Historical Hockey and Sports Memorabilia Auction February 2025
This lot is closed for bidding. Bidding ended on 2/18/2025
With the hockey tournament at the 1920 Summer Olympics considered to be the first official holding of an Ice Hockey World Championship, the first World Championship that was held as an individual event was in 1930 in which twelve (12) nations participated and saw Canada defeat Germany for their fourth (4th) world title at that point in time. Offered here, and hailing from the personal collection of Kimmo Leinonen is this collection of items from the International Ice Hockey Federation that includes a 1982 "Player of the Game" watch and "Golden Puck" gifts from the 2004 and 2005 IIHF World Championships that were held in the Czech Republic and Austria respectively. Starting with the watch, a Tissot made timepiece that is a Seastar model which features an oyster style bracelet, a blue coloured dial is found underneath the crystal, the chronographs are both running as well as the watch itself, which a hand winding example and not battery powered. Missing the tacyhymetre, the watch shows some scratches and scuffs throughout, including around and over the crystal as well as throughout the bracelet. Also including a pair of Golden Puck gifts from the 2004 and 2005 IIHF World Championships, each puck, displaying with a gold coloured mirror finish over its entirety, the 2004 example features a laser etched tournament logo over the front of it while the 2005 puck sports a laser etched image of the tournament mascot. Each mounted on wooden bases and measuring slightly larger than 3 1/2" x 3 1/2" for their effort, both wooden bases have gold coloured plaques over their fronts which display the host city and year. Both in good condition with just light wear seen throughout from handling/display, 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.
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