TORONTO -- More than 300 items once belonging to NHL legend Gordie Howe -- including autographed jerseys, images and sticks -- are now up for auction.

The bidding, conducted in partnership with the NHL and auction company Frozen Pond Inc., is meant to raise money for the Howe Foundation, which helps kids get involved in sports and assists women working in sports.

Items up for bid range from collectibles -- jerseys, sticks and trophies -- to the bizarre, such as autographed shorts, his wife Colleen’s bowling trophy and a firefighter’s helmet.

“The Fort St. John fire department gave it to Gordie at some point and he signed it,” Hersh Borenstein, president of Frozen Pond Inc., told CTV News Channel on Tuesday. “Whoever owns that, there’s not another one out there, so it’s ultra-cool.” 

Howe scored 801 goals and added 1,049 assists over 26 seasons in the NHL, primarily with the Detroit Red Wings.

His jersey from the Detroit Vipers of the International Hockey League is also one of the marquee items up for bidding. At age 69, Howe joined the team for one game in order to become the first hockey player to compete professionally in six decades.

There are also signed items from athletes across the sporting world. As of Tuesday evening, a Kobe Bryant-signed basketball had fetched US$1,524, the most of any piece available.

In May 2019, a similar auction raised more than $40,000 for the Howe family charity and Borenstein believes many more such auctions are still to come.

“Colleen Howe, Gordie’s wife, was a pack rat, so there’s literally tens of thousands of items,” he said.

The auction closes on Feb. 27.