Bill, Dave Christian auctioning off Olympic hockey gold medals
Bill and Dave Christian, the father-son duo who won gold representing the United States at the 1960 and 1980 Olympics, respectively, have decided to sell their medals to the highest bidder through Heritage Auctions.
“Whether or not we have it in our hand, we still both won gold medals,” Dave Christian told the Associated Press. “The memories and all the stories and what not, they won’t ever go away.”
Heritage Auctions will conclude bidding next weekend during an event in New York City.
Bill, 78, recorded 13 points during the 1960 tournament in Squaw Valley that saw the U.S. win all seven games en route to gold. Dave, 56, assisted on eight goals in eight games as the “Miracle on Ice” team shocked the world in defeating the Soviet Union and Finland to earn gold at Lake Placid.
Dave Christian’s medal will be the third “Miracle” gold to hit the auction block, following the sale of Mark Wells’ in 2010 for $310,700 and Mark Pavelich’s for $262,900 in 2014.
Aside from Pavelich and Wells, we’ve seen other “Miracle” memorabilia up for auction over the past several years, including the jerseys worn by Mike Eruzione and Ken Morrow during the Soviet Union game and the gold medal ring presented to head coach Herb Brooks.
In July, Jim Craig, goaltender for the 1980 U.S. squad, put 19 items from the Lake Placid Games up on auction through Lelands, which included his gold medal and famous mask, for $5.7 million. The lot went unsold after two months.
Like Pavelich, the Christians felt it was better to part with the treasures than have them continue to sit around in storage. The money will go toward the five grandchildren in the family.
“Better to part with it than let the moths eat it,” Dave said.
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Sean Leahy is the associate editor for Puck Daddy on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @Sean_Leahy
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