Historical Hockey and Sports Memorabilia Auction February 2025
The V Olympic Winter Games took place in Switzerland at St. Moritz in 1948, and they were the first Games to take place since 1936 due to the war. 28 nations participated, with Norway, Switzerland and Sweden all finishing at the top with 10 medals. We offer a participation medal from the Games, and it hails from the personal collection of noted Finnish hockey executive and writer Kimmo Leinonen. At just over 1 1/2" in diameter, the obverse has the Olympic rings with "V Jeux Olympiques D'Hiver St Moritz 1948" in raised letters, while the reverse has a raised female in motion. The medal shows light surface wear and oxidation. An LOA from Classic Auctions will accompany.
Born in Tampere, Finland, in 1949, and beginning his rise in the hockey ranks as a junior hockey coach while also involved in the hockey stick industry in Canada and Germany, Finnish hockey executive and writer Kimmo Leinonen had a connection to the NHL as he was employed as a scout for the New York Rangers from 1978-79 to 1982-83. As a founding member of the Finnish Hockey Hall of Fame in 1979 - where he served as chairman from 2011 to 2018, Leinonen also helped to establish the IIHF Hall of Fame in 1996 and was the director of public relations and marketing for the organization from 1995 to 2007. His later career included an appointment as general secretary of the 2012 and 2013 Ice Hockey World Championships co-hosted in both Finland and Sweden. The hockey guru has written multiple books on the history of hockey in Finland, and for his great contributions to the sport, was inducted into the builder category of the Finnish Hall of Fame in 2011. He was further acknowledged as the only person from Finland to win the Paul Loicq Award in recognition for his efforts in international ice hockey in 2023. We are pleased to offer items from his personal collection that he acquired during his years as the IIHF director of public relations and marketing from 1995 to 1997, with others originating from later in his career as well as international hockey memorabilia he collected and items he was gifted.
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