eventually traded to his hometown Boston Bruins. With the Bruins, however, injuries continued to haunt him, and he was shipped down to the minor leagues. He played part of one seasons with the Bruins, spent a year with the Erie Blades of the AHL, again played for the US National Team in 1983, and finished his career in 1983-84, playing mostly in the CHL with the Salt Lake Golden Eagles, and a few games with the Minnesota North Stars. He later became a motivational speaker.