'Miracle on Ice' gold medal to be auctioned next week

The 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team was honored before a game in Phoenix in February. (Jennifer Stewart/Getty Images)

Mark Pavelich, a forward on the 1980 U.S. Olympic team that improbably won gold after beating the heavily favored Soviets in the semifinals, will auction off his gold medal beginning next week through Dallas-based Heritage Auctions, according to Paul Walsh of The Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Online and email bidding starts on April 25 and ends on May 16 and will start at $62,500, according to Heritage sports director Chris Ivy.

When another of the team's gold medals was auctioned, it sold for $40,000 to a private buyer, who in turn auctioned it in 2010 for $310,700.

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Pavelich, 56, is not experiencing financial difficulties, according Ivy. He simply wants to "help his kids out with education, the trust and that kind of thing," he told The Star Tribune.

Pavelich, who lost his wife in 2012, is a Minnesota native who played seven NHL seasons for the Rangers, North Stars and Sharks. He had two assists in the win over the Soviet Union, including on Mike Eruzione's game-winning goal.

He scored 133 of his 137 career goals for the Rangers, and played 23 playoff games for New York in four postseason appearances.

Pavelich is known to be one of the more private members of the 1980 team, whereas Eruzione and others have made a living as public speakers.

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