joecct
06-06-2001, 06:44 PM
SOURCE: www.worldsoldesthockeystick.com
"World's Oldest hockey stick" goes up for sale on eBay.ca with a list price of a cool US$2 million
Sale of historic piece of Canadiana - believed to be the world's oldest hockey stick - could raise $1 million for charity to help in the fight against cancer
TORONTO, May 31 /PRNewswire/ - Hockey fans caught up in the frenzy of the Stanley Cup finals could help raise $1 million for cancer research, by bidding on what is believed to the world's oldest hockey stick. The stick, which potentially dates back to the 1850s, is up for sale on www.ebay.ca, in a ten- day online sale running between June 3 and June 13, 2001.
If the stick sells for its reserve price of US$2 million, it will be the highest-priced item ever sold on eBay - a title currently held by the famous T206 Honus Wagner baseball card that sold for US$1.26 million in July 2000.
The hockey stick, which looks like a cross between a boomerang and a club, is said to have been carved by Alexander Rutherford, from Lindsay, Ontario, sometime between 1852 and 1856 - more than 60 years before the National Hockey League came into existence. It was passed down through his family and is now owned by Gord Sharpe, of Cobourg, Ontario, great, great, great-nephew of Alexander Rutherford. Sharpe, who captained US college hockey NCAA Division 1, Clarkson University in 1984-85, has had the stick since he was nine years old.
``It was only when I talked to appraisers for insurance purposes that I realized I had such an important piece of hockey history in my house,'' said Sharpe. ``Due to its high value, I can't keep the stick myself, but I'm confident that there will be an interested bidder once the sale gets worldwide exposure through ebay.ca. The added bonus is that the Canadian Cancer Society and other cancer research funders stand to gain up to CDN$1 million from the sale of the stick. The buyer will be a hero in the cancer research field, as well as making hockey history.''
``We are thrilled at the possibility that this generous gift will help us fund important cancer research,'' says Ted Wheatley, President, Canadian Cancer Society, Ontario Division.
Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame expert Phil Pritchard has seen the stick and determined that Sharpe has an important piece of hockey history in his hands. It is estimated that the first forms of what became hockey were played in Canada in the 1850s, or earlier. The oldest verifiable stick the Hockey Hall of Fame owns dates back to 1881.
Sharpe's stick will be displayed in Wayne Gretzky's Restaurant, (1 block north of Skydome, Toronto) for the duration of the online sale on ebay.ca (between June 3-June 13, 2001).
SOURCE: www.worldsoldesthockeystick.com
"World's Oldest hockey stick" goes up for sale on eBay.ca with a list price of a cool US$2 million
Sale of historic piece of Canadiana - believed to be the world's oldest hockey stick - could raise $1 million for charity to help in the fight against cancer
TORONTO, May 31 /PRNewswire/ - Hockey fans caught up in the frenzy of the Stanley Cup finals could help raise $1 million for cancer research, by bidding on what is believed to the world's oldest hockey stick. The stick, which potentially dates back to the 1850s, is up for sale on www.ebay.ca, in a ten- day online sale running between June 3 and June 13, 2001.
If the stick sells for its reserve price of US$2 million, it will be the highest-priced item ever sold on eBay - a title currently held by the famous T206 Honus Wagner baseball card that sold for US$1.26 million in July 2000.
The hockey stick, which looks like a cross between a boomerang and a club, is said to have been carved by Alexander Rutherford, from Lindsay, Ontario, sometime between 1852 and 1856 - more than 60 years before the National Hockey League came into existence. It was passed down through his family and is now owned by Gord Sharpe, of Cobourg, Ontario, great, great, great-nephew of Alexander Rutherford. Sharpe, who captained US college hockey NCAA Division 1, Clarkson University in 1984-85, has had the stick since he was nine years old.
``It was only when I talked to appraisers for insurance purposes that I realized I had such an important piece of hockey history in my house,'' said Sharpe. ``Due to its high value, I can't keep the stick myself, but I'm confident that there will be an interested bidder once the sale gets worldwide exposure through ebay.ca. The added bonus is that the Canadian Cancer Society and other cancer research funders stand to gain up to CDN$1 million from the sale of the stick. The buyer will be a hero in the cancer research field, as well as making hockey history.''
``We are thrilled at the possibility that this generous gift will help us fund important cancer research,'' says Ted Wheatley, President, Canadian Cancer Society, Ontario Division.
Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame expert Phil Pritchard has seen the stick and determined that Sharpe has an important piece of hockey history in his hands. It is estimated that the first forms of what became hockey were played in Canada in the 1850s, or earlier. The oldest verifiable stick the Hockey Hall of Fame owns dates back to 1881.
Sharpe's stick will be displayed in Wayne Gretzky's Restaurant, (1 block north of Skydome, Toronto) for the duration of the online sale on ebay.ca (between June 3-June 13, 2001).
SOURCE: www.worldsoldesthockeystick.com