Historical Hockey and Sports Memorabilia Auction February 2025
Boasting an impressive attendance at just north of 300,000 for the tournament, the 2004 IIHF World Championships were held in Sweden, with 16 nations competing. Slovakia advanced to the gold medal game and were able to slip past the Russians 4-3 to claim their nation's first title. We offer gold and participation medals from the tournament that hail from the personal collection of noted Finnish hockey executive and writer Kimmo Leinonen. At 2 3/4" in diameter with the original teal and gold ribbon attached, the gold medal has the games logo with "02" on the obverse along with "2002 IIHF World Championship Sweden" in raised letters, with a colour IIHF logo on the reverse. The maker "Sporrong" is also stamped along the edge. The medal displays wonderfully, with just a few tiny nicks along the edge. The participation medal comes with the original flip-top case, and is rectangular shaped at just over 2" x 2 3/4". There is a raised image of the tournament logo on the front along with "02" and "Ice Hockey IIHF World Championship Sweden". The reverse has the maker's name "Sporrong" stamped, with "44/100" engraved. The medal has a few small marks 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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