Spartan Olympians: Weldon Olson

WELDON OLSON, Member, U.S. Olympic men’s ice hockey team, 1956 Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy, Silver Medal;  1960, Squaw Valley, CA, Gold Medal.

            Weldon Olson, ’55, was a member of the U.S. national team from 1956 through 1960, simultaneously serving as a member of the U.S. Air Force. 

            In the 1960 Winter Games at Squaw Valley, CA, Olson and the U.S. team went undefeated and untied, upsetting the powerful Soviet team 3-2 in what has been dubbed as the “First Miracle on Ice”—a reference to the widely televised 1980 U.S. upset of the Soviet Union in Lake Placid, NY.  At the 1956 Winter Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo, Olson scored five goals in five games and led the U.S. to an upset of Canada.  Olson is a member of the Olympics Hall of Fame.

            A native of Marquette, Olson was recruited to MSU by coach Amo Bessone, who had coached three of his brothers at Michigan Tech.  In four years at MSU he amassed 125 points—71 goals and 54 assists.  He was MSU’s MVP in 1953 and leading scorer in 1954. 

            “MSU was a tremendous opportunity for me,” recalls Olson.  “It gave me a chance to play in the best collegiate league at the time, the WCHA.”

            After the Olympics, Olson spent four years in Madison, WI, as publisher of a hockey magazine, and then moved to Detroit helping build ice rinks for the Charles R. Beltz Co.  In 1977, he became manager of the Hancock Recreation Center in Findlay, OH, where he still lives. 

            “It’s a great place to raise kids,” says Olson, who regularly comes to MSU for hockey games and still belongs to MSU’s Blue Line Club.

            Although he was recovering from a heart operation in November, Olson followed this year’s MSU team via computer.  He was very excited about MSU’s NCAA championship last year.

            “I’ve known (MSU coach) Rick Comley since he went to Northern,” says Olson.  “We came out of nowhere!”