Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction November 2010
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 11/16/2010
The Soviet and American teams were natural rivals due to the decades-old "Cold War". In addition, U.S. President Jimmy Carter was, at the time, considering a U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics, to be held in Moscow, in protest of the December 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. The United States Olympic Hockey Team, made up of all amateur and collegiate players, was considered a heavy underdog going into the 1980 Winter Olympics held at Lake Placid, New York. Led by legendary coach Herb Brooks, the Americans shockingly defeated the powerful Soviet Union Team in exciting fashion 4-3, which was considered the best hockey team in the world! In the four previous Winter Olympics, Soviet teams had gone an amazing 27-1-1 and outscored the opposition 175-44. Before this critical game, Brooks read his players a statement he had written on a piece of paper, telling them: "You were born to be a player ......You were meant to be here .......This moment is yours". But a lot of us forget that the United States did not win the Gold Medal upon defeating the USSR. In 1980, the medal round was a round-robin, not a single-elimination format as it is today. Needing one more win to secure the Gold Medal, Team USA had to play Finland next. USA went into the dressing room after the two periods of play, losing 2-1. According to Mike Eruzione, during the second intermission in the locker room, Brooks turned to his players, looked at them and said, "If you lose this game, you'll take it to your graves"! He then paused, took a few steps, turned again, said, "Your f***ing graves," and walked out! Needing to win to secure the Gold Medal, Team USA came back from that 2-1 third period deficit to defeat Finland 4-2, and complete "The Miracle on Ice"! This historic, extremely rare Balfour sample has Dave Christian's name on the side, and is from the identical mold to his, and all of the other players' rings! Christian, who was drafted 40th overall in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, went on to play 14 seasons in the NHL, with the bulk of them being for the Winnipeg Jets. Dave Christian ended his career with 773-points (340-goals, 443-assists) in 1,009-games, and was selected to the NHL All-Star team in 1991. Perhaps most impressive, he set and still holds, the record for the fastest goal ever by a player in his first NHL game, scoring just 7 seconds into his first shift! This beautiful 10-karat gold ring is in mint condition, and the band is stamped inside with the manufacturer's markings (LGB 10K). The size is a 10-1/2 and it weighs 31-1/2 grams of solid gold! Please take note that this item might be subject to a silent reserve.
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