Right, it's difficult to name the greatest of all time when we're most familiar with the skaters we've actually seen or heard the most about. Good to include Axel Paulsen (who created the axel jump). But missing would be Ulrich Salchow (famous for creating the salchow), and the great Jackson Haines who revolutionized the sport and taught both Salchow and Paulsen. Haines was responsible for developing the international style of skating -- artistic with balletic influence, graceful arms (instead of being held rigidly with little movement), use of music (before Haines' influence, routines were performed without music).
My list of male pioneers who revolutionized the sport:
Jackson Haines, Axel Paulsen, Ulrich Salchow, Dick Button, Toller Cranston
List of greatest that I've witnessed:
Cranston, Curry, Boitano, Weir, Cousins
HM: Wylie, Bowman, Browning, Abt, Yagudin, Kulik
Male pioneers of show skating: Frick and Frack, Gary Beacom
Great male U.S. skaters I've heard about: Petkevich, Tickner, Ronnie Robertson (exceptional spinner), Hayes and David Jenkins
Others I've enjoyed: Bradley, Jahnke, Savoie, Galindo, Eldredge, Delmore, Ward, Verner, Abbott, Takahashi, Lambiel, Urmanov, Petr Barna, and one of the best U.S. male skaters never to make it to Worlds: Shepherd Clark



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