Commentary With the Olympic Games in Tokyo only weeks away, National Basketball Association professionals such as Damian Lillard, Devin Booker, and Jayson Tatum are joining the roster. Americans may be unaware that prior to 1992 the U.S. Olympic basketball team was all collegians. Back in 1972, Mike Bantam, Jim Brewer, Tom Burleson, Doug Collins, Kenny Davis, James Forbes, Tom Henderson, Bobby Jones, Dwight Jones, Kevin Joyce, Tom McMillen, and Ed Ratleff formed the youngest squad the United States had ever fielded. The Americans won the gold medal, but it was stolen from them in one of the worst rip-offs in sports history. In the gold-medal game, the Americans faced a more experienced Soviet team, for all practical purposes a professional squad. The Soviets led most of the way but in the closing seconds, with the United States behind 49-48, Illinois State’s Doug Collins picked off a Soviet pass and drove …
Remembering the Great Olympic Gold Theft Humiliation and Horror at 1972 Munich Games
June 21, 2021
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