'Miracle on Ice' Goalie Hawking His Gold Medal

And American flag Jim Craig wore after 1980 victory at Olympics
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted May 18, 2016 6:25 AM CDT

The "Miracle on Ice" hockey team is an indelible memory from the 1980 Lake Placid Olympics, with the US coming from behind to defeat the long-reigning Soviets, and then Finland, for the gold. And goalie Jim Craig, then 22, made an equally poignant impression after his team's victory, skating around the ice draped in an American flag, looking for his dad in the stands. Now much of his memorabilia from those Games is up for sale, including that flag, his gold medal, his hockey mask, and the jersey he wore against the USSR, Fox News reports.

The sale, which ends June 17, features 17 items in all (each being sold individually) and is expected to fetch between $5 million and $7 million, the AP reports. So why would Craig hawk such iconic mementos? "I'm selling my 'Miracle on Ice' collection to ensure a healthy financial future for my children and grandchildren," Craig said in a statement from the Lelands auction house, per CNN. "I also plan to donate proceeds from the auction to charities and causes that are near and dear to my heart." (Also soon to be auctioned: a desperate Marilyn Monroe letter.)

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