Mario Lemieux, Hall Of Fame Legend, Signed Autographed Hockey Puck.

Mario Lemieux Hockey Hall Of Fame Legend, Hand Signed Autographed Lindsay Hockey Puck with Certificate of Authentication.

Canadian Hockey Player Mario Lemieux (Born 1965) was Known For His Speed and Finesse, Often Compared To Such Greats as Wayne Gretzky and Guy Lafleur. After His Retirement, Lemieux Became One Of The First Players In Professional Sports To Own The Team For Which He Had Played.

Lemieux was born on October 5, 1965, in Montreal, Canada, the youngest of three sons of Jean-Guy and Pierrette Lemieux. Growing up in Ville Emard, just outside of Montreal, Lemieux began playing hockey at the age of three. He was encouraged in this pursuit by his father, a construction worker, who packed snow in their front hallway so his sons could practice skating inside. Lemieux played hockey every day after school, and his abilities soon became evident. Jean-Guy Lemieux told Kevin Dupont of The New York Times, "At the age of six I knew he'd play professionally. He was playing mite hockey then, with boys who were nine and ten years old and he was already the leader of the team. In every category, scoring, and size, he was always bigger."

When he was eligible, Lemieux played junior hockey for Quebec's Laval Voisins in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. Before Lemieux joined the team, it had finished last in the league. Lemieux led the team to two league championships, in 1983 and 1984, on his way to becoming the highest-scoring junior player of all time. Averaging four points a game, Lemieux broke numerous scoring records in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. In the 1983-84 season, Lemieux had 282 points, including 133 goals and 149 assists in 70 games. That year, he was voted the top junior player in Canada. Though Lemieux was often a showman on the ice, he was shy off of it. Yet he used his burgeoning celebrity to start his own golf tournament, The Mario Lemieux Annual Celebrity Golf Tournament which benefited the Normand Leveille Foundation.

Drafted Number One

In the 1984 National Hockey League amateur entry draft, Lemieux was the first pick overall, chosen by the Pittsburgh Penguins. He was the first French Canadian to be so picked since Guy Lafleur in 1971. It was speculated at the time that the Pittsburgh team was deliberately the worst team in the league so it could have the first pick and draft Lemieux. He was immediately seen as the future of the club because of his passing abilities, speed, overall skills, and size (6 ′ 4 ″, 200 lbs.). Lemieux was given the largest contract ever offered to a rookie. It was worth $600,000 over two years, plus a $150,000 signing bonus and $150,000 option. Such a contract came with expectations. Lemieux was often compared to Wayne Gretzky and wore number 66, which was Gretzky's number upside down.

Item Code - MEMSOU1C22891JSA 

Within Case - Width: 3 1/4"  Height: 3 1/4"  Depth: 1 1/4"  Weight: 206 g