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US Olympic hero Jim Craig to auction memorabilia
Posted On Jul 30 2015
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Also included in the lot is the outfit Craig wore at the 1980 Olympics opening ceremony, his 1980 Sports Illustrated Sportsman of the Year Award, his Olympic ring, a gold-medal-winner watch and a 1980 Olympics winter coat that he wore. Without the goaltending performance of Jim Craig, one of the greatest upsets ever never happens. The entire collection comes with an asking price of .7 million. Craig is selling a large collection of items from his time in Lake Placid through Lelands.com.
Craig said he decided to sell the items “so my children and grandchildren will be financially secure in the future”. “Additionally, proceeds from the sale will also benefit several charities that are close to my heart”.
Craig will be the third “Miracle” member to sell his gold medal from the 1980 Games.
The flag and the gold medal each have been appraised at least $1 million.
“Over the years, I’ve loaned my Olympic memorabilia to museums and other venues so it could be accessible to fans to enjoy”, Craig said. He wants the buyer to be able to keep the collection together. He has a successful motivational speaking business called Gold Medal Strategies, and he charges upwards of $20,000 to appear. Mark Wells’ medal was auctioned for $310,700 in November 2010, after he sold it privately for about a reported $40,000.
The family of Herb Brooks also put a number of his Olympic items up for sale and managed to fetch 3,525.
Mike Eruzione sold his jersey and his stick. The record for the most expensive hockey item at auction was the jersey worn by Canada’s Paul Henderson in the 1972 Summit Series against the Soviet Union. Although another person has claimed to have possession of the flag that Craig had draped over himself after the gold-medal game, Craig said the genuine article is the one presented to him in 1998 by Peter Cappuccilli Jr.
A key player involved in one of the most triumphant American sporting victories in history is selling memorabilia from that achievement – for almost $6 million.
