Jack Kirrane holds the record for the longest span of time between appearances on U.S. Olympic ice hockey teams. He played in 1948 as a member of the team which was eventually disqualified from the Olympics. He had been playing amateur hockey for the Boston Olympics and, after the Olympics, he had some feelers from the Bruins, but Uncle Sam quickly put an end to thoughts of a pro career. Kirrane sat out the next two Olympics, but did play on the 1957 U.S. national team at the World Championships. In 1960 he again made the Olympic team – 12 years after his first appearance. He also was able to play for the 1963 U.S. team at the World Championships which was his last fling with competitive hockey. Jack Kirrane worked for many years with the Brookline Fire Department. He was also a Korean War veteran. The skating rink in his hometown of Brookline was renamed the Jack Kirrane Skating Rink at Larz Anderson Park.
United States