Every USA Olympic hockey team, ranked by miracles on ice

21. Switzerland Olympics, 1948

While 2006 was Team USA’s biggest failure on the ice,1948 was their biggest failure off the ice.

You see, Team USA tried to bring two teams to compete in 1948. The results almost caused the entire tournament to be canceled. The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) did not agree with the team that the Amateur Hockey Association (AHA) brought to the Olympics because they believed the AHA were paid players.
The Olympics were only for amateur players.

It was initially ruled that neither team would be able to compete. After parties threatened to boycott the tournament altogether, it was finally ruled that the AHA would play. On one condition:

They could not medal. Yes, Team USA could have won gold in St. Moritz, and it would have been stricken from the record books.

The joke turned out to be on the Olympic committee as Team USA finished fourth. I’m not saying they mailed in this tournament knowing it would be all for naught, but it does seem like a spectacular troll job. Allow three other countries to win a medal while still getting the highest possible finish without medaling. American’s are a lot of things. Petty is one of them.

Bruce Cunliffe led Team USA in scoring. He had 17 goals and 23 points in eight games. They had four players who scored 15-plus goals in the eight-game tournament. Goalie Goodwin Harding was the biggest perpetrator in the trolling, allowing four games a game.