Jack O'Callahan
Jack O'Callahan | |
|---|---|
| Born | John J. O'Callahan July 24, 1957 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Other names | Jack O'Callahan |
| Occupation | Professional ice hockey player |
| Years active | 1982–1989 (NHL) |
| Known for | Member of 1980 "Miracle on Ice" U.S. Olympic hockey team |
John J. "Jack" O'Callahan (born July 24, 1957) is a retired American professional ice hockey athlete who played in 390 National Hockey League (NHL) regular season contests between 1982 and 1989, representing the Chicago Blackhawks and New Jersey Devils. He was part of the United States squad at the 1980 Winter Olympics, which achieved the historic upset over the Soviet Union known as the "Miracle on Ice."
Amateur career
O'Callahan completed his education at Boston Latin School in 1975 before enrolling at Boston University from 1975 through 1979. During the 1977–78 and 1978–79 seasons, he served as team captain and received numerous accolades such as two-time All-East, All-New England, All-America honors, team MVP twice, Beanpot tournament MVP, NCAA tournament MVP, and earned two Cochrane awards. Additionally, he competed for Team USA at the 1979 Ice Hockey World Championship held in Moscow.
Chosen to participate in the 1980 Winter Olympics, O'Callahan sustained a left knee injury during a pre-Games exhibition match against the Soviet team, which sidelined him for the opening game against Sweden. He made a comeback to play in the critical "Miracle on Ice" contest where the U.S. defeated the Soviets during the medal round.
Professional career
O'Callahan was selected 96th overall by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1977 NHL Entry Draft. After completing his Olympic participation, he joined Chicago's organization and spent two seasons with their AHL affiliate, the New Brunswick Hawks, before earning a spot on Chicago's NHL roster in 1982. He remained with Chicago until 1987 when he was claimed by the New Jersey Devils during the 1987 NHL Waiver Draft. O'Callahan played two seasons with New Jersey before retiring in 1989. He also represented the United States at the 1989 Ice Hockey World Championship.
Post career
Upon retiring from professional hockey, Jack O'Callahan returned to Chicago and transitioned into finance by working on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Together with former NHL player Jack Hughes, he co-established Beanpot Financial Services and later became involved with the Blackhawk Alumni Association.
In popular culture
In the 1981 television film Miracle on Ice, which portrays the U.S. Olympic hockey team's triumph, O'Callahan was depicted by actor Peter Horton. The Disney movie Miracle, released in 2004, featured actor Michael Mantenuto in the role of O'Callahan. Mantenuto, who had a background as a collegiate hockey player, earned this role following an unusual event during auditions.
Awards and achievements
| Award | Year |
|---|---|
| All-ECAC First Team | 1977–78, 1978–79 |
| All-NCAA All-Tournament Team | 1978 |
| AHCA East All-American | 1978–79 |
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| 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 | 30 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 60 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1976–77 | Boston University | ECAC | 31 | 1 | 23 | 24 | 90 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1977–78 | Boston University | ECAC | 31 | 8 | 47 | 55 | 61 | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Boston University | ECAC | 29 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 72 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1979–80 | United States men's national ice hockey team | Intl. | 55 | 7 | 30 | 37 | 85 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'New Brunswick Hawks | 'American Hockey League | '78 | '9 | '25 | '34 | '167 | '13 | '1 | '6 | '7 | - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | '1981–82 | 'New Brunswick Hawks | 'AHL | '79 | '15 | '33 | '48 | '130 | '15 | '2 | '6 | '8 | - |1982–83 | 'Chicago Black Hawks | 'National Hockey League | '39 | '0 | '11 | '11 | '46 | '5 | '0 | '2 | '2 | - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | '1982–83 | 'Springfield Indians | 'AHL | '35 | '2 | '24 | '26 | '25 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 'Chicago Black Hawks | 'NHL | '70 | '4 | '13 | '17 | '67 | '2 | '0 | '0 | '0 | - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | '1984–85 | 'Chicago Black Hawks | 'NHL | '66 | '6 | '8 | '14 | '105 | '15 | '3 | '5 | '8 | - |1985–86 | 'Chicago Black Hawks | 'NHL | '80 | '4 | '19 | '23 | '116 | '3 | '0 | '1 | '1 | - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | "1986–87" | "Chicago Blackhawks" | "NHL" | "48" | "1" | "13" | "14" | "59" | "2" | "0" | "0" | "0" | - |1987–88 | "New Jersey Devils" | "NHL" | "50" | "7" | "19" | "26" | "97" | "5" | "1" | "3" | "4" | - bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | "1988–89" | "New Jersey Devils" | "NHL" | "30" | "5" | "21" | "26" | "51" |
NHL totals ! 389 ! 27 ! 104 ! 131 ! 541 ! 32 ! 4 ! 11 ! 15 ! 41 |}
International
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- Pages with script errors
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- 1957 births
- 1980 US Olympic ice hockey team
- AHCA Division I men's ice hockey All-Americans
- American men's ice hockey defensemen
- Boston University Terriers men's ice hockey players
- Calgary Cowboys draft picks
- Chicago Blackhawks draft picks
- Chicago Blackhawks players
- Ice hockey people from Boston
- Ice hockey players at the 1980 Winter Olympics
- Living people
- Medalists at the 1980 Winter Olympics
- New Brunswick Hawks players
- New Jersey Devils players
- Olympic gold medalists for the United States in ice hockey
- Springfield Indians players
- 20th-century American sportsmen
- NCAA men's ice hockey national champions