The last time Murray Williamson talked with long-time friend Dick Meredith, the two former Gophers and Olympic standouts got into a fierce but friendly debate.
“He and I were at Willard Ikola’s funeral, and we got into a big argument about who was tallest,” joked Williamson. Both he and Meredith are listed at 5-foot-7 in the hockey databases, although that might be a bit generous for both men.
“(John) Mayasich agreed to be the referee, and he declared it a tie,” Williamson said, with a chuckle. “Which is a lie, because I was standing on my toes.”
Meredith, who was a prep standout at Minneapolis Southwest, a star for the Gophers in the 1950s, and earned Olympic silver (in 1956) and gold (in 1960) medals, died on Feb. 6 after a brief illness. He was 92 years old.
Known more for his skating than his size, Meredith was a puck-mover on the Gophers’ NCAA runner-up teams in 1953 and 1954, then played for Team USA in 1956 when the Americans finished as runners-up at the Winter Olympics in Cortina, Italy.
Four years later, Meredith earned a roster spot for coach Jack Riley on the American team that became known as the “Forgotten Miracle” after they won the nation’s first Olympic hockey gold in Squaw Valley, Calif.
“As a person, there was none better,” said Bill Christian, Meredith’s teammate on the 1960 team. “What a great skater. He played on a wing with me in 1958 (on the U.S. National team) and we had a great time.”
After hockey, Meredith didn’t venture far from the rink, going to work for original Minnesota North Stars owner Walter Bush Jr. in a variety of business roles until his retirement. Christian recalled organizing a golf tournament to raise money for youth hockey in the 1980s, and Meredith’s tireless volunteer work to get North Stars players and other celebrities to attend.
Meredith had seen Williamson and several friends from the 1960 Olympic team just days before his death at the funeral for Ikola, the goalie in 1960, who was also 92 and died in January.
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