The “Miracle on Ice” jersey worn by Mike Eruzione in Team USA’s stunning upset victory against the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics has sold, The Associated Press reported on Saturday, February 23.
The jersey, part of a memorabilia collection owned by the 58-year-old Eruzione, fetched $657,250.
Other items, including Eruzione’s game stick that he used to score the winning goal in the US victory, pushed total auction revenues past $1.3 million.
Chris Ivy, director of sports at Heritage Auctions, said the bidders showed “Mike Eruzione, and that entire team, how highly they think of him and of the things he achieved.”
While the jersey fell short of $1 million projections, other items in the auction performed better than expected, CBS Sports reported on Saturday.
For example, the game stick was projected to sell for around $50,000 but closed at $262,900. Other sales included gloves worn by Eruzione during the Olympic tournament ($53,775), the blue captain’s jersey worn during the Finland match ($286,800), and Eruzione’s red pants ($28,680).
The AP identified the winning bidder of the Miracle on Ice jersey as a 9-year-old boy and his father but said Ivy was not comfortable disclosing the names of winning bidders.
You might consider Eruzione’s reason for selling more noble than the reasoning behind the recent $92,613 auction of Curt Schilling’s bloody sock .
Instead of using the money to pay off millions in business debt, Eruzione said he would be using the money as a nest egg for his children and to support the Winthrop Foundation funding charities in the hockey great’s hometown of Winthrop, Massachusetts.
Heritage planned to auction off 18 more lots on Sunday, February 24 and projected a final tally of around $1.5 million.
While the items have achieved only a fraction of the $4.62 million Batmobile sale in January 2013, they are an indication sports memorabilia is still a hot commodity in the world of auctions.
Do you think the Miracle on Ice jersey sold for what it’s worth?
[Image via ShutterStock ]
