Jack O'Callahan has a soft spot for the ongoing Winter Olympic Games in Italy.
Once an Olympian, always an Olympian. When O'Callahan, then 22, was in search of his marching position for the opening ceremonies as an American athlete at the XIII 1980 Winter Games held (for a second time) in upstate New York, deep into the Adirondack Mountains, his lifelong dream was realized.
When the International Olympic Committee announced in October 1974 that the sparsely populated village of Lake Placid would play host to the world’s greatest athletes on ice and snow, as a 17-year-old living in the Boston neighborhood of Charlestown, O'Callahan set a goal to earn a roster spot on the 1980 hockey squad representing the United States.
Four stellar years as a defenseman with the Boston University team (along with teammates Jim Craig and Dave Silk) caught the attention of Team USA Head Coach Herb Brooks, and an invitation to Colorado Springs, Colorado to audition for the 1980 Olympic team followed.
After prepping for four years to don a USA hockey jersey, O‘Callahan hit the Olympic jackpot—winning a gold medal as part of arguably the most famous hockey upset in the history of the Winter Games. En route to vanquishing the heavily favored Soviet Union team, and then Finland for the gold medal, O’Callahan vividly remembers being caught up in the pageantry and patriotism representing America.
“It’s been 46 years, but that first night was just a fun, chilly time for all of us,” O'Callahan, 68, told The Epoch Times on Friday during a phone conversation from his home in Ponte Vedra, Florida. “I remember us [athletes] assembling [on] a high school football field. It was a two-lane road in and out of the village, and the busses kept coming. We were all being queued up on where to stand, and the order that our country was to march. Having those outfits on, including our cowboy hats, was a terrific experience.”
Not only has O'Callahan reached the pinnacle of Olympian success, his interest in subsequent Winter Games has grown. No different than the millions who will be watching the current Winter Games being held in Milan (population 1.3 million) and in the ski resort of Cortina in the Alps of Northern Italy on TV, the Bostonian isn’t limiting his viewing to just one sport.
“As much as I can,” O‘Callahan said about his planned Winter Games consumption. “I’ll be watching women’s hockey before the men’s schedule begins. Downhill skiing, the biathlon, speed skating, there is so much to get caught up in. These athletes train their lives for this appearance in the Olympics. How can you not be excited for them?”
When the Olympics took place in 1980 at Lake Placid, one indoor rink (in 2005 renamed the Herb Brooks Arena) on Main Street was the staging grounds for 35 hockey games. There are two venues hosting hockey in Italy. The newly built Santagiulia Hockey Arena and the Milano Ice Park both will be hosting hockey for men and women.
The American and Canadian hockey teams are now all made up entirely of professionals from the National Hockey League, unlike when O‘Callahan skated for Team USA as part of a class of amateurs who rocked the mighty Soviets in 1980. That fact fills O’Callahan, reflecting on his Olympic memories, with that much more pride.
As the decades have passed from that memorable day (Feb. 22, 1980) when Team USA hockey ruled by winning gold, O'Callahan tells of Lake Placid being a “living museum” to him and his teammates, and also a place that has earned the title of “home” to them.
“The athletes in 1980 watched the speedskating taking place on Main Street, at an oval track in front of the high school. That’s where the opening and closing ceremonies took place. When I was in Lake Placid last May for the filming of the Netflix documentary [‘Miracle: The Boys of ’80'], and when me and the rest of my teammates walked past the school, I couldn’t help but to think of this was the spot where Eric Heiden won five gold medals.”
Given the hockey schedule in 1980, O‘Callahan recalls it being “tough” to take in other events, but mingling with the other athletes from around the world was another experience he relishes. The quaintness of Lake Placid allowed athletes to walk to most events, during the day and after dark. O’Callahan was able to spot his father sitting in the stands during games (the arena’s capacity was 7,700), and when not practicing or playing games, the players and their families assembled at a house “on top of the hill” to revel in their continued success.
Along with the exclusivity of a roster stacked of NHL elites, the 2026 Team USA hockey crew has an average age of 28. The youngest is Brock Faber, at 23, of the Minnesota Wild and the eldest, Brock Nelson, 43, is from the Colorado Avalanche.
Once the hockey schedule begins on Feb. 11, one dozen countries will be looking to bring honor home in the form of the gold. Here’s hoping that the next “Miracle on Ice” can emerge, and the emblem on the front of the jerseys becomes far more the talk than the names on the back.
