Historical Hockey and Sports Memorabilia Auction February 2025
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/18/2025
The first edition of the Winter Olympic Games to feature professional players from the National Hockey League representing their countries and not just amateur talent, the 1998 Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan were also the first to feature a women's hockey tournament as well. Seeing the start of a classic rivalry of the United States and Canada on the women's side while the Czech Republic would knock off Russia on the men's side to claim the country's first gold medal in Olympic hockey. Offered here, and hailing directly from the personal collection of Kimmo Leinonen, is this collection of six (6) signed International Ice Hockey Federation "Player Entry Forms" from the men's tournament at the 1998 Winter Olympic Games. All displaying the old IIHF logo at the top left corner as well as "International Ice Hockey Federation" and "Player Entry Form", items listed on the form include things such as; IIHF Championship, date and location as well as player information including name, birthday, citizenship, passport number, NHL club, National Association, previous IIHF participation and more. Listing a bevy of rules and regulations at the bottom of each form, the bottom also shows the validation stamps from each individual federation represented as well as signatures from each of the included players.
Including examples profiling and signed by names such as Jari Kurri, Mike Modano, Peter Forsberg, Sergei Fedorov, Uwe Krupp and Cristobal Huet, each is signed by the featured players with either a blue or black ballpoint pen ink signature, with all six (6) displaying without issue. All remaining in overall excellent condition, a Classic Auctions LOA will accompany the lot.
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.
By clicking this button, you will IMMEDIATELY bid the amount selected.
By clicking this button, you will submit this amount as your MAXIMUM (absentee) bid. The auction software will place bids on your behalf up to this amount only as it is bid against competitively by other bidder(s).