John Mayasich

John Mayasich
Born	(1933-05-22) May 22, 1933 Eveleth, MN, USA
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position	Center
Shot	Left
National team	United States
Playing career	1951–1971
Medal record Men's Ice hockey Representing United States 1956 Cortina d'Ampezzo Ice hockey 1960 Squaw Valley Ice hockey

John Edward Mayasich (born May 22, 1933) is an American former ice hockey player. He was a member of the U.S. ice hockey team that won a silver medal at the 1956 Winter Olympics and a gold medal at the 1960 Winter Olympics.

While attending the University of Minnesota, Mayasich set the NCAA tournament record for most points scored in a game with eight against Michigan in 1954. Mayasich won the Western Collegiate Hockey Association scoring title in 1954 and 1955 and was an All-American three years in a row at his university.

Mayasich was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1976 and the Wisconsin Hockey Hall of Fame in 1989. Number 8 has been retired in his honor by the Minnesota Golden Gophers men's ice hockey program, the only former Golden Gopher to be so honored. In 2011, Mayasich was ranked No 1 on the Minneapolis Star Tribune's list of "Minnesota's 100 Greatest Players in High School Hockey History".

Career

He attended Eveleth High School in Eveleth, Minnesota and participated in a number of sports. During his high school hockey career he set many individual records and helped his team achieve additional team records that stand even today. Among those records are the 46 total points he recorded at numerous state tournament games and helping his team win four consecutive state championships from 1948-51.

Mayasich played on both the 1956 Olympic silver medal team in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy and the 1960 Olympic Gold Medal team in Squaw Valley, California.

He is the Minnesota Gophers' all-time leading scorer with 144 goals and 154 assists in 111 games played, an average of about 1.3 goals per game. Mayasich also held scoring records in the high school ranks. While he still holds most state tournament records, a pair of Gophers, Dave Spehar and John Pohl, have since broken his all-time career scoring mark. Coach Doug Woog pointed out, "We drew the parallel with Dave Spehar," Woog said. "He (Spehar) was the most contemporary state tournament phenom; he had three hat tricks. John had seven. His numbers are phenomenal."

Mayasich briefly pursued a professional hockey career, playing some minor league hockey for the Green Bay Bobcats and Minneapolis Millers.

Mayasich's professional career was in the broadcasting industry; after earlier positions, John joined Hubbard Broadcasting, Inc. (St. Paul) as General Manager of KS95 FM, guiding its growth to become one of the highest rated major market FMs in the country. In 1983, Mayasich was promoted to President of Hubbard's radio division, and served in that position until his retirement in 1997. He has remained active as a consultant to Hubbard.

Awards and honors

Award	Year
All-MCHL Second Team	1951–52
All-MCHL First Team	1952–53
NCAA All-Tournament Second Team	1953
All-WIHL First Team	1953–54
AHCA All-American	1953–54
NCAA All-Tournament First Team	1954
All-WIHL First Team	1954–55
AHCA All-American	1954–55

See also

• List of members of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame

References

• 20 great Minnesotans in hockey by John McGourty, NHL.com. (January 16, 2004)
• U hockey program will retire John Mayasich's number this weekend by Tim Nichols, The Minnesota Daily. (November 13, 1998)

External links

• Gopher Hockey History Player Info