Speakers Bio

Jim Craig
Massachusetts

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.

Today, in addition to serving as president of the Hat Trick Group (HTG), a promotions and marketing firm based in the Boston area, Jim travels the country speaking in front of corporate audiences and non-profit groups. Over the past 25 years, Jim has motivated, inspired, and instructed employees and associates from more than 300 organizations, including Coca-Cola, Coors, Walt Disney, Fidelity, Dunkin' Donuts, John Hancock, KPMG, NBC, Ocean Spray, Evergreen Financial, Sun Life Financial, and other companies that hold some of the world's most recognized brands.

An All-American goalie at Boston University and standout for the Terriers' 1978 NCAA championship squad, Jim 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 Jim made 36 saves, many of the spectacular variety, and his teammates scored four times. Two days later, against Finland, Jim was again superb, and the Yanks won, 4-2, to take Olympic gold.Jim Craig

How miraculous, how historic, was the victory? Consider that as the 20th century came to a close, most major media sports polls selected what happened two decades prior on an ice rink in upstate New York as the greatest sports achievement of the previous 100 years.

"It may just be the single most indelible moment in all of U.S. sports history," said Sports Illustrated of Team USA's miraculous gold medal run at the 1980 Winter Olympics. "One that sent an entire nation into frenzy."