Keynote Presentation

Jim Craig, Goaltender for the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey Team

Jim Craig has been called the backbone of a team that accomplished one of the most extraordinary and memorable sports victories of all time. He then went on to achieve tremendous success as a marketing and sales manager and strategist.

An All-American goalie at Boston University and standout for the Terriers’ 1978 NCAA championship squad, Craig was selected as the starting goaltender for the U.S. 1980 Olympic hockey team. At the Lake Placid games his performance was phenomenal. Indispensable to Team U.S.A.’s epic – what some have called miraculous – upset of the Soviet Union was the play of Jim Craig. In the game against the Soviets, the Americans were outshot 39-16, but Craig made 36 saves, many of the spectacular variety, and his teammates scored four times. Two days later, against Finland, Craig was again superb, and the Yanks won, 4-2, to take Olympic gold.

Following the Olympic Games, Jim Craig played in the NHL for the Atlanta Flames, Minnesota North Stars, and Boston Bruins. An injury ended his professional hockey career.

When Craig retired from pro hockey, he pursued a marketing and sales career with the same passion, focus, work ethic, and dedication that he put forth on the ice. He signed on as a marketing and sales consultant for Valassis Inserts (later Valassis Communications) where over a ten year period transformed an operating unit with $300,000 in annual sales into a unit that did $50 million in annual sales, making it the top sales-producing division of the corporation.

Jim Craig will inspire you to apply the gold medal determination of Lake Placid to your life–personally and professionally!