Thirty-eight years to the day after the U.S. Olympic hockey team shocked the Soviet Union in the Lake Placid Winter Games, the stick that fired the game-winning shot was sold to a private collector for $290,000.
SCP Auctions says it brokered the sale of Mike Eruzione’s historic stick to a collector who wanted to remain anonymous.
Eruzione sold several items through Heritage Auctions in 2013 including the jerseys he wore during the 1980 Olympics and the famous Northland stick that gave Team USA a 4-3 win over the heavily favored Soviet team. The jersey he wore that night originally sold for $657,000 in the auction while the stick went for $262,900.
The person who bought the stick in the auction is the same person who sold it Thursday, according to SCP Auctions President David Kohler. The anniversary date of the “Miracle on Ice” piqued the buyer’s interest and the sale was consummated.

Using red ink now faded, Eruzione had written the date and score of the game and added a note of provenance reading “Winning Goal Stick Against Russia” and “1980 Gold,” a reference to the team capping off the historic run with a win over Finland in the gold medal final at Lake Placid.