President Donald Trump signed legislation awarding the Congressional Gold Medal honoring the 1980 U.S. men’s Olympic hockey team at the White House on Friday.
“We’re excited to be joined today by a true legend in the history of American sports, a national hero, the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team,” Trump said. “This is one of the most significant moments I’ve ever seen in sports, and I love sports. These guys gave us one of the most legendary sports victories of all time, and it’s called the Miracle on Ice, and I think that’s what it is.”
The bill was first introduced in October 2024, passed the House of Representatives in April, and received unanimous support in the Senate in September. The Congressional Gold Medal is Congress’s highest civilian award and is awarded “to those who have had a significant and lasting impact on American history and culture.”
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It has been nearly 46 years since Team USA won the gold medal at the 1980 Olympic Games in Lake Placid, New York.
The U.S. team, led by Herb Brooks and made up of mostly amateur players, advanced through the tournament, including defeating the vaunted Soviet team in the famous “Miracle on Ice” game, which had Al Michaels exclaiming, “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!”
In the end, the United States defeated Finland to win the gold medal.
Team captain Mike Eruzione, goaltender Jim Craig and family members of the late Brooks were all in the Oval Office on Friday.
The bill will award three medals, one of which will be on display at the Olympic Center in Lake Placid, the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum in Everest, Minn., and the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colo.
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Billie Jean King, Willie O’Ree, Steve Gleeson and Larry Doby are among the sports figures to win congressional gold medals in the past decade.
