Historical Hockey and Sports Memorabilia Auction February 2025
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/18/2025
A standout tournament for the Swiss, with the nation winning it's first medal since 1953, the 2013 IIHF World Championships was held jointly in Finland and Sweden, with the Swedes the first country since the Soviet Union in 1986 to win gold as tournament host. Team Switzerland finished second after going undefeated in each of their games. We offer a 2013 IIHF World Championships gold medal that hails from the personal collection of noted Finnish hockey executive and writer Kimmo Leinonen, along with two additional medals from the 2012 and 2013 tournaments that also originate from his collection. At just over 2 3/4" in diameter with the original blue, white and red ribbon attached, the obverse of the gold medal features a raised player and silhouetted player, with "IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship" in raised letters around the perimeter, and a raised IIHF logo on the reverse along with "Sweden & Finland 2013 IIHF Ice Hockey World Championship". The maker "Sporrong" is also stamped along the edge. The additional 2012 and 2013 medals are identical in design with each accompanied by it's original case (the 2013 medal case has a somewhat detached lid). Each is 2 3/4" in diameter, with an IIHF logo and the year above and venues below, with a blank reverse. The gold medal remains in gorgeous near mint condition, with a bit of very minor oxidation to the additional medals. An LOA from Classic Auctions will accompany.
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.
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