Dick Button was a two-time U.S. Olympic figure skating gold medal winner who became one of the sport’s most well-known commentators.
- Died: January 30, 2025 (Who else died on January 30?)
- Details of death: Died in North Salem, New York at the age of 95.
- We invite you to share condolences for Dick Button in our Guest Book.
Dick Button’s legacy
Button’s illustrious career in the figure skating world began with an act of defiance. As a boy of 12 who enjoyed skating but wasn’t training seriously, he was told he would never be a great skater. Button took those words as inspiration to buckle down and become great. His father sent him to train in Lake Placid, New York, and within a few years, he was winning junior championships.
Button burst onto the international figure skating scene at the 1947 World Championships, finishing in second place behind the Swiss great Hans Gerschwiler (1920–2017). It was the last silver medal he would win. At the next World Championships in 1948, the two skaters switched places, with Button winning gold and Gerschwiler taking silver. Less than two weeks earlier, Button had beat the Swiss skater on his home turf at the 1948 Winter Olympics in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Button’s 1948 Olympic victory was a memorable one, in part because of the pioneering athleticism of his performance. He became the first skater to land a double axel jump in competition, having executed it successfully for the first time in practice only a day before. His gold medal also was the first for any U.S. figure skater, and at the age of 18, he was the youngest man ever to win gold in the sport. He still holds that distinction.
At the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo, Button achieved another impressive first when he successfully landed a triple loop. It made him the first ever to land a triple jump in competition and won him another gold medal. After the Olympics, Button retired from competing, focusing instead on his studies at Harvard Law School. But skating still called. He skated with the Ice Capades during school breaks, and in 1960, he began his career as a figure skating analyst.
Button first covered skating at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley, California. He went on to become a mainstay of U.S. figure skating coverage, commentating on Olympics and other events for decades. He became known for his honest approach to his work, both celebrating successes and being frank about disappointing or uninspiring performances. His work as a commentator earned him an Emmy Award in 1981. Button also created skating events for TV, such as “Challenge of Champions” and “World Professional Figure Skating Championships.” In later years, he served as a judge on such competition reality shows as “Skating with the Stars” and “Battle of the Blades.”
Button on his long career
“Skating encourages you to learn about so many art forms: dance, performance, athleticism, history, choreography, even haute couture. How could anyone tire of it?” — from a 2014 interview for The New York Times
Tributes to Dick Button
Full obituary: The New York Times
