Dick Button Biography - Sixteen-year-old U.s. Champion, Olympic Gold Medalist, Sportscaster And Producer
figure world skaters won
1929-
American figure skater
Ranked as one of the greatest figure skaters of all time—perhaps second only to Sonja Henie in terms of his impact on the sport—Dick Button remains an influential force on the contemporary scene more than fifty years after he won his second of two Olympic Gold Medals. In addition to his Olympic triumphs, Button was the reigning U.S. men's champion from 1946 to 1952 and claimed the World Championship titles from 1948 to 1952. Honored with the James E. Sullivan Award in 1949 as the country's Best Amateur Athlete, Button finished his B.A. at Harvard University in 1952 and followed it with a law degree in 1956. A regular commentator on ABC's Wide World of Sports since 1962, Button won an Emmy Award as Best Sports Personality in 1981. He also heads Candid Productions, a television production company that he founded in 1959, and is instrumental in
Dick Button
sponsoring several professional skating competitions that have expanded the range of opportunities available to figure skaters after their amateur careers end.
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Richard Totten Button was born in Englewood, New Jersey on July 18, 1929, to businessman George Button and his wife, the former Evelyn Bunn Totten. He was the youngest of three boys and at first did not appear to posses any special athletic ability. Button started skating at the age of six with his school friends and enjoyed the sport enough that he later traded in a pair of hockey skates that he …
In his climb to the top of the U.S. field, Button earned a reputation for innovation, often combining moves that highlighted the control and power of his skating. In his first International Skating Union (ISU) World Championship appearance in 1947 (the first time the event was held since 1939), Button introduced the flying (or "Button") camel, in which he jumped into the traditional …
In 1959 Button formed Candid Productions, a television production company that later presented many professional skating competitions and other sports programs such as The Battle of the Network Stars. In 1962 Button began appearing on ABC's Wide World of Sports as a commentator on figure skating; the association has lasted more than forty years and led to an Emmy Award from the National Aca…
Although a leading advocate in popularizing figure skating, Button does not hesitate to critique trends that he thinks are harmful to the sport. Reviewing the competitive pressures that young figure skaters endure, Button is apprehensive at the toll such demands take on the young athletes' lives, particularly in terms of their schooling. "I have an interest in the sport, but I also h…
Dick Button on Skates. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, 1955. More than fifty years after his second Olympic gold medal, Button remains an important force in contemporary figure skating. In the wake of the judging controversy in the pairs' competition at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games, Button was one of the most vocal critics of the ISU's unwillingness to reform its pra…
More than fifty years after his second Olympic gold medal, Button remains an important force in contemporary figure skating. In the wake of the judging controversy in the pairs' competition at the 2002 Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games, Button was one of the most vocal critics of the ISU's unwillingness to reform its practices. Using his forum as a commentator on ABC's Wide …
Brennan, Christine. Edge of Glory: The Inside Story of the Quest for Figure Skating' Olympic Gold Medals. New York: Scribner, 1998. Brennan, Christine. Inside Edge: A Revealing Journey into the Secret World of Figure Skating. New York: Scribner, 1996. Fleming, Peggy with Peter Kaminsky. The Long Program: Skating Toward Life's Victories. New York: Pocket Books, 1999. Smith, Beverley. …
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