Miracle on Ice coachs ring sells for $549,000 at auction
Dan HajduckyMay 18, 2026, 04:50 PM ET Close Dan Hajducky is a staff writer for ESPN. He has an MFA in creative writing from Fairfield University and played on the men’s soccer teams at Fordham and Southern Connecticut State universities. Multiple Authors A ring given to Herb Brooks, the coach of the 1980 United States…
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Dan Hajducky
Multiple Authors
A ring given to Herb Brooks, the coach of the 1980 United States “Miracle on Ice” Olympic men’s hockey team, recently sold for $549,000 at Heritage Auctions. Brooks was famously portrayed by Kurt Russell in 2004’s “Miracle,” which memorialized the United States’ 4-3 victory over the Soviet Union at the 1980 Winter Olympics.
Along with other items belonging to the coach, Brooks’ family consigned the ring to Heritage in 2015, when Brooks’ brother, David — a member of the United States’ 1964 Winter Olympics ice hockey team — bought it for just over $113,000. David consigned the ring to Heritage once more in 2026, including the family’s original letter of authenticity.
The 10-karat gold ring was believed to be the only award bestowed upon Brooks following the victory; historically, Olympic coaches do not receive medals. However, Brooks’ daughter, Kelly Brooks Paradise, provided a photo to ESPN of an Olympic gold medal etched with her father’s name. The medal remains in the family’s possession, she said.
The ring’s face features five diamonds, while the left side features Brooks’ name and the 1980 Winter Olympics logo, and the right side features the results from the Soviet Union match and the 4-2 gold medal game victory over Finland.
The auction sum fell short of that for the jersey Mike Eruzione wore while scoring the game-winning goal against the Soviets, which sold for $657,250 in 2013. Eruzione’s jersey holds the records for both a “Miracle on Ice” item and Olympic hockey memorabilia, a spokesperson for the auction house told ESPN.
Brooks played on the 1964 and 1968 U.S. Olympic men’s hockey teams himself before heading to the University of Minnesota, first as an assistant (1970-71) and then as head coach (1972-79). Brooks won NCAA men’s hockey championships in 1974, 1976 and 1979. Heritage also auctioned off Brooks’ rings from the 1974 and 1976 championships in 2015, netting $14,340.
He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1990 and the International Ice Hockey Federation Hall of Fame in 1999. Brooks died in a single-vehicle crash in Forest Lake, Minnesota, just days after his 66th birthday in 2003. Three years later, he was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
