Historical Hockey and Sports Memorabilia Auction February 2025
The 71st annual world championship event run by the International Ice Hockey Federation, the 2007 tournament was held in Russia, with Team Canada earning the nation's 24th title with a 4-2 victory over Finland in the gold medal match. We offer a 2007 IIHF World Championships gold medal that hails from the personal collection of noted Finnish hockey executive and writer Kimmo Leinonen. At just under 2 3/4" in diameter with the original white, blue and red ribbon attached, the obverse features a raised skyline image of the Kremlin, with an enameled IIHF logo and "2007", while the reverse has a raised IIHF logo. The medal has a few small marks on the front and 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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