Historical Hockey and Sports Memorabilia Auction February 2025
Featuring 30 nations competing in Squaw Valley, California, the 1960 Winter Olympics witnessed a dominant performance from the Soviets, winning 21 medals including 7 gold. The following Games in 1964 held in Innsbruck, Austria, saw the playing field increase to 36 nations, with the Soviets again leading all competition with an amazing 25 medals including 11 gold. We offer participation medals from both Games, and they hail from the personal collection of noted Finnish hockey executive and writer Kimmo Leinonen. Frist, the 1960 medal is 2" in diameter with the Olympic rings and "VIII Olympic Winter Games" on the obverse in raised letters, and "Squaw Valley California 1960" with a raised Olympic torch on the reverse. There is also a hallmark along the edge. The 1964 medal is 2 1/2" in diameter and comes in the original case, with the Olympic rings and "Innsbruck 1964" on the obverse in raised letters along with a skyline image of the city on the reverse. The 1960 medal has a couple very tiny marks, while the 1964 medal shows some green patina on the reverse. 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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