Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction June 2016
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 6/15/2016
Jim Craig’s role as the backbone to what is considered one of the greatest upsets in all of sports has secured his place in American hockey history. Originally drafted by the Atlanta Flames in 1977, two initial years were spent in his home state at Boston University where Craig led the Terriers to the NCAA Division I Championship in 1978, coming back as an NCAA All-Star in ’79. A pre-Olympic tournament was held in December of 1979 in Lake Placid, with Craig and his American teammates victorious, going undefeated in four games including beating the Russian “B” team 5-3. 61 total exhibition games would be played by the Americans leading up to the tournament.
We here at Classic are honoured to bring to auction a jersey worn in those pre-tournament games by Jim Craig, and it’s been dual-signed and photo-matched! Tagging from Norcon sits on the lower front, along with an additional Norcon laundry tag affixed to the collar. In solid blue and accented with red and white striping bands, the mesh v-neck jersey features “USA” diagonally across the chest in double-twill. “Craig” appears on the back nameplate in tackle twill, with “30” on the sleeve’s and verso. Craig has signed the “C” of his nameplate, while coach Herb Brooks has added a nice black marker signature to the “A”. The Craig signature has heavily faded, while the Brooks example displays well.
As mentioned, this important jersey has been photo-matched. A pre-Olympic photo of Craig has been matched to the particular and unique alignment of the white striping bands on the right side hem, with the placement of the numbers and nameplate also matching a number of photos from pre-tournament games. The letters across the chest, along with the back numbers and nameplate all exhibit puckering, an obvious sign that this jersey was washed multiple times after use, and it remains in stunning condition with absolutely no obtrusive damage. With a number of 1980 US Olympic hockey jerseys sitting in the six figure stratosphere, this pre-tournament example worn by arguably the most important Miracle on Ice component should garner considerable interest. An LOA will accompany this desirable jersey.
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