Everything about Dick Button totally explained
Richard Totten "Dick" Button (born
July 18,
1929 in
Englewood,
New Jersey) is an
American former
figure skater and a well-known long-time skating
television analyst.
Biography
Amateur career
Dick Button was born and raised in
Englewood, New Jersey. He began skating at a young age. He didn't begin training seriously until the age of 12 after his father overheard him being told he'd never be a good skater. Soon after, Button's father sent him to New York to take lessons from ice dancing coach
Joe Carroll. He trained over the summer in
Lake Placid, New York, eventually switching on Carroll's recommendation to coach
Gustave Lussi, who coached Button for the rest of his career.
In his first competition, the 1943 Eastern States Novice Championship, he placed second behind
Jean Pierre Brunet.
Button faced Gerschwiler again at the 1948
European Figure Skating Championships. Button led after figures in points, having 749 points to Gerschwiler's 747.8, but Gerschwiler led in placings, with 14 to Button's 15. Button went on to the 1948 World Championships, where he faced Gerschwiler for the last time. Button won the event. At the time, the U.S. Championships were held after the World Championships, and Button finished his season by defending his national title.
In February 1948, Button, his coach, and his mother were in
Prague to perform an exhibition. They were stranded there after the
Communist uprising and had to be extracted by the
U.S. Army. After graduation, he was admitted to the bar in
Washington, D.C..
In 1975, Button married figure skating coach
Slavka Kohout, but they later divorced.
Button suffered a serious head injury on July 5, 1978 when he was one of several men randomly
assaulted in
Central Park by a gang of youths armed with baseball bats and tree branches in a
gay bashing incident. According to reports in the
New York Times, Button had been jogging in the park near his home and was attacked while he was watching a dusk fireworks display. The assailants were later apprehended.
Push Dick's Button
During the
2006 Winter Olympics, USA Network ran a show called
Olympic Ice. A recurring segment invited viewers to send in questions and Dick Button would answer them on the air.
This segment proved very popular, and ABC and ESPN have continued it, putting it into various broadcasts, most notably
Skate America, the
2007 United States Figure Skating Championships, and the
2007 World Figure Skating Championships.
Firsts
- First skater to land a double axel.
- First skater to land a triple jump (a triple loop)
- First male skater to perform the camel spin and inventor of the flying camel spin (also known as the Button Camel, after him)
- Only American to win the European title.
- First American World Champion.
- First American to win the Olympic title in figure skating.
- First and only American back-to-back Olympic champion in figure skating.
- First and only male skater to simultaneously hold all the following titles: National, North American, European, Worlds, and Olympics.
- Youngest man to win the Olympic title in figure skating (age 18).
Competitive highlights
N = Novice level; J = Junior levelFurther Information
Get more info on 'Dick Button'.
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