Michigan State University Athletics
Spartan Hockey Mourns the Loss of Weldy Olson
5/17/2023 11:27:00 AM | Men's Ice Hockey
East Lansing, Mich. -- Michigan State and the hockey program join in the remembrance of Weldy Olson, who passed away last week at the age of 90 in his adopted home of Findlay, Ohio.
Weldy Olson Obituary
2001 Weldy Olson MSU Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Speech
2010 Feature Story: "Quiet Pride Defines 1960 Gold Medalist"
Olson was recruited to play for Michigan State by legendary coach Amo Bessone, who had coached three of his brothers at Michigan Tech. In fact, one of Bessone's first moves when hired at MSU was to bring Olson with him to East Lansing. The Marquette, Michigan native was a standout for Bessone's first four MSU teams, leading the squad each season in goal scoring. He finished with a then-school record 71 goals, 54 assists, and 125 points; to this day he remains the only Spartan to lead his team in goal scoring in all four years of his collegiate career.
Olson was a member of five World Championship teams for the US (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, and 1960) and went on to play in two Olympics for the United States, winning a silver medal in 1956 in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy before capturing a gold medal in 1960 in Squaw Valley, California. That 1960 team is the subject of a documentary entitled "Forgotten Miracle" – the first team from the US to win an Olympic gold medal is frequently overshadowed by the far more fabled 1980 squad which won gold in Lake Placid. Olson is also one of just two Spartans to medal in men's ice hockey at the Olympic Games – Duncan Keith won gold in both 2010 and 2014, more than five decades after Olson.
When speaking with Weldy Olson for the 2010 feature story, we were lucky that he shared with us some photos from his Olympic journey. Click here to see some of the remarkable photography from the first Olympic medals won by Team USA.
Weldy Olson Obituary
2001 Weldy Olson MSU Athletics Hall of Fame Induction Speech
2010 Feature Story: "Quiet Pride Defines 1960 Gold Medalist"
Olson was recruited to play for Michigan State by legendary coach Amo Bessone, who had coached three of his brothers at Michigan Tech. In fact, one of Bessone's first moves when hired at MSU was to bring Olson with him to East Lansing. The Marquette, Michigan native was a standout for Bessone's first four MSU teams, leading the squad each season in goal scoring. He finished with a then-school record 71 goals, 54 assists, and 125 points; to this day he remains the only Spartan to lead his team in goal scoring in all four years of his collegiate career. Olson was a member of five World Championship teams for the US (1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, and 1960) and went on to play in two Olympics for the United States, winning a silver medal in 1956 in Cortina D'Ampezzo, Italy before capturing a gold medal in 1960 in Squaw Valley, California. That 1960 team is the subject of a documentary entitled "Forgotten Miracle" – the first team from the US to win an Olympic gold medal is frequently overshadowed by the far more fabled 1980 squad which won gold in Lake Placid. Olson is also one of just two Spartans to medal in men's ice hockey at the Olympic Games – Duncan Keith won gold in both 2010 and 2014, more than five decades after Olson.
When speaking with Weldy Olson for the 2010 feature story, we were lucky that he shared with us some photos from his Olympic journey. Click here to see some of the remarkable photography from the first Olympic medals won by Team USA.
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