Jack O'Callahan

Jack O'Callahan
Born (1957-07-24) July 24, 1957 (age 66)
Charlestown, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Right
Played for Chicago Blackhawks
New Jersey Devils
National team  United States
NHL Draft 96th overall, 1977
Chicago Black Hawks
WHA Draft 68th overall, 1977
Calgary Cowboys
Playing career 1980–1989
Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 1980 Lake Placid Team

John J. "Jack" O'Callahan (born July 24, 1957) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played 390 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season games between 1982 and 1989 for the Chicago Blackhawks and New Jersey Devils. Before turning professional, he was a member of the 1980 Winter Olympics United States national team that upset the Soviet Union in the "Miracle on Ice" game.

Playing career

Amateur career

O'Callahan graduated from Boston Latin School in 1975 and then attended Boston University from 1975–1979, where he was a team captain during the 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons and was named All-East twice, All-New England and All-America, team MVP twice, Beanpot MVP, NCAA tournament MVP, and Cochrane award winner twice. He also played for Team USA at the 1979 Ice Hockey World Championship tournament in Moscow.

The year after he graduated, O'Callahan was selected to represent the US in the 1980 Winter Olympics. Three days before the Olympics, in an exhibition match against the Soviet Union, O'Callahan injured his left knee. This forced him out of the opening game against Sweden at the Olympics.[1] He returned for the famous "Miracle on Ice" game against the Soviet Union in the first game of the medal round.

Professional career

O'Callahan was drafted 96th overall in the 1977 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackhawks. He joined the Hawks after the Olympics, initially playing for two seasons in the minors for the American Hockey League New Brunswick Hawks. He finally made the Blackhawks roster in 1982 and played there until 1987 when the Hawks left him unprotected for the 1987 NHL Waiver Draft. He was claimed by the New Jersey Devils and played a further two seasons before retiring 1989. He also made a final appearance for the United States national team at the 1989 Ice Hockey World Championship tournament.

Post career

Jack O'Callahan returned to Chicago after his retirement and went into the financial services business on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. He later co-founded Beanpot Financial Services with former NHL player Jack Hughes. O'Callahan then worked on behalf of the Blackhawk Alumni Association.

In popular culture

In a 1981 TV movie about the gold medal-winning U.S. hockey team called Miracle on Ice, O'Callahan is played by Peter Horton.

In the 2004 Disney film Miracle, he is played by Michael Mantenuto. Mantenuto grew up skating and playing hockey from the time he could walk.[2] Several colleges, like Boston University (where O'Callahan and his Miracle on Ice teammates Mike Eruzione, Jim Craig, and Dave Silk once played) attempted to recruit him to play college hockey, but Mantenuto ultimately decided to play, albeit briefly, for the University of Maine.[2] He got the part of Jack O'Callahan after he got into a fight with another actor who was picking on him during tryouts.[2]

  • Inducted into International Hockey Hall of Fame in 1999

Awards and achievements

Award Year
All-ECAC First Team 1977–78
1978–79 		[3]
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 1978 [4]
AHCA East All-American 1978–79 [5]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1974–75 Boston Latin School HS-Prep — — — — — — — — — —
1975–76 Boston University ECAC 1 0 2 2 0 — — — — —
1976–77 Boston University ECAC 31 1 23 24 90 — — — — —
1977–78 Boston University ECAC 31 8 47 55 61 — — — — —
1978–79 Boston University ECAC 29 6 16 22 72 — — — — —
1979–80 United States Intl. 55 7 30 37 85 — — — — —
1980–81 New Brunswick Hawks AHL 78 9 25 34 167 13 1 6 7 36
1981–82 New Brunswick Hawks AHL 79 15 33 48 130 15 2 6 8 24
1982–83 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 39 0 11 11 46 5 0 2 2 2
1982–83 Springfield Indians AHL 35 2 24 26 25 — — — — —
1983–84 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 4 13 17 67 2 0 0 0 2
1984–85 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 66 6 8 14 105 15 3 5 8 25
1985–86 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 80 4 19 23 116 3 0 1 1 4
1986–87 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 48 1 13 14 59 2 0 0 0 0
1987–88 New Jersey Devils NHL 50 7 19 26 97 5 1 3 4 6
1988–89 New Jersey Devils NHL 30 5 21 26 51 — — — — —
NHL totals 389 27 104 131 541 32 4 11 15 41

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1979 United States WC 8 0 1 1 12
1980 United States OG 4 0 1 1 2
1989 United States WC 10 0 2 2 14
Senior totals 22 0 4 4 28

References

  1. ^ Do You Believe in Miracles? Archived 2008-04-19 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ a b c Michael Mantenuto biography at the Internet Movie Database https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1372838/
  3. ^ "ECAC All-Teams". College Hockey Historical Archives. Retrieved May 19, 2013.
  4. ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  5. ^ "Men's Ice Hockey Award Winners" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 11, 2013.

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player
1978 		Succeeded by