Jim Craig's 'Miracle' mask auctioned for $137K; Olympic gold fails to sell
The Olympic gold medal belonging to Jim Craig, goaltender for the 1980 U.S. “Miracle on Ice” hockey team, did not sell following a month-long auction through Long Island-based auction house Lelands. His iconic goalie mask, however, did sell for a realized price of $137,849.16.
The gold medal failed to met the reserve price set before the auction. As late as Friday night, bidding had reached over $611,000.
Craig’s medal was set to be the third from the “Miracle” team to be sold at auction. In 2010, the medal that once belonged to Mark Wells went for $310,700 a few years after he sold it to a private buyer. Mark Pavelich’s gold medal fetched $262,900 in 2014.
Like other members of the “Miracle” team that had previously auctioned off items from Lake Placid and their hockey careers, Craig’s motivations were personal as he wanted to help set up his two kids and possible future grandchildren financially.
“It’s really complicated to try and really do that when you’re being really fiscally responsible and you put on that burden, and you don’t want to have anything of that type of value to split families,” Craig told Yahoo! Sports last month in New York City. “I really don’t think I wanted or my wife wanted any of the kids to have that type of pressure.”
After failing to sell a 19-piece lot that included his gold medal last summer for $5.7 million, Craig decided to put 17 items up for auction individually through Lelands in May.
Along with Craig’s gold medal, the jerseys he wore vs. the Soviet Union and Finland, and the American flag that was draped around his shoulders following the team’s final game of the tournament also failed to meet the reserve price in bidding.
The 13 other items Craig put up for auction did sell, including his game-used goalie stick from the 1980 Games that went for $60,653.65 and his Olympic jacket from Lake Placid, which fetched $11,516.78.
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at puckdaddyblog@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
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