When the U.S. ice hockey team took home gold in the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, the win was orchestrated—at least in part—by lawyer Arthur Kaminsky. A major college hockey fan, Kaminsky identified amateurs with talent and convinced them to delay signing professional contracts until after they had played for the U.S. national team.
At the time, the Soviet Union team had won every Olympic contest since 1954. The U.S. win became known as the “Miracle on Ice.” And afterward, team coach Herb Brooks and nearly all the U.S. players became Kaminsky’s clients.
