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| Full name | William David Christian | ||||||||||||||
| Born | January 29, 1938 (age 86) Warroad, Minnesota, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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William David Christian (born January 29, 1938) is an American former ice hockey player. He led the United States to a gold medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984, and the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1998.
Christian played prep school hockey at Warroad High School where he led the team to the 1953 state tournament finals. [1] Christian then attended the University of Minnesota. However, since freshman were not allowed to join varsity sports teams at the time, Christian describes it as a “lost season.” [2] After one year at the University of Minnesota, Christian joined the United States National Team. He led the United States to a gold medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics. [3] During the Olympics, Christian led the team with seven goals and five assists as they became the first American team to play in the Soviet Union. [1] After the Olympics, Christian had a brief professional tryout with the minor league Seattle Totems but chose to remain an amateur, returning to build houses in Minnesota instead. [4] He kept playing for the Warroad Lakers for 23 years before retiring after the 1980 season. [1] Four years later, in 1984, he was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame. [1]
In 1998, Christian was inducted into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame as a player. [5] [6]
In 2016, both Christian and his son Dave auctioned off their gold medals with Heritage Auctions. [7]
Christian comes from a hockey playing family. Both Roger and Gordon Christian played for Team USA at the Olympic Games. His son, Dave Christian, was a member of the U.S. Olympic Hockey Team, at the 1980 Winter Olympics that also won a gold medal before embarking on a successful professional career in the National Hockey League between 1980 and 1995. His grandson, Brock Nelson, is a member of the New York Islanders of the NHL. [8]
The Christian brothers father was a carpenter. In 1964, Christian and his brother Roger began a wooden hockey stick business called "Christian Brothers Hockey Company." [9] The company was eventually bought out by Harrow in 2009. [10]
Warroad is a city in Roseau County, Minnesota, United States, at the southwest corner of Lake of the Woods, 7.5 miles (12.1 km) south of Canada. The population was 1,781 at the 2010 census. Warroad had its own newspaper before it was incorporated in 1901.
Herbert Paul Brooks Jr. was an American ice hockey player and coach. His most notable achievement came in 1980 as head coach of the gold medal-winning U.S. Olympic team at Lake Placid. At the Games, Brooks' American team upset the heavily favored Soviet team in a match that came to be known as the "Miracle on Ice."
James Downey Craig is an American former ice hockey goaltender who is best known for being part of the U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics. Craig had a standout Olympic tournament, including stopping 36 of 39 shots on goal by the heavily favored Soviet Union in the 'Miracle on Ice', as the U.S. won 4–3, in what is widely considered one of the greatest upsets in sports history. Two days later, the U.S. defeated Finland, 4–2, to clinch Olympic gold. Craig went on to play professionally in the National Hockey League for the Atlanta Flames, Boston Bruins, and Minnesota North Stars from 1980 to 1983. He was inducted into IIHF Hall of Fame in 1999.
Catherine Michelle Granato is an American former ice hockey player and one of the first women to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November 2010. She currently works as an assistant general manager for the Vancouver Canucks organization. Granato was the captain of the U.S. women's hockey team that won a gold medal in the 1998 Winter Olympics. She is the younger sister of former NHL player Tony Granato and Buffalo Sabres head coach Don Granato, and a graduate of Providence College. Granato played hockey for Concordia University in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Mark Einar Johnson is an American ice hockey coach for the University of Wisconsin–Madison women's ice hockey team. He is a former National Hockey League (NHL) player who appeared in 669 NHL regular season games between 1980 and 1990. He also played for the gold medal-winning 1980 U.S. Olympic team.
Phillip Francis Housley is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player who is currently an associate coach for the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). He previously served as assistant coach for the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL) from 2019 to 2022. Housley was the head coach of the NHL's Buffalo Sabres from 2017 until 2019.
The Triple Gold Club is the group of ice hockey players and coaches who have won an Olympic Games gold medal, a World Championship gold medal, and the Stanley Cup, the championship trophy of the National Hockey League (NHL). The International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) considers them to be "the three most important championships available to the sport".
John Edward Mayasich is an American former ice hockey player of Croatian descent. He was a member of the U.S. ice hockey team that won a silver medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics and a gold medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics. He also played for Team USA at the IIHF World Championships in 1958, 1961, 1962, 1966 and 1969. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1997.
David William Christian is an American former professional ice hockey forward. He played on the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team that won the gold medal during the 1980 Winter Olympics. Christian went on to play for five National Hockey League teams over a 15-season career, from 1980 to 1994.
Henry Charles Boucha was a Native American professional ice hockey center. Boucha played in both the National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association (WHA) between 1971 and 1977. In the NHL he played for the Detroit Red Wings, Minnesota North Stars, Kansas City Scouts, and Colorado Rockies, while in the WHA he played for the Minnesota Fighting Saints. His career was cut short by an eye injury by Dave Forbes. Internationally Boucha played for the American national team at two World Championships and at the 1972 Winter Olympics, where he won a silver medal.
Caroline Ouellette OC is a Canadian retired ice hockey player and current associate head coach of the Concordia Stingers women's ice hockey program. She was a member of the Canadian national women's ice hockey team and a member of Canadiennes de Montreal in the Canadian Women's Hockey League. Among her many accomplishments are four Olympic gold medals, 12 IIHF Women's World Championship medals, 12 Four Nations Cup medals and four Clarkson Cup championships.
Karyn Lynn Bye is a retired ice hockey player. She was the alternate captain of the 1998 Winter Olympics gold-medal winning United States Women's Hockey Team.
John William McCartan is an American retired goaltender. He played for the American national team at the 1960 Winter Olympics, winning a gold medal. He later played 12 games in the National Hockey League with the New York Rangers during the 1959–60 and 1960–61 seasons, and 42 games with the Minnesota Fighting Saints of the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1974. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1983, and into the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1998.
Roger Allen Christian was an American professional ice hockey player. Christian played for the American 1960 Winter Olympics and 1964 Winter Olympics ice hockey teams, winning a gold medal in 1960. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989. He was also a co-founder of Christian Brother's Hockey Sticks, along with his brother Bill Christian and brother-in-law Hal Bakke.
Gordon Eugene "Gordy" Christian was an American ice hockey player. He played with the University of North Dakota from 1947 to 1950, tying for scoring leader on the team in both the 1947–48 and 1948–49 seasons. He was a member of the silver medal winning 1956 United States Olympic ice hockey team. He was born in Warroad, Minnesota.
Brock Christian Nelson is an American professional ice hockey player and alternate captain for the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL). Nelson was drafted 30th overall in the first round of the 2010 NHL Entry Draft by the Islanders. Prior to playing professional hockey, Nelson played at the University of North Dakota. His first experience in professional hockey was at the American Hockey League (AHL) level with the Islanders' affiliate, the Bridgeport Sound Tigers.
Harold L. Trumble Jr. was an American ice hockey administrator and referee. He served as the executive director of the Amateur Hockey Association of the United States from 1972 to 1987, and managed the United States men's national ice hockey team to a silver medal at the 1972 Winter Olympics. He previously refereed games in the 1968 Winter Olympics, and was later inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame, and the IIHF Hall of Fame.
Calvin Coolidge "Cal" Marvin was an American ice hockey defenseman and coach who led the Warroad Lakers for nearly 50 years and was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982.
