1980 United States Olympic Team Dave Christian Jersey

While everyone recalls the "Miracle on Ice" from February 22, 1980, many do not recall that the United States' victory over the Soviet Union was not the gold medal winning game.

In fact, the tournament format in 1980 did not even have a gold medal final, as the teams were not placed in a single elimination bracket, as is the case with the Olympics and World Championships of today. Back in 1980, the format had the top two teams from both the Blue and Red Divisions of First Round group play then placed into a new four team Final Round group.

Once placed in the Final Round group, each advancing team was scheduled to play the two surviving teams from the opposite group, with their earlier game against the team advancing from their First Round group carrying over into the Final Round standings.

What this meant for the United States in 1980 was their tournament opening tie against Sweden carried over to the Final Round, as did the Soviet Union's 4-2 win over Finland. This meant the standings heading into the final four matches stood at;

1. Soviet Union 2 pts
2. Sweden 1 pt.
3. United States 1 pt.
4. Finland 0 pts.

The United States first game was their historic matchup with the Soviets, which they famously won 4-3 and later was named the Top Story of the Century by the International Ice Hockey Federation, only it guaranteed the United States absolutely nothing.

Fortunately for the United States, nordic rivals Finland and Sweden tied in their game the evening of the 22nd, (yes, the United States game versus the Soviet Union was not even in prime time on US television despite the game being played in the United States!) and the standings heading into the final two games on this date in 1980 were now:

1. United States 3 pts.
2. Sweden 2 pts.
3. Soviet Union 2 pts
4. Finland 1 pt.

Heading into the final two games on Sunday, the worst case scenario for the United States was if Finland were to defeat them by two goals while Sweden and the Soviet Union tied, the gold would go to the Soviet Union and the United States would drop out of the medals altogether since all four teams would have the same 3 points with the USA having the worst goal differential!

Still, the victory over the Soviet Union left the United States with their fate in their own hands, as a victory over Finland would elevate them to an unreachable 5 points and earn them the coveted gold medal. Oddly, the USA was scheduled to play at 11AM in Lake Placid.

Unfortunately for the United States, Jukka Porvari got Finland out on top with the first goal of the game at 9:20 of the first period with a one-timer slapshot over USA netminder Jim Craig's glove. The period would end with the USA leading 14-7 in shots on goal, but trailing on the scoreboard 1-0, the sixth time in seven games they had fallen behind.

Jim Craig in goal for the Americans

The United States evened the score at 4:39 of the second period on Steve Christoff's unassisted goal on a backhander that went through Finnish goaltender Jorma Valtonen's pads only to have Finland regain the lead less than two minutes later when Mikko Leinonen put a second shot past Craig at 6:30 on the power play. Once again, the United States held the edge in shots on goal at 8-6, but had just twenty minutes to get out of the hole they found themselves in to a team that had never won a medal, nor beaten the United States in Olympic hockey.

The United States still had to face Finland before claiming the gold medal

With Finland leading 2-1 after two periods, a furious US head coach Herb Brooks warned the team during the final intermission that "If you lose this game, you will take it to your f***ing grave." He then walked almost all the way out of the room before turning around and repating "To your f***king grave."

"He didn't have to say much more than that. We knew he was right," USA forward Mark Johnson recalled.

Properly motivated, just over two minutes into the third period USA defenseman Dave Christian skated from his own zone into the Finnish end, drew the defense toward him and passed to left wing Phil Verchota who fired a wrist shot just inside the right post to tie the game at 2-2 at 2:25.

Less than four minutes later the United States struck again when Johnson, behind the Finland goal, passed the puck to Rob McClanahan, who saw Valtonen start to go down put the puck in between his gaping legs for a 3-2 lead for the USA at 6:05, sending the arena into bedlam, as loud as it had been against the Soviets two days earlier, as the United States led for the first time all game.

Mclanahan gave the United States their first lead of the game

Before the United States could relax, Neal Broten took a hooking penalty at 6:48 followed by Christian's tripping penalty at 8:54. The USA successfully killed off both penalties only to have Verchota whistled for roughing at 15:45 with the game still in doubt.

With both Broten and Christoff keeping Finland in their own zone during the power play, the puck was shot out toward the blueline, where it was intercepted by Johnson, who skated in, beat a defender, and made a backhand attempt, which Valtonen saved. The rebound however, went right back to Johnson who quickly smacked the puck over Valtonen's right skate for a shorthanded goal to give the United States a 4-2 lead with 3:35 left to play.

Johnson celebrates his goal with Christoff

The Americans were now on a roll with their ultimate goal in sight and kept up the pressure, nearly scoring twice more on one shot that hit the pipe and another off the crossbar. Finally time ran out and the United States had secured their gold medal in a game many do not even remember, especially given the attention history has focused on the game against the Soviet Union and the "two days later the miracle was made complete" treatment it received in the movie "Miracle" - all of five seconds of game footage.

The final buzzer set off a new round of celebrations, as the United States successfully completed not just a seven game tournament, but a journey that began months earlier, as Brooks transformed them from rival college kids into Olympic champions.

The United States celebrates winning the gold medal following their victory over Finland

Still, somewhat unbelievably, there was another game left to play on the schedule between the Soviet Union and Sweden at 2:30PM. Following the Soviet's demolition of Sweden 9-2, the final placings were now set and the medal ceremony could take place on the ice with Sweden still wearing their jerseys from their game.

Following the presentation of the medals and the playing of the Star Spangled Banner, team captain Mike Eruzione famously called the rest of the team up onto the top level of the victory podium, which miraculously was just large enough, barely, to hold each and every member of the team.

Today's featured jersey is a 1980 United States Olympic Team Dave Christian jersey as worn in the gold medal clinching game against Finland on the final day of the 1980 Olympic tournament, the sixth time the United States had come from behind during their seven games.

The blue jerseys are the lesser known jerseys from the tournament, as it was the white ones they were wearing when they defeated the Soviet Union and the style which has been much more heavily marketed since then.

Our video section begins with McClanahan's game winning goal at 6:05 of the third period.

This next clip is the final minute of the game along with the subsequent eruption of joy as the United States completed their gold medal performance. Well, except for coach Brooks, who can be seen leaving the bench with nary a smile at the final horn.

1985-86 Washington Capitals Dave Christian Jersey

Born into a legendary American hockey family on this date in 1959, Dave Christian, son and nephew of 1960 Olympic gold medalists and founders of the Christian Brothers hockey stick company Bill and Roger Christian, as well as nephew of 1956 Olympic silver medalist Gordon Christian, played his youth hockey for Warroad High School followed by college hockey at the University of North Dakota in 1977-78 and 1978-79.

He first donned a United States National Team sweater for the 1979 World Junior Tournament and was then a member of the United States National Team for the schedule of games they would play in 1979 in preparation for the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. Coached by Herb Brooks, Christian and the rest of the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey Team would pull off the upset of the century, as the team of college age players would defeat the mighty Soviet Union National Team in "The Miracle on Ice" and go on to defeat Finland to capture the gold medal, adding to the family legacy of Olympic gold.

Following the Olympics, Christian turned professional with the Winnipeg Jets, who selected him in the second round of the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, the Jets first draft as a new member of the NHL after being founded in the WHA. He played 15 games with the Jets that season, scoring 18 points in 15 games which included his first goal on his first shot of his first shift, just seven seconds into his NHL career!

Playing his first full season with the Jets, Christian proved himself right at home in the NHL, scoring 28 goals and 71 points to lead the team in scoring while playing in all 80 of the Jets games, setting the tone for a career noted for his dependability as well as his durability.

At the conclusion of the season Christian played for the United States once again, this time at the 1981 World Championships where he had a great tournament, scoring 8 goals and 11 points in 8 games. Before the next NHL season began, his country came calling once again, this time for the 1981 Canada Cup.

His second season with Winnipeg saw his point total increase to 76. His last season with the Jets was cut short by 25 games due to torn shoulder muscles, but over the course of the next nine seasons he would miss just 10 total games.

His rights were traded to the Washington Capitals in June of 1983. He made the transition to the Capitals with ease, scoring a point per game with 81 points in 80 games, which began a streak of three consecutive seasons without missing a game.

Before the 1984-85 NHL season, Christian added to his international resume by competing in his second Canada Cup for the United States. After a 69 point season in 1984-95, he had the best offensive season of his career when he scored 41 goals and 83 points to lead the club in scoring.

He would play three more seasons with the Capitals, extending his 20 goal, 50 point streak to six, as well as fitting in another World Championship appearance for the US in 1989, contributing 7 points in 6 games.

After 28 games of the 1989-90 season, Christian was acquired by the Boston Bruins for his offensive skills and veteran leadership. The move paid off for both sides as Christian and the Bruins made the longest postseason run of his career as Boston made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals.

He played one more season with the Bruins before being transferred to the St. Louis Blues as compensation for a pair of free agent signings by the Bruins of former Blues players. Prior to joining the Blues, Christian had the honor of competing for the United States in his third Canada Cup, this one in 1991.

After one season with the Blues, Christian was claimed by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1992 waiver draft. He played 60 games for Chicago in 1992-93 and 9 at the start of the 1993-94 season before being assigned to the Indianapolis Ice of the IHL for 40 games.

His final two seasons of pro hockey were spent with the brand new Minnesota Moose of the IHL, scoring 38 goals and 80 points in 81 games in 1994-95 and 46 points in 69 games of the 1995-96 season before retiring.

He finished his NHL career with 1,009 games played, 340 goals and 433 assists for 773 points and an appearance in the 1991 NHL All-Star Game to go along with his gold medal won in 1980.

Today's featured jersey is a 1985-86 Washington Capitals Dave Christian jersey as worn during this finest NHL season when he set a career high with 83 points to lead the Capitals in scoring.

While many may assume the Capitals jerseys remained the same during this era, there were subtle detail changes, which included adding names to the back of the red road jerseys in 1977, changing to single color names beginning in 1979-80, dropping the number of stars on the arms to just four for 1983-84 and 1984-85, adding the fifth star on the arms back in 1985-86 and making the names two colors again in 1987-88 through the end of the lifespan of this classic jersey style until it was replaced with an entirely new set of jerseys, which sported an entirely new identity package consisting of a new logo and all new team colors in 1995-96.

Photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Bonus jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1980 United States Olympic Team Dave Christian jersey as worn in the gold medal clinching game against Finland on the final day of the 1980 Olympic tournament, the sixth time the United States had come from behind during their seven games.

The blue jerseys are the lesser known jerseys from the tournament, as it was the white ones they were wearing when they defeated the Soviet Union and the style which has been much more heavily marketed since then.

Extra bonus jersey: Today's extra bonus jersey is a 1994-95 Minnesota Moose Dave Christian jersey. This Starter brand jersey features the IHL 50th Anniversary patch, worn by all the teams in the IHL that season. It might be difficult to make out, but the letters and numbers are three color, white trimmed in forest green and outlined in purple, a frankly impossible combination to see against the black background and probably only visible from the front row of the seats, and even then only when someone was plastered up against the glass!

Even on the white jerseys, where they used purple numbers trimmed in forest green and outlined in black the similar values of the green and purple blended together for the most part. A very odd choice to be certain.

Today's video section is an interview with Christian talking about his memories of the 1980 Miracle on Ice.

1985-86 Washington Capitals Dave Christian Jersey

Born into a legendary American hockey family on this date in 1959, Dave Christian, son and nephew of 1960 Olympic gold medalists and founders of the Christian Brothers hockey stick company Bill and Roger Christian, as well as nephew of 1956 Olympic silver medalist Gordon Christian, played his youth hockey for Warroad High School followed by college hockey at the University of North Dakota in 1977-78 and 1978-79.

He first donned a United States National Team sweater for the 1979 World Junior Tournament and was then a member of the United States National Team for the schedule of games they would play in 1979 in preparation for the 1980 Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. Coached by Herb Brooks, Christian and the rest of the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey Team would pull off the upset of the century, as the team of college age players would defeat the mighty Soviet Union National Team in "The Miracle on Ice" and go on to defeat Finland to capture the gold medal, adding to the family legacy of Olympic gold.

Following the Olympics, Christian turned professional with the Winnipeg Jets, who selected him in the second round of the 1979 NHL Entry Draft, the Jets first draft as a new member of the NHL after being founded in the WHA. He played 15 games with the Jets that season, scoring 18 points in 15 games which included his first goal on his first shot of his first shift, just seven seconds into his NHL career!

Playing his first full season with the Jets, Christian proved himself right at home in the NHL, scoring 28 goals and 71 points to lead the team in scoring while playing in all 80 of the Jets games, setting the tone for a career noted for his dependability as well as his durability.

At the conclusion of the season Christian played for the United States once again, this time at the 1981 World Championships where he had a great tournament, scoring 8 goals and 11 points in 8 games. Before the next NHL season began, his country came calling once again, this time for the 1981 Canada Cup.

His second season with Winnipeg saw his point total increase to 76. His last season with the Jets was cut short by 25 games due to torn shoulder muscles, but over the course of the next nine seasons he would miss just 10 total games.

His rights were traded to the Washington Capitals in June of 1983. He made the transition to the Capitals with ease, scoring a point per game with 81 points in 80 games, which began a streak of three consecutive seasons without missing a game.

Before the 1984-85 NHL season, Christian added to his international resume by competing in his second Canada Cup for the United States. After a 69 point season in 1984-95, he had the best offensive season of his career when he scored 41 goals and 83 points to lead the club in scoring.

He would play three more seasons with the Capitals, extending his 20 goal, 50 point streak to six, as well as fitting in another World Championship appearance for the US in 1989, contributing 7 points in 6 games.

After 28 games of the 1989-90 season, Christian was acquired by the Boston Bruins for his offensive skills and veteran leadership. The move paid off for both sides as Christian and the Bruins made the longest postseason run of his career as Boston made it all the way to the Stanley Cup Finals.

He played one more season with the Bruins before being transferred to the St. Louis Blues as compensation for a pair of free agent signings by the Bruins of former Blues players. Prior to joining the Blues, Christian had the honor of competing for the United States in his third Canada Cup, this one in 1991.

After one season with the Blues, Christian was claimed by the Chicago Blackhawks in the 1992 waiver draft. He played 60 games for Chicago in 1992-93 and 9 at the start of the 1993-94 season before being assigned to the Indianapolis Ice of the IHL for 40 games.

His final two seasons of pro hockey were spent with the brand new Minnesota Moose of the IHL, scoring 38 goals and 80 points in 81 games in 1994-95 and 46 points in 69 games of the 1995-96 season before retiring.

He finished his NHL career with 1,009 games played, 340 goals and 433 assists for 773 points and an appearance in the 1991 NHL All-Star Game to go along with his gold medal won in 1980.

Today's featured jersey is a 1985-86 Washington Capitals Dave Christian jersey as worn during this finest NHL season when he set a career high with 83 points to lead the Capitals in scoring.

While many may assume the Capitals jerseys remained the same during this era, there were subtle detail changes, which included adding names to the back of the red road jerseys in 1977, changing to single color names beginning in 1979-80, dropping the number of stars on the arms to just four for 1983-84 and 1984-85, adding the fifth star on the arms back in 1985-86 and making the names two colors again in 1987-88 through the end of the lifespan of this classic jersey style until it was replaced with an entirely new set of jerseys, which sported an entirely new identity package consisting of a new logo and all new team colors in 1995-96.

Bonus Jersey: Today's bonus jersey is a 1980 United States Olympic Team Dave Christian jersey as worn in the gold medal clinching game against Finland on the final day of the 1980 Olympic tournament, the sixth time the United States had come from behind during their seven games.

The blue jerseys are the lesser known jerseys from the tournament, as it was the white ones they were wearing when they defeated the Soviet Union and the style which has been much more heavily marketed since then.

Today's video highlight is Christian scoring for the Minnesota Moose on a breakaway in what may very well be the quietest arena on planet Earth.

1980 United States Olympic Team "Miracle on Ice" Jerseys

While the vast majority of the jerseys worn by the members of the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey Team remain in the possession of the players, over the last 35 years a number of the jerseys from that historic event have made their way into the marketplace.

The first member of the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey Team to part with either his blue jersey from the gold medal clinching game against Finland or his white jersey from the "Miracle on Ice" game against the Soviet Union, was Mark Wells.

Mark Wells

Of all the players on the team, Wells was the only one to reportedly arrive back to his hometown following the games and not receive a hero's welcome, which personally affected Wells in a way that led to him not placing as much importance on his memorabilia as his other teammates, who were given parades and other accolades upon their return home.

While Wells' teammates held on to both their blue and white jerseys following the Games, Wells gave his blue jersey to a family friend and his white one was put on display in his brother's bar, where it remained on display until 2002. That was when the family friend in possession of the blue jersey ran into some financial difficulty and asked Wells if it would be alright if he sold the jersey. Wells gave his blessing and the jersey was posted for sale on an online message board by his sister, rather than putting it up for auction through ebay or any of a number of high end auction houses which specialize in sports memorabilia.

When an offer was submitted at a price the Wells family was quite pleased, if not surprised with, Mark then agreed to make the white jersey available for the same price as well.

The owner of the white jersey from the Miracle on Ice game became Stu Oxenhorn, who is the director of the MeiGray Vintage part of the MeiGray Group, the leading seller of authenticated game worn NHL, AHL and ECHL jerseys. Stu has displayed his Wells jersey in public, including at the 2004 NHL All-Star Game Fan Fest as well as the annual MeiGray Game Worn Jersey Expo. The blue jersey is in the hands of a different collector.

Mark Wells 1980 USA Miracle on Ice jersey
on display at the 2005 MeiGray Expo

Wells, who has been suffering from a rare genetic disease of the spinal cord, also parted with his 1980 Olympic Gold Medal for $40,000 to help offset his medical bills from the five back surgeries he has had to endure, only to see the buyer consign the medal to Heritage Auctions, who then sold Wells' medal for $310,700, and was also the first of the 20 Miracle on Ice medals to ever be offered for public sale. His Olympic ring has also been sold through Heritage Auctions as well.

Mark Wells 1980 Olympic gold medal

"It killed me to sell the medal. Killed me," Wells said to the New York Daily News. "But my life was crumbling. I was going to lose my home. I needed to sell it to have surgery and to live. I had no choice. The medal was a reward - a medal of honor, but really, it's just a commodity. The memories are what's most important. They can't be bought. They can't be sold. They will always be here, and no amount of of money can change that."

It would not be until ten years later that another member of the 1980 US squad would part with one of their jerseys. Then in 2012 Ken Morrow decided to auction his white "Miracle on Ice" jersey through Classic Auctions.

Morrow said he finally decided to look toward the future and begin the process of determining which items he's kept that he wanted to leave to his family and which ones he was willing to part with. The jersey had been taken out to charity events and speaking engagements at schools, but it was otherwise kept on a hanger in his closet and "There's just so many things you can do with that," he said. The jersey finally sold for $104,328 to Barry Meisel of the same MeiGray Group Oxenhorn works for. Of note, Morrow's blue jersey worn against Finland resides in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto.

Read about Morrow's jersey in greater detail here.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

The sale of both Morrow's jersey, and that of Paul Henderson's 1972 Team Canada jersey, which went for a staggering world record of $1,275,707, caught the attention of the American team captain and Miracle goal scoring hero Mike Eruzione, who decided to help out his adult children after the arrival of a grandchild got him thinking about their future. "I thought this would be a great little nest egg for them for their future with their kids," Eruzione stated prior to the auction. "I'm not desperate for money. It's just easier to divide money between your kids than memorabilia. I wanted to do it when I was young enough to see them enjoy the money. This stuff wasn't doing me any good. It sat in a trunk in the attic for 20 years."

Sensing the time was right, Eruzione then made both is "Miracle on Ice" white jersey, as well as his blue jersey from the Finland game available through Heritage Auctions in 2013.

The blue jersey sold for $286,800, while the white one brought in $657,250. While nothing to sneeze at, it was far below the $1,000,000 pre-sale estimated price and far less than Henderson's Summit Series sweater went for despite it being only the third white 1980 USA jersey to become available in 33 years.

Photos from HeritageAuctions.com

Just a week after Eruzione's jerseys sold, Mark Pavelich's white 1980 jersey was sold on Classic Auctions for $104,328, besting Morrow's example by just under $5,000. With Pavelich avoiding the spotlight in favor of a simpler life in northern Minnesota, it was of little surprise that Pavelich would not be as sentimental about his jersey as many of his teammates, leading to his jersey hitting the auction block sooner rather than later.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

The latest "Miracle on Ice" jersey to become available in that of Rob McClanahan, the seventh one of any style and just the fifth white "Miracle" jersey. It is currently for sale on Classic Auctions and, as if this writing sits at $22,987 with less than two days remaining in the bidding, which closes at 10 PM eastern on Tuesday evening.

The jersey was consigned to the auction by a member of the 1980 Swedish Olympic Team, who had traded jerseys with McClanahan in Lake Placid - so perhaps McClanahan himself will be able to buy his back!

photos courtesy of Classic Auctions

Aside from the jerseys which have made their way into the marketplace, there are a few other of the 1980 jerseys we have been able to learn are on public display. Mark Johnson's blue away jersey can be seen at the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, Minnesota.

photo by Kyle Oen of VintageMinnesotaHockey.com

In 2011, it was reported that Dave Christian was embroiled in a dispute with the Hockey Hall of Fame. Dave and his father Bill Christian, a gold medal winner himself in 1960 and the only father and son team to win gold medals in the same sport, were attempting to get their jerseys back, claiming they had loaned their jerseys to the Hall in 1981.

The Hall of Fame meanwhile, claims that the sweaters were donated, and had no intention of returning what they consider to be their property. While lawsuits were threatened, none were ever filed and the Christian's jerseys remain in Toronto.

Dave Christian's 1980 jersey on display at

the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto

The only two other jerseys still not in the hands of their original owners are those which belonged to Mike Ramsey. At the conclusion of the Olympics, the team's equipment manager allowed each player to keep all their gear and their equipment bag. Unfortunately, Ramsey's gear bag, which contained both of his jerseys, was stolen in transit during his return to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport and have never been seen again...

It will be interesting to see what McClanahan's "Miracle" jersey sells for compared to the previous four. Certainly the next big splash would be if goaltender Jim Craig ever decides to take the route of his teammates who have parted with their 1980 Olympic jerseys.

If you would like to purchase the most accurate 1980 "Miracle on Ice" jersey available, we recommend the one sold by VintageMinnesotaHockey.com, which was made using measurements form an actual Norcon jersey, the suppliers to the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey Team.

The Olympic Jersey Controversy & 1980 United States Olympic Team Mark Wells Jersey

As reported by Esme Murphy of WCCO TV, 1960 Olympic gold medal winner Bill Christian and his son, 1980 Olympic gold medal winner Dave Christian (the only father and son to have both won Olympic gold medals in the same sport) are entering into a legal battle with the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto over their attempts to get the hall to return Bill's 1960 Team USA and Dave's 1980 Miracle on Ice jerseys, which they insist were loaned to the Hall of Fame in 1981 and are currently on display on the main floor of the Hall of Fame in the International Section.

Bill Christian's 1960 jersey on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame

Photos of Dave Christian's 1980 jersey, also on display
at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto

Here is the full text of the story from WCCO's website:

Two of Minnesota’s greatest Olympic gold medalists are locked in bitter international battle to get their Olympic jerseys returned from Canada.

Dave Christian of Moorhead was on the U.S.A. 1980 Olympic Hockey team that shocked the world and won a gold medal.

His dad, Bill, was on the only other U.S.A. Olympic Hockey gold medal team in 1960. Their Olympic jerseys are in the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. The Christians want them back, the Canadians are saying no and the origin of the dispute goes back 30 years.

In 1981 Bill Christian received a call from the Hockey Hall of Fame. The hall wanted to display both of their jerseys. At the time, both jerseys were hanging in a closet at Bill Christian’s Warroad home. Bill Christian said he believed he was loaning the jerseys to the hall.

“I thought they were just going to display them never dreaming they would be gone forever,” Bill said.

Over the past six months, the Christian’s have been trying to get their jerseys back.

“Why now it would be nice to get my jersey back in my possession before something happens to me,” said Bill.

“I would like to pass on those jerseys to my children,” Dave said.

The Hockey Hall of Fame has told the Christians the jerseys now belong to the hall.

At the heart of this dispute is a 1981 letter from the Hockey Hall of Fame to Bill Christian thanking Christian for “the donation” of the jerseys. In 1981, Bill was busy running the Christian Brothers Hockey stick company in Warroad. Bill Christian said he paid little attention to the letter.

“It’s our viewpoint that the sweaters were donated in 1981 in a legally effective manner and they are now the property of the Hockey Hall of Fame,” said Hall Curator Phil Pritchard.

“I just took it that good, they arrived safely. I never took it as a legal deal they should keep the jerseys,” said Bill.

“The mistake that was made was not to question the wording of the letter, the receipt of the letter that the Hall had sent in 1981. My dad is not an attorney,” said Dave.

At the time Bill Christian sent the jerseys to the hall, Dave Christian was just beginning his 15-year professional career. He vaguely remembers his father telling him he had sent the jerseys to Toronto.

“I never gave my jersey to the hall. I never gave my jersey to anyone. I want my jersey back,” said Dave.

The Hockey Hall of Fame has sent the Christian’s a letter saying they are ready to fight a legal battle over the jerseys.

“I think it’s wrong for them to keep threatening a legal battle over this. “We are going to fight for them,” said Bill.

Whatever happens, the Christian’s know what they did in those USA jerseys can never be taken away.

“Where the jerseys are, where they hang and where they are displayed won’t change the outcome,” said Dave.

The Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto has no connection to the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth.

To date, only one member of the 1980 United States Olympic Hockey Team has parted with either of his blue jersey from the gold medal clinching game against Finland or his white jersey from the "Miracle on Ice" game against the Soviet Union, that being Mark Wells.

Mark Wells

Of all the players on the team, Wells is the only one to reportedly arrive back to his hometown following the games and not receive a hero's welcome, which affected Wells in a way which led to him not placing as much importance on his memorabilia as his other teammates, who were given parades and other accolades upon their return home.

While Wells' teammates held on to both their blue and white jerseys, Wells gave the blue one to a family friend and his white one was put on display in his brother's bar, where it remained on display until 2002. In 2002, the family friend in possession of the blue jersey ran into some financial difficulty and asked Wells if it would be alright if he sold it. Wells gave his blessing and the jersey was posted for sale on an online message board by his sister, rather than putting it up for auction through ebay or any of a number of high end auction houses which specialize in sports memorabilia.

When an offer was submitted at a price the Wells family was quite pleased, if not surprised with, Mark then agreed to make the white jersey available for the same price as well.

The owner of the white jersey from the Miracle on Ice game is Stu Oxenhorn, who is the director of the MeiGray Vintage, part of the MeiGray Group, the leading seller of authenticated game worn NHL, AHL and ECHL jerseys. Stu has displayed his Wells jersey in public, including at the 2004 NHL All-Star Game Fan Fest as well as the annual MeiGray Game Worn Jersey Expo. The blue jersey is in the hands of a different collector. To date, these are the only two 1980 Olympic jerseys which have been made available to collectors.

Mark Wells 1980 USA Miracle on Ice jersey
on display at the 2005 MeiGray Expo

Wells, who has been suffering from a rare genetic disease of the spinal cord, also parted with his 1980 Olympic Gold Medal for $40,000 to help offset his medical bills from the five back surgeries he has had to endure, only to see the buyer consign the medal to Heritage Auctions, who then sold Wells' medal for $310,700, the one and only of the 20 Miracle on Ice medals to ever be offered for public sale. His Olympic ring has also been sold through Heritage Auctions as well.

Mark Wells 1980 Olympic gold medal

"It killed me to sell the medal. Killed me," Wells said to the New York Daily News. "But my life was crumbling. I was going to lose my home. I needed to sell it to have surgery and to live. I had no choice. The medal was a reward - a medal of honor, but really, it's just a commodity. The memories are what's most important. They can't be bought. They can't be sold. They will always be here, and no amount of of money can change that."

The only two other jerseys still not in the hands of their original owners are those which belonged to Mike Ramsey. At the conclusion of the Olympics, the team's equipment manager allowed each player to keep all their gear and their equipment bag. Unfortunately, Ramsey's gear bag, which contained both of his jerseys, was stolen in transit to his return to the Minneapolis/St. Paul airport and have never been seen again.

A 1980 USA Olympic Team Mike Ramsey jersey
as worn in the movie "Miracle"

The only other 1980 related jerseys in the hands of collectors are the team's pre-Olympic jerseys, which have their USA cresting silk screened on diagonally across the chest, rather than the sewn on lettering arched across the chest. These were sold unannounced at the 1998 TwinsFest in Minneapolis by the team employee who was in possession of the full set for between $50 and $75 each to the lucky collectors who just happened to be present when they were made available on the floor of the Metrodome, a price we'd gladly pay for one today!

A 1980 pre-Olympic USA jersey as worn in the movie "Miracle". These jerseys were made with darker, muted colors than the actual jerseys for purposes of the film in order to make the jerseys worn during the Olympic Games scenes (as shown above) jump off the screen in comparison.

We certainly wish Wells all the best in his life going forward and also hope the Hockey Hall of Fame and the Christians can come to an amicable agreement on the fate of Bill's 1960 USA jersey and Dave's 1980 USA jersey, as we're certain Dave never had any intention of letting his jersey permanently out of his ownership, especially in light of the other 18 members of the team retaining possession of both of theirs, as well as his stated desire to pass it onto his children, rather than selling it for profit. We also hope that if Dave's 1980 jersey is returned to the Christian's ownership, it will return to public display, perhaps at the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in Eveleth, Minnesota or perhaps the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minnesota. Thankfully both Bill and Dave are still in possession of their gold medals.

Special thanks to Rich Ellis of Spirit of the Game for his assistance with this story.