Figure Skating Great Dick Button Dies

Dick Button was more than the most accomplished men's figure skater in history. He was one of his sport's greatest innovators and promoters. Button, winner of two Olympic gold medals and five consecutive world championships, died Thursday, said his son, Edward. He was 95. As an entrepreneur and broadcaster, Button promoted skating and its athletes, transforming a niche sport into the showpiece of every Winter Olympics, the AP reports. "Dick was one of the most important figures in our sport," said Scott Hamilton, who won a gold medal at the 1984 Olympics. "There wasn't a skater after Dick who wasn't helped by him in some way."

• Button's impact began after World War II. He was the first US men's champion—and his country's youngest at age 16—when that competition returned in 1946.

• Two years later, he took the title at the St. Moritz Olympics, competing outdoors. He performed the first double axel in any competition and became the first American to win the men's event.
• In 1952, while a Harvard Law School student, he won a second gold at the Oslo Games, making more history with the first triple jump (a loop) in competition. Soon after, he won a fifth world title, then gave up his eligibility as an amateur.
• After he became a TV analyst, viewers got to learn not only the basics but the nuances of a sport foreign to many as he frankly broke down the performances. He became a fixture on ABC's Wide World of Sports.

• He also provided opportunities for skaters to make money after their competitive careers with events he created for TV. Button's Candid Productions, formed in 1959, also produced such made-for-TV programs as Battle of the Network Stars.
• "Dick Button created an open and honest space in figure skating broadcasting where no topic or moment was off-limits," said Johnny Weir, the three-time US champion and current NBC Sports figure skating analyst. "As an athlete, we rarely have an opportunity to speak, and we rely on the TV voices to tell our story for us. Nobody could do it like Mr. Button."

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