Historical Hockey Memorabilia Auction Fall 2021
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 10/26/2021
In 1972 founders of a company named Hockey Diversified Inc. envisioned that each puck shot into the net to produce an official goal scored in an NHL hockey game would develop a degree of intrinsic collector value for hockey fans everywhere. The founders took this idea to the NHL and procured the rights to all such NHL pucks during regular season and playoff games for a period of five years. Pucks shot into the net for a goal were collected by the referees, given to the time keepers to label and then shipped to Hockey Diversified to further label with scoring details. The pucks were then marketed to the public by Hockey Diversified Inc. Unfortunately, this idea was ahead of its time and pucks sold poorly. The program lasted only two seasons, 1972-73 and 1973-74. Hockey Diversified Inc. dissolved shortly thereafter. Classic Auctions is honored to have been chosen by an original founder of Hockey Diversified to sell, at upcoming auctions, residual, unsold pucks from the “NHL Registered Goal Puck” collection.
Each puck originally distributed by Hockey Diversified could be obtained by mail with the buyer’s choice of team and possibly player. A label was affixed to each puck listing the scorer, team and date, along with a code that divulged which team-goal said puck accounted for. This particular puck was used by Richard Martin to score the Buffalo Sabres 217th goal of the season vs the Minnesota North Stars, at Memorial Auditorium, on March 17, 1974. Assisted by Jim Lorentz and Bill Hajt, it was Martin’s 45th goal of the season and 126th of his career, with a total of 384 career goals scored. Plotted early in the second to put the Sabres up by three, Martin would score three times in the contest including netting the game winner, with Buffalo decisively defeating Minnesota, 5-2. The rubberized Sabres logo and Goal Puck Program label both remain fairly clean, with light wear to the puck.
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