Herb Brooks' 'Miracle on Ice' Olympic mementoes head to auction block
As the 35th anniversary of the "Miracle on Ice" approaches, the family of late Olympic coach Herb Brooks has opted to auction some of his memorabilia.
"Between me and my sister and my mom, having to store this stuff and track it down and babysit it was kind of a pain, quite frankly," Brooks' son, Dan, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. "We decided this might be a good time to see if anyone has an interest in the stuff to just simplify our lives."
Check out some of the items, per the Star Tribune report:
-- A bound book with a complete set of box scores from the games in the 1980 Olympic tournament.
-- A blue ring binder with questionnaires filled out by prospective players, including eventual star Mike Eruzione's self-described best assets: "Two way player and penalty killer."
-- The letter Brooks wrote to the U.S. Olympic Committee declaring his candidacy for the coaching position, spelling out a detailed plan for on-ice strategy, player selection and program development in accompanying pages.
-- Rosters from college conference all-star teams, names of players in amateur leagues and the 1978 NHL draft list, with some prospects crossed out in black marker.
-- His script notes for the screenwriters of the 2004 "Miracle" movie are for sale, too, showing some suggested adjustments to the dialogue to more closely represent his hard-nosed style.
-- A 1980 day planner, noting the visit to the White House in Washington on Feb. 25, and an appearance on Johnny Carson's show in Los Angeles on Feb. 27.
"Hopefully it doesn't fall into the wrong hands," Heritage Auctions director of sports auctions Chris Ivy said.
Herb Brooks' gold medal is not on the auction block. However, his Olympic ring is. That is valued at $50,000. Overall, the auction house believes it can raise $200,000 in the event, which will be held in New York on Saturday night, with some of the items being sold online on Sunday night. Online bidding has already begun.
