Lake Placid 1980 XIII Olympic Winter Games Metal Tray

NORTHEAST. 
Decorative Tray, Souvenir, 1980. 

This small beautifully-crafted metal tray featuring “Roni” the raccoon (the mascot designed by Don Moss to represent New York’s Adirondack region, the name itself Haudenosauneen in origin) is in near perfect condition; only a few nicks on its inside ring and a stubborn old price-tag mark on the back. The maker, The Wilton Company of Columbia, Pennsylvania, was a renowned manufacturer of fine metals who had 50+ years of experience making metal works designed, mainly, to imitate an earlier pewter style (a remnant of the family-owned business still in operation today). Proudly displaying a “USA” stamp on the back, it could not be more appropriate for these most memorable games … Of course, the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics are best remembered in the States for the “Miracle on Ice.” The amateur U.S. team, made up of mostly college hockey players (an average age of 21 putting them into the tournament as the youngest team), defeated for all intents and purposes a professional team from the U.S.S.R. / C.C.C.P., the Soviet Olympic team equivalent to a pro National Hockey League team, if not a team of NHL all-stars. (Case in point, the Soviet national team, which contained many of the same players, went 2-1 in exhibition play against the NHL all-stars just the previous year.) Cruising, surprisingly, through group play without a loss, including a tie and impressive win against the powerful Swedish and Czechoslovakian teams, respectively, the upstart U.S. team was, nonetheless, given no chance against the mighty Russians, who had won the previous four Olympic gold medals in hockey. And yet, the rest we (of a certain vintage) know well. Despite a furious second period attack, which had the Soviets up 3-2, the U.S. team played with nothing to lose in the final period, clearly rattling the Russians, and winning 4-3. “Do you believe in miracles? Yes!” yelled an equally disbelieving Al Micheals in calling the final seconds of the game … Along with 1932, this was the second Winter Olympics to be held at Lake Placid, New York, and the third in the United States (Squaw Valley, California: 1960). It also came at a supercharged time in world history. The Soviets had invaded Afghanistan the previous year, which had prompted President Jimmy Carter to call for a boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics to be held in Moscow (a boycott that most western democracies would abide by); and all of this while 62 Americans remained hostages in Iran. But despite the hot geopolitical tensions, the games at Lake Placid included the entire Eastern Bloc of nations—East Germany eventually going home with the highest total haul of medals @ 23—with the communist People’s Republic of China fielding a winter team for the first time. And, we’d be remiss not to mention the amazing speed-skater Eric Heiden, whose 5 gold medals stands as one of the greatest individual performances in U.S. Olympic history. 

Condition: Like New. 
Sports Related. 
4.25" diameter, 0.5" deep / 5 oz