Sixtieth anniversary of U.S. figure skating plane crash conjures heartfelt memories

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Elliott: U.S. figure skating plane crash remains vivid 60 years later

It has been 60 years since the entire U.S figure skating team died in a plane crash in Belgium. For those who knew the skaters best, the loss remains vivid.

www.latimes.com

This time of year, February 15, always gets me. Interesting that Frank Carrol thinks that Bradley Lord and Gregory Kelly would have been his competition in producing new talent!

I like what Frank says about Maribel and how he imagined their relationship would be as they got older together.

I’ve seen photos and one video of this over the decades but this was the first time I’ve ever seen that particular photo in the article

This is actually a very nice article with a lot more information than previous articles over the years past.

 

[olympic]

Elliott: U.S. figure skating plane crash remains vivid 60 years later

It has been 60 years since the entire U.S figure skating team died in a plane crash in Belgium. For those who knew the skaters best, the loss remains vivid.

www.latimes.com

This time of year, February 15, always gets me. Interesting that Frank Carrol thinks that Bradley Lord and Gregory Kelly would have been his competition in producing new talent!

I like what Frank says about Maribel and how he imagined their relationship would be as they got older together.

I’ve seen photos and one video of this over the decades but this was the first time I’ve ever seen that particular photo in the article

This is actually a very nice article with a lot more information than previous articles over the years past.

Wow. Thanks for sharing.

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Holy Moly I’ve read many articles regarding the 1961 team over the years but never really came across one just like this. From the perspective of Christy Krall.

With commentary from Peggy Fleming and Karen Chen as well.

A new monument went up two weeks ago at the site of the plane crash.

U.S. Figure Skating, 60 years after plane crash, continues to honor team that perished​

U.S. Figure Skating, 60 years after plane crash, continues to honor team that perished

On Monday, at exactly 10:05 local time, the Belgium village of Berg-Kampenhout will inaugurate a new monument in remembrance of the 1961 crash including the U.S. figure skating team, which

gazette.com

Have any FSU’ers ever gone to this Memorial in Belgium??

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

WOW, another good one. And More photos I’ve never seen before.

Check out all the skaters like Brian Boitano and Debi Thomas with Ronald Reagan. OMG

In 1961, the U.S. lost its entire national figure skating team in a plane crash and a Fargo man lost his former partner | INFORUM

When America lost 18 of its best figure skaters in a plane crash 60 years ago this month, "Fargo's First Family of Skating" mourned the loss of friends and partners.

www.inforum.com

'They were my friends and they were all gone': Former Fargo national champion skater remembers 1961 plane crash that killed the entire U.S. National Figure Skating team​

 

[mjb52]

USFSA has the usual issues associated with a huge organization, but the way they have kept the memory of these skaters alive so persistently over the years is something incredible to me. It would be so easy to let it slip away and they never do.

 

[Sylvia]

Article by Lynn Rutherford (Feb. 15, 2021):

The 1961 U.S. figure skating world team lives on 60 years later, in memories and through the Memorial Fund

On Feb. 15, 1961, Sabena Flight 548, traveling from New York City to Brussels, crashed on approach. Among the dead were all 18 members of the U.S. world figure skating team, along with 16 coaches, officials and family members.

olympics.nbcsports.com

The article above includes information from SCoB's 2/13/21 Commemorative Panel Discussion event (copying over to here from another GSD thread):

From Tenley Albright's daughter on Twitter: on Feb. 13 the Skating Club of Boston is hosting an online panel discussion, to commemorate the lives lost in the 1961 plane crash that killed the US team on their way to Worlds. Participants include Dr. Albright, Frank Carroll, Barbara Roles, Tina Noyes, Paul George, Lorraine Hanlon, and several of the current SCOB competitive skaters.

The event is online and runs from 4 pm to 5 pm Eastern US time. The SCOB is matching all donations made to the USFS Memorial Fund in memory of the skaters who died in the crash.

Editor’s note: This story [by Amy Rosewater] titled “Filling the Void” appeared in the January 2011 issue of SKATING magazine, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the plane crash that claimed the lives of the entire 1961 U.S. World Team. Pairs bronze medalists at the 1960 Olympics, Nancy (Ludington Graham) and Ron Ludington (now deceased), describe the heartbreak of losing their teammates and friends in the accident and how the deep void left in both the skater and coaching ranks was filled.

Filling the Void: Memories of Lost Friends Still Vivid for Ludingtons | U.S. Figure Skating

www.usfigureskating.org

ETA:

I like what Frank says about Maribel and how he imagined their relationship would be as they got older together.

I’ve seen photos and one video of this over the decades but this was the first time I’ve ever seen that particular photo in the article

This is actually a very nice article with a lot more information than previous articles over the years past.

Another way to read Helene Elliott's full L.A. Times aricle online: https://news.yahoo.com/elliott-sixtieth-anniversary-u-figure-140001473.html

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

Article by Lynn Rutherford (Feb. 15, 2021):

The 1961 U.S. figure skating world team lives on 60 years later, in memories and through the Memorial Fund

On Feb. 15, 1961, Sabena Flight 548, traveling from New York City to Brussels, crashed on approach. Among the dead were all 18 members of the U.S. world figure skating team, along with 16 coaches, officials and family members.

olympics.nbcsports.com

The article above includes information from SCoB's 2/13/21 Commemorative Panel Discussion event (copying over to here from another GSD thread):


Editor’s note: This story [by Amy Rosewater] titled “Filling the Void” appeared in the January 2011 issue of SKATING magazine, on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the plane crash that claimed the lives of the entire 1961 U.S. World Team. Pairs bronze medalists at the 1960 Olympics, Nancy (Ludington Graham) and Ron Ludington (now deceased), describe the heartbreak of losing their teammates and friends in the accident and how the deep void left in both the skater and coaching ranks was filled.

Filling the Void: Memories of Lost Friends Still Vivid for Ludingtons | U.S. Figure Skating

www.usfigureskating.org

ETA:

Another way to read Helene Elliott's full L.A. Times aricle online: https://news.yahoo.com/elliott-sixtieth-anniversary-u-figure-140001473.html

Thanks @Sylvia Looks like I posted the link for subscription. Thanks for posting the other one

 

[Foolhardy Ham Lint]

I had no idea that Christy Krall was Christine Haigler, who competed against Peggy Fleming and Tina Noyes. You learn something new every day.

 

[Frau Muller]

I had no idea that Christy Krall was Christine Haigler, who competed against Peggy Fleming and Tina Noyes. You learn something new every day.

Dick Button used to point out such interesting historical tidbits about coaches whenever they were shown in Kiss n Cry...even people from other countries...”So good to see such-and-such, who won bronze at the 1972 Olympics...”. Johnny & Tara don’t give a hoot about history, unless it relates to them.

 

[Sylvia]

@Scott512 posted in the RISE thread in the TV Alerts forum about being interested to learn more about the 1961 tragedy so I'm bumping up this thread with a TODAY Digital article featuring Peggy Fleming by Maura Hohman (Feb. 15, 2021) that I just found:

The US figure skating team died in a plane crash 60 years ago. The impact lives on

After the tragedy, U.S. Figure Skating started a fund to honor the victims and help young skaters in need. It's since raised over $20 million.

www.today.com

Excerpt from the end:

Fleming, who received skates and lessons through the [USFS' Memorial] fund, is now involved as a donor.
"We keep ... supporting the memorial fund because we don't want it to just be people that are wealthy doing this. Everyone should be allowed to participate in their sport," she said.
The impact of the memorial fund was even evident at the 2021 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, held during the coronavirus pandemic. The cutouts of photos of fans in place of real attendees due to COVID-19 restrictions were available to purchase in advance and raised $50,000 for the fund, Reichert said.

The story of those who died on Sabena Flight 548 also lives on, thanks to Fleming, at the Broadmoor resort in Colorado Springs, a destination for the sport and where many of the victims trained. In 2018, she helped install a plaque that tells the story of the crash on the bench that sits on the same spot as the Broadmoor Skating Club rink, which was demolished in 1994.
"There's still a lot of pain of losing all these people," Fleming said. "It's still there."

 

[Scott512]

@Scott512 posted in the RISE thread in the TV Alerts forum about being interested to learn more about the 1961 tragedy so I'm bumping up this thread with a TODAY Digital article featuring Peggy Fleming by Maura Hohman (Feb. 15, 2021) that I just found:

The US figure skating team died in a plane crash 60 years ago. The impact lives on

After the tragedy, U.S. Figure Skating started a fund to honor the victims and help young skaters in need. It's since raised over $20 million.

www.today.com

Excerpt from the end:

I had no idea Peggy Fleming benefited from the fund and then became a donor after her career..

Thank you Sylvia. I'll be watching many of the videos on this tragedy..

 

[Lacey]

I'm not sure if I ever posted my connection to the 1961 plane crash with US skating personnel on it. Small sad world.

I lived then and now near Ardmore, PA's Philadelphia Skating Club & Humane Society (a mouthful, PSC&HS). If I recall correctly, the whole US team came to Philadelphia right after US Nationals because there was a standard, I think bi-annual, competition between the US and Canadian figure skating teams, called North Americans, in Philadelphia. (It is no longer held.) They practiced at our rink during the week long competition and went off to Philly for the comp--not sure my parents took me down there as I was one of four kids, but I saw them all week at our rink, it was fascinating to see such great skaters. Then they went up to New York and took the plane to Belgium.

I was about 14 and a very minor skater. One of the team leaders was Harold Hartshorne, who had 2 girls enrolled in my school as borders--they resided overnight. They were not skaters and did not go to Belgium, but certainly must have seen their dad that week. I was friends with the one in my grade. His 4th wife went to Belgium with him. He had been a three time medalist with 3 different partners, winning twice, in Ice Dance at US Nats, a nat'l and int'l skating judge, was a founding member of and President of the Skating Club of NY and Head of the Dance Committee of USFS.

Not sure I have ever seen him referenced, I think he is in the picture of the group standing near the plane. But it must have been a huge loss in addition to the loss of the skaters. Other than my grandparents' dying, this plane accident was a horrible re-introduction to death, and here it affected one of my friends who lost one of her parents.

I remain so very sad at the February anniversary time every year.

 

[Sylvia]

I'm not sure if I ever posted my connection to the 1961 plane crash with US skating personnel on it. Small sad world.
..
I was about 14 and a very minor skater. One of the team leaders, and also some kind of skating judge, was Harold Hartshorne, who had 2 girls enrolled in my school as borders--they resided overnight during the school year. They were not skaters and did not go to Belgium, but certainly must have seen their dad that week. I was friends with the one in my grade.

Thank you for sharing your personal story, @Lacey.

Here's an April 2012 New Jersey article about Harold Hartshorne:

Harold Hartshorne’s Life On The Ice - Two River Times

By Sharon Hazard LITTLE SILVER – Living on the banks of the Shrewsbury River at “Boxwood Manor,” skating was a natural pastime for Harold Hartshorne. Harold Hartshorne, who was born in 1891 and died in 1961, took skating a few steps further. He mastered the art of ice dancing and became the...

tworivertimes.com

Excerpt:

... in 1953 he won the heart of Louisa, his fourth wife, whom he and skating partners had competed against in many previous events. After retirement he became a national and international skating judge and traveled extensively in that capacity.
In 1961, when the U.S. Figure Skating Association realized there were not enough American judges for the World Competition in Prague, Hartshorne was contacted and agreed to participate. He and Louisa boarded Sabena Flight 548 at what was then Idlewild Airport (now JFK International Airport) in New York City on route to Brussels. It crashed, killing all 72 people aboard on February 15, 1961. An entire generation of athletes, coaches and judges died in the fields near Zaventem Airport.
For Harold and Louisa Hartshorne and those who perished with them, it was the end of majestic glides across the glimmering ice in a sedate style that resembles ballroom dancing. [...]
In 1981, 20 years after his death, Harold Hartshorne was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame.

 

[skatesindreams]

I had no idea Peggy Fleming benefited from the fund and then became a donor after her career..

Thank you Sylvia. I'll be watching many of the videos on this tragedy..

Peggy came from a rather impoverished background.
Why her mother was so "determined".

 

[AngieNikodinovLove (ANL)]

I'm not sure if I ever posted my connection to the 1961 plane crash with US skating personnel on it. Small sad world.

I lived then and now near Ardmore, PA's Philadelphia Skating Club & Humane Society (a mouthful, PSC&HS). If I recall correctly, the whole US team came to Philadelphia right after US Nationals because there was a standard, I think bi-annual, competition between the US and Canadian figure skating teams, called North Americans, in Philadelphia. (It is no longer held.) They practiced at our rink during the week long competition and went off to Philly for the comp--not sure my parents took me down there as I was one of four kids, but I saw them all week at our rink, it was fascinating to see such great skaters. Then they went up to New York and took the plane to Belgium.

I was about 14 and a very minor skater. One of the team leaders was Harold Hartshorne, who had 2 girls enrolled in my school as borders--they resided overnight. They were not skaters and did not go to Belgium, but certainly must have seen their dad that week. I was friends with the one in my grade. His 4th wife went to Belgium with him. He had been a three time medalist with 3 different partners, winning twice, in Ice Dance at US Nats, a nat'l and int'l skating judge, was a founding member of and President of the Skating Club of NY and Head of the Dance Committee of USFS.

Not sure I have ever seen him referenced, I think he is in the picture of the group standing near the plane. But it must have been a huge loss in addition to the loss of the skaters. Other than my grandparents' dying, this plane accident was a horrible re-introduction to death, and here it affected one of my friends who lost one of her parents.

I remain so very sad at the February anniversary time every year.

Wow. Thank you for sharing your personal story. No I don’t ever recall you telling us about that. It’s just so sad.

Yes back in those days the competition was called the north Americans. I believe it was a competition between Canadians and Americans. Do you know when they were officially canceled? Did you get to see any of the skaters skate in Pennsylvania before they headed to Idyllwild?

 

[Sylvia]

Did you get to see any of the skaters skate in Pennsylvania before they headed to Idyllwild?

This is what Lacey wrote:

They practiced at our rink during the week long competition and went off to Philly for the [NA] comp--not sure my parents took me down there as I was one of four kids, but I saw them all week at our rink, it was fascinating to see such great skaters. Then they went up to New York and took the plane to Belgium.

The North American Figure Skating Championships took place very other year from 1923 to 1971 (singles & pairs; ice dance was added in 1947 & Fours was held 8 times): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_American_Figure_Skating_Championships

@SkateGuard's article on the inaugural NA Championships in Ottawa:

The 1923 North American Figure Skating Championships

Everything you want to know about the history of figure skating in one place! An authoritative archive of over a century of figure skating history.

skateguard1.blogspot.com

Also:

The Demise Of The North American Championships

Everything you want to know about the history of figure skating in one place! An authoritative archive of over a century of figure skating history.

skateguard1.blogspot.com