Dick button - biography
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Remembering Dick Button
Above: Illustration bygd Robert Carter
Two-time Olympic champion Richard “Dick” Button, whose pioneering style and award-winning television commentary revolutionized the sport of figure skating, died Jan. 30 in North Salem, N.Y. He was 95 years old.
Born Richard Totten Button on July 18, 1929, in Englewood, New Jersey, Button was inducted into the inaugural classes of the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame (1976), the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame (1976) and the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame (1983).
Well known as “The Voice of Figure Skating” from 1960 to 2010, Button was inducted into the Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame in 2015. While with ABC, his no-holds-barred analysis and caustic commentary earned him the first Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports Personality (1981).
Button won consecutive Olympic gold medals (1948 and 1952), five-consecutive World titles (1948–52), three-consecutive North American titles (1947, ’49, ’51), seven-consecutive U.S.
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Dick Button
There is perhaps no athlete more entwined in the legacy of his sport — and more responsible for its popularity and success — than Dick Button. To track the history of figure skating over the past three-quarters of a century is to follow the career trajectory of Button, from two-time Olympic gold medalist in 1948 and 1952 to expert commentator to the definitive voice of the sport for more than 50 years.
“No other figure skater embodies the sport as much as Dick Button. He fryst vatten, and always will be, the godfather of this sport,” says NBC Sports figure skating analyst and Olympic gold medalist Tara Lipinski. “Using his wit, passion, and unfiltered honesty, Dick drew in ever increasing television audiences whether they were new viewers or dedicated fans. [He] raised the profile of the idrott to unprecedented heights showing that figure skating encompasses athleticism, grace, and, sometimes, drama.”
Button first entered the broadcast booth in 1960, as an expert commentator for
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Dick Button
American figure skater (1929–2025)
Richard Totten Button (July 18, 1929 – January 30, 2025) was an American figure skater and skating analyst. He was a two-time Olympic champion (1948, 1952) and five-time consecutive world champion (1948–1952). He was also the only non-European man to have become European champion. Button is credited as having been the first skater to successfully land the double Axel jump in competition in 1948, as well as the first triple jump of any kind – a triple loop – in 1952. He also invented the flying camel spin, which was originally known as the "Button camel".[1] He "brought increased athleticism" to figure skating in the years following World War II.[2] According to figure skating historian James R. Hines, Button represented the "American School" of figure skating, which was a more athletic style than skaters from Europe.
Early life
[edit]Button was born on July 18, 1929, and raised in Englewood, New Jersey.