Sen. Gary Peters backs bill to award Congressional Gold Medal to ‘Miracle on Ice’ team
Two Michiganders were members of the 1980 U.S. men’s hockey team, which won gold at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.
Forty-five years after the U.S. men’s hockey team won gold at the Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York, Michigan Democratic Sen. Gary Peters and a bipartisan group of his colleagues want to give its members more gold medals.
S.94, introduced on Jan. 15 by North Dakota Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and eight Senate cosponsors, would award three Congressional Gold Medals to the 1980 team, one to be displayed at the Lake Placid Olympic Center, one at the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, Minnesota, and one at the U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Museum in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The gold medal is the highest civilian honor bestowed by Congress.
The team, which was made up of amateur collegiate players, is known for what was dubbed its “Miracle on Ice,” when it upset the heavily favored Soviet team in a semifinal match and then defeated Finland in the final.
“This bill recognizes the players of the 1980 U.S. Men’s Ice Hockey Team, whose hard-earned victory against the Soviet Union shocked the world and brought our nation together during a challenging time in our history,” Peters said in a statement. “To this day, the ‘Miracle on Ice’ serves as a reminder to all Americans that when we work together with a common goal, we are capable of great things.”
Minnesota Republican Rep. Pete Stauber filed a House version of the bill on the same day. Michigan Reps. Tom Barrett (R), Jack Bergman (R), Debbie Dingell (D), Bill Huizenga (R), Lisa McClain (R), John Moolenaar (R), and Tim Walberg (R) are among 148 cosponsors.
In his press release, Peters noted that two members of the 20-member squad were Michiganders: Defenseman Ken Morrow was born in Flint and raised in Davison, and center Mark Wells grew up in St. Clair Shores.
