On This Date in Sports February 21, 1952: Golden Button

American Figure Skater Dick Button repeats his Gold Medal performance and wins the Men’s Singles Title at the 1952 Winter Olympics in Oslo. Button had been the first American to win a Gold in Figure Skating in 1948 in St. Moritz. In winning his second Gold, Button delivered a dominating performance, beating Helmut Seibt of Austria, while American James Grogan took the Bronze Medal.

Dick Button was born July 18, 1929, in Englewood, New Jersey. At the age of 12, Button began training with Joe Carroll, who soon turned him over to Gustave Lussi, who would coach him for the remainder of his skating career. Duck Button began winning regional junior competitions at the age of 15. By World War II was over, he was becoming one of the top skaters in the United States.

Over the next four years, Dick Button became the world’s top skater, winning five straight World Championships, including 1948, a week after the Olympics. Looking to finish his competitive career on a high note, Dick Button came into the Oslo Winter Olympics looking to make history again. After dominating the compulsories, Button was well on his way to repeating his golden performance. Becoming the first to land a triple jump, Dick Button waltzed to an easy victory, as Helmut Seibt of Austria won the Silver Medal and James Grogan of the USA won a Bronze Medal. Dick Button would go on to win his final International event, the 1952 World Championships in Paris.

After his competitive skating career ended, Dick Button became a lawyer and remained involved with Figure Skating for years, participating in the Ice Capades. He would also serve as a figure skating analyst on television for the next 50 years.