{"id":302704,"date":"2024-07-07T03:07:02","date_gmt":"2024-07-07T08:07:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/squaw-valley-1960-winter-olympics-torch-up-for-auction"},"modified":"2024-07-07T03:07:16","modified_gmt":"2024-07-07T08:07:16","slug":"squaw-valley-1960-winter-olympics-torch-up-for-auction","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.etrafficlane.com\/60dollarmiracle\/squaw-valley-1960-winter-olympics-torch-up-for-auction","title":{"rendered":"Squaw Valley 1960 Winter Olympics Torch Up For Public sale"},"content":{"rendered":"

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There’s a super cool piece of sports history going up for sale … one of the rarest Olympic torches ever made is hitting the auction block.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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Get a load of this … the official torch from the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, CA is going to be sold to the highest bidder this month via RR Auction<\/strong><\/a> … and it’s expected to fetch at least $500,000.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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This Olympic torch was designed by legendary Disney Imagineer John Hench<\/strong> … and it features 3 Olympic ring cutouts around the bowl, with a circular legend reading, “VIII Olympic Winter Games.”<\/p>\n<\/section>\n


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The torch is also emblazoned with the Squaw Valley Games emblem between two branches … plus another legend reading, “Olympia To Squaw Valley,” signifying the torch’s planned route from Greece to California.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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Folks who were around back then may recall … the torch was actually lit in Norway — the Olympic Committee botched the lighting ceremony in Greece — and was transported by car to Oslo and then Copenhagen, where it was put on a plane and flown to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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Once in California, the torch runners relayed it north through Bakersfield, Fresno, Stockton, San Francisco and Sacramento before arriving in Squaw Valley.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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Team USA skier Andrew Mead Lawrence<\/strong>, accompanied by 8 members of the National Ski Patrol, carried the torch at the Opening Ceremony … and the flame was passed to skater Kenneth Charles Henry<\/strong>, who did a lap around the ice at Blyth Memorial Arena before igniting the cauldron in which the flame would burn throughout the Games.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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More than 64 years later, the torch’s burner wick remains intact … though there is some minor scuffing on the bowl and handle.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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After the Game, the California state employee who was responsible for the safety of the torch runners held on to the torch … and now it’s about to change hands.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n

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