Mission Statement & Selection Criteria The Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame was established in 2000 by the Colorado Springs Sports Corporation. The Hall of Fame is dedicated to honoring athletes, teams, coaches, sports administrators or contributors that have brought significant recognition and distinction to the city and region through their success, leadership and notable achievement. It exists as well to salute and spotlight the city and area s unique sports legacy, traditions and national reputation. Nominees for induction will have lived, trained, worked or competed in the Greater Pikes Peak Region during their athletic careers or service. In addition, candidates for induction must exemplify the highest standards of sportsmanship, ethical conduct and character, and through these characteristics, inspired others. Name of Nominee (individual or team) 1961 U.S. Figure Skating World Team Nomination Form Nominee Contact Info 1
Name of Person Submitting Nomination Jim Fox Contact Information of Person Submitting Nomination Phone (Day) Phone (Evening) Email Address Mailing Address jfox@usfigureskating.org Relationship/Affiliation to Nominee Associate Executive Director U.S. Figure Skating Accomplishments Affiliations 2
Describe why this individual or team should be inducted to the Colorado Springs Sports Hall of Fame U.S. Figure Skating nominates the 61 World Team for the 2011 Colorado Springs Hall of Fame Class. This is the 50 th anniversary of the plane crash that changed our sport. The 61 team all qualified at the U.S. Figure Skating National Championships held at the Broadmoor World Arena. There were eight members of the Broadmoor Skating Club included in the delegation. Please see the information below that was created to honor the 61 team as they will be inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame this evening in Greensboro, N.C. 1961 U.S. Figure Skating World Team Remembered: A combination of competitive success, camaraderie, family ties and fate brought the 34 members of the 1961 U.S. World Figure Skating Team including skaters, coaches, officials, judges and family members together as they boarded Sabena Flight 548 en route to the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia. Their transatlantic flight from New York included a stop in Brussels, Belgium. After several unsuccessful attempts to land at the Zaventem Brussels Airport on Feb. 15, 1961, the plane crashed in the village of Berg-Kampenhout, in a field three miles north of the airport. All 72 passengers on board, as well as a farmer in the field, perished. On Feb. 16, 1961, the International Skating Union (ISU) cancelled the 1961 World Championships as a sign of mourning for our sports comrades. As a dedication to the skaters, the 1962 World Championships were held in Prague. World judge Harold Hartshorne and his wife, Louise, were members of the World Team delegation. At 69, dad lived a full life but what is most unfortunate is that the accident ended the lives of so many young people who were just reaching their potential, said Daniel Hartshorne, one of Harold and Louise s seven children. The whole Hartshorne family is honored for the induction of the 1961 World Team. BREADTH OF THE WORLD TEAM The athletes on the team ranged in age from 15 to 29 and represented a rising group of skating talent. They had earned full representation at the 1961 World Championships. Family ties included two sisterand-brother teams competing in pairs, sisters who were both 1961 U.S. champions in their respective disciplines and a husband-and-wife ice dancing team who left behind an 8-month old baby. Fate also played a part in bringing the fourth-place finisher in the men s discipline, as the third-place finisher withdrew because of a heart condition. A gifted pianist from California partnered in ice dancing with a former competitive diver from Indianapolis after his partner of four years broke her ankle. They won the U.S. ice dancing title after only about five weeks of training. The other 16 members of the team included six coaches two of whom had dual roles as mother and coach officials, judges and family members, including two young boys traveling with their fathers. Ruth Scholdan Harle and Dixie Burns Wilson, daughter and stepdaughter, of coach Edi Scholdan, respectively, lost two members of the World Team. Wilson wrote, I am also thrilled that Jimmy will be included and honored. The family members are so important and crucial to the success of the skaters. 3
MEMORIAL FUND ESTABLISHED U.S. Figure Skating established the Memorial Fund shortly after the accident to accommodate the outpouring of worldwide donations. The mission of the Memorial Fund is to provide qualified U.S. figure skaters in need of financial aid with monetary assistance to pursue their goals both inside and outside the competitive arena. Over the past 50 years, the fund has provided more than $10 million in financial support to thousands of skaters. Sisters Dorinda LeMaire Howard and Diana LeMaire Squibb lost their father and brother in the crash. LeMaire Squibb wrote, Although it seems like yesterday to those of us who lost family members or friends on Sabena Flight 548, none of the young competitors of today knew them. If it were not for the 1961 World Team, perhaps some of them would not have had the chance to skate at all. The Memorial Fund gave many of them that opportunity. HONORING THE WORLD TEAM Lawrence Mondschein, Ph.D., is a former U.S. Figure Skating board member and chair of electors of the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame. The loss of our entire 1961 World Team will forever be remembered by those who lost loved ones, friends, coaches, fellow judges and officials, he said. Ironically, the 1961 U.S. Championships, which qualified these athletes for the World Championships in Prague, were held in Colorado Springs, Colo., the home of the U.S. and World Figure Skating Halls of Fame. Fred Heller, close friend and former Harvard University roommate of 1961 U.S. pairs champion Dudley S. Richards, summed up his feelings upon learning of the team s induction: It brought tears to my eyes. Flight 548 ATHLETES Ladies Laurence R. Owen, 1961 U.S. and North American champion, 1960 Olympic and World team member; Stephanie Westerfeld, 1961 U.S. silver medalist; Rhode Lee Michelson, 1961 U.S. bronze medalist Men Bradley Lord, 1961 U.S. champion, 1961 North American silver medalist, 1959 World team member; Gregory Kelley, 1961 U.S. silver medalist, 1961 North American bronze medalist, 1960 World team member; Douglas Ramsay, 1961 U.S. Championships fourth-place finisher Pairs Maribel Y. Owen and Dudley S. Richards, 1961 U.S. pairs champions, 1961 North American silver medalist, 1960 Olympic team members; Ila Ray Hadley and Ray Hadley, Jr., 1961 U.S. pairs silver medalists, 1960 Olympic and World team members, Laurie Hickox and William Hickox, 1961 U.S. pairs bronze medalists Ice Dancers Diane C. Sherbloom and Larry Pierce, 1961 U.S. champions; Dona Lee Carrier and Roger Campbell, 1961 U.S. and North American silver medalists; Patricia Dineen and Robert Dineen, 1961 U.S. bronze medalists COACHES Linda Hadley, coach and mother to Ila Ray Hadley and Ray Hadley, Jr.; William Kipp, coach to Dona Lee Carrier and Roger Campbell, and Rhode Lee Michelson; Maribel Vinson Owen, coach and mother to daughters Laurence and Maribel Y. Owen, coach to Dudley Richards; Daniel C. Ryan, coach of Diane Sherbloom and Larry Pierce; Edi Scholdan, coach of Gregory Kelley, Stephanie Westerfeld, and Laurie and William Hickox; William Swallender, coach of Douglas Ramsay 4
OFFICIALS/JUDGES Harold Hartshorne, World judge; Edward LeMaire, national judge; Deane E. McMinn, team manager, international and Olympic judge; Walter S. Powell, international referee and member of the ISU Executive Committee FAMILY MEMBERS Ann Campbell, mother of Roger Campbell; Louise Hartshorne, wife of Harold Hartshorne; Nathalie Kelley, sister of Gregory Kelley; Richard LeMaire, son of Edward LeMaire; James Scholdan, son of Edi Scholdan; Sharon Westerfeld, sister of Stephanie Westerfeld. Please return completed nomination form to: Colorado Springs Sports Corporation Attn: SHOF Selection Committee 1631 Mesa Ave, Ste. E Colorado Springs, CO 80906 Fax: (719) 634-5198 info@thesportscorp.org 5