‘Miracle on Ice’ Goalie Jim Craig Seeks $5.7M for Memorabilia

Jim Craig, the goalie on the “Miracle on Ice” hockey team, plans to sell his collection of memorabilia from the 1980 Winter Olympics. The asking price: $5.7 million.

The 19-item lot featuring jerseys, goalie equipment and Craig’s gold medal has been listed by Lelands.com, which is running a private sale.

In an interview with Liz Claman on “Countdown to the Closing Bell,” Craig said his financial adviser suggested that he seek appraisals for his Olympics collection. It was then that Craig realized how valuable it was.

By selling the entire lot to a collector, Craig believes his memorabilia will be well cared for.

“Collectors just love stuff like this,” Craig said Friday, adding that he would like the memorabilia to go to a buyer who “wants a piece of American history.”

The “Miracle on Ice” team famously defeated the Soviet Union in the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, N.Y. The U.S. went on to win a gold medal with a victory over Finland.

Craig’s collection includes an American flag that he draped over his shoulders following the gold-medal game, in addition to a game-used jersey from the 4-3 upset win versus the Soviet Union. Lelands appraised each of those pieces at $1 million to $1.5 million.

His gold medal could be worth between $1.5 million and $2 million, according to Lelands.

Other members of the 1980 championship team have sold collectibles from the Olympics. Mark Pavelich’s gold medal went for $262,900 in a 2014 auction. The gold medal awarded to Mark Wells was acquired for $310,700 in 2010. Wells had previously sold it to a private buyer for $40,000.