B N G sent us a link to a YouTube video on the 1980 Miracle On Ice hockey game between the U.S.A. and Soviet Union at the Lake Placid Olympics. We loved the link, posted it on the blog, then shipped it off to Neil Best, and he posted it on his.
Now a gentleman named Ken Fang, who has his own blog out of Boston (and a fine one, at that) has actually interviewed the guy who made the live call on the tape. His name is Curt Chaplain, and he's been a mostly behind-the-scenes media figure for years.
He is now basking the glow of his new-found fame.
B N G, I'm convinced that you got the ball rolling on this. You are a kingmaker.
Here's Ken's lede-in to the interview:
"He's currently known as the In-Court Reporter on The People's Court. But before Curt Chaplin got his role on the popular show, he was a reporter with ABC Radio and was in Lake Placid for the 1980 Winter Olympics. Curt covered the USA-USSR hockey game which became known as the "Miracle on Ice". He was assigned to the game by ABC Radio to get post-game reaction and when Team USA pulled off the 4-3 upset of the Soviets, Curt was there to talk to the players. However, what wasn't known was that Curt called the game into his tape recorder."
Comments (7)
I'm happy to hear that the story is true... The call is so perfect that I figured it had to be scripted after the fact.
As far as "King Maker", I suffer no illusions of grandeur, one of the reasons I love sporting events is the thrill of watching someone do something in a way that separates from everyone else.
Gretzky or Lemieux, Montana or Sanders, Clemente or Mays, Jordan or Jabar... watching the very best in any activity has always fascinated me. In my field I've been fortunate to work with some of the best, and I'm always intrigues about what makes the best who they are. Innate talent, hard work, being in the right place at the right time? How do they find the areas where they can take their skills to the pinnacle? How did Palmer figure out he was a golfer? How did Kerouac become a writer? How did Dwayne Allman or Clapton realize their calling as guitarists?
As for Curt Chaplin, anyone can be the reporter on Peoples Court, someone needs to give this guy a job as a radio broadcaster for an NHL team. Maybe the folks at PC can work around the NHL schedule.
And Curt was very nice to do the interview with me. He was quite humble about the experience.
Thanks for the link, Bob.
Great interview Ken!
His comment about giving a copy to each player on that team was awesome... I hope he follows through... Herbs gone... they won't last forever
Thanks B N G!
Fang - Thanks for the interview. I am sharing that with all of my hockey buddies here in Alabama (all 2 of them). Chaplin says he has given a few away - do you feel he would be willing to part with more copies if I requested just one? How do I get in touch with him?
You could try. You can get in touch with him through his channel on YouTube.
Feb 22nd, Happy 28th anniversary !!