Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction February 2018
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/27/2018
A force to be reckoned with in women’s hockey for over two decades, Hayley Wickenheiser was the first female to score a goal in a men’s semi-professional league, achieving the feat while skating for HC Salamat of the Finnish Suomi-sarja in 2003. The career-points leader for the Women’s National Team, Wickenheiser is widely considered the greatest female player of all-time. We have a signed Kirkkonummen Salamat jersey worn by the Shaunavon native in 2002-03, her first season with the club. A single “XL” fly tag remains affixed to the collar, with the European garment measuring-out to roughly a size 54. Featuring a sublimated team crest, black heat-pressed sleeve and verso numbers have been utilized, with vinyl-pressed advertising patches below each shoulder. “Wickenheiser” also appears across the upper reverse in matching heat-pressed letters.
Hayley has signed to the left of the reverse numbers in black marker, adding “Thank You For Your Support!” along with “Salamat 02-03”. With marks on each sleeve, primarily over the upper right, the garment remains in wonderful condition.
Over the course of her first season in Finland, Wickenheiser played 23 games, scoring 2 goals and adding 10 assists. Joining a European league to play professional hockey, as the game is more open and less physical than North American leagues, this attempt was not an entirely smooth process. Wickenheiser was initially slated to play in Italy, until the Italian Winter Sports Federation ruled that women were ineligible to play in a men's league. She also turned down an offer from Phil Esposito to play for the Cincinnati Cyclones of the ECHL. Finland's Hockey Federation unanimously supported letting women play in a men's league, allowing her to debut with HC Salamat in the Suomi-sarja, the third highest hockey league in Finland, on January 10, 2003.
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