The winter of 1980 produced two of the most dramatic moments in American hockey history, and Ken Morrow was at the center of both of them.
It began at Lake Placid, New York, in February. The United States Olympic hockey team, a collection of college players and minor leaguers assembled by coach Herb Brooks, was given no chance against the dominant Soviet Union squad that had not lost an Olympic game in twelve years. What happened next became known simply as the Miracle on Ice.
On February 22, 1980, the Americans defeated the Soviets 4–3 in one of the most watched sporting events in American television history. Al Michaels' call — "Do you believe in miracles? YES!" — became one of the most famous phrases in sports broadcasting. The Americans followed up with a victory over Finland to claim the gold medal. A nation that was struggling through the Iran hostage crisis and a cold war standoff found, for a few days in a small Adirondack town, something to cheer about together.
Ken Morrow was a defenseman on that team. A big, physical blueliner from Flint, Michigan, he was a stay-at-home defender who did the unglamorous work that championships require. After the gold medal, most of his Olympic teammates returned to college or minor league hockey. Morrow went to Long Island.
He signed with the New York Islanders in March 1980 and immediately joined a team on a championship run. Three months after winning Olympic gold, Morrow was on the ice as Bob Nystrom redirected John Tonelli's pass past Pete Peeters in overtime of Game 6 against Philadelphia. The Islanders were Stanley Cup champions. Morrow had his second championship of 1980.
He would win four consecutive Cups with the Islanders. A quiet, steady presence on the blue line who never sought headlines, Morrow is one of the most unique stories in sports history — a man who achieved the two highest honors available to an American hockey player in the span of a single calendar year, and then did it three more times just for good measure.
"I don't think I fully appreciated what happened until years later," Morrow said in interviews after his playing career. "You're young, you're caught up in the moment. Looking back, I realize how rare it was." Rare doesn't begin to cover it.