Mike Eruzione’s iconic goal in the famed Miracle on Ice game at the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid turned the hockey world upside down. So it was only fitting that Eruzione should keep a similar posture when, 10 days later, he appeared on Sports Illustrated’s March 3, 1980 cover celebrating the victory with his teammates.
The euphoria after the U.S. team’s unlikely 4–3 victory against the Soviets set off celebrations around the country, but they started on the ice at the Olympic arena. The late Heinz Kluetmeier’s extraordinary cover photo—the longtime photographer’s favorite image among the millions his cameras produced—depicted hugs and player piles. It caught U.S. defenseman Jack O’Callahan with arms raised over a prone teammate Mike Ramsey, raising his own arms in celebratory supine. But where, among that mayhem, was Eruzione, the team captain?
