Last Updated on January 30, 2021 by Netropolitan Museum
Located on the Ohio River at the border of Ohio and Kentucky, Cincinnati lays claim to a few things: riverboats, a major league baseball team, a national football league team, Skyline Chili, WKRP, and more. And some 40+ years go, the city claimed the best in American figure skating when it hosted the 1979 U.S. Figure Skating Championships at Riverfront Coliseum. The “big” names of the day in figure skating were Tai Babilonia and Randy Gardner, Linda Fratianne, and Charlie Tickner.
The riverboat, long associated with Cincinnati, is used as a central design element on the pin issued for the event. In a marvelous feat of engineering, the riverboat glides smoothly along the Ohio River atop a stylized skate blade, with the large paddlewheel pushing it along. After all, it was February when the temperatures in Ohio may have been low enough for the river to freeze over for skating.
The riverboat, long associated with Cincinnati, is used as a central design element on the pin issued for the event.
On a gold-color base metal and filled with blue and white enamels, the pin measures 1-1/4″ x 1-1/8″ (3.175 cm by 2.8575 cm). A somewhat clunky design defines the pin, yet it exhibits a charming simplicity and character that today’s event pins lack. Above the riverboat, in a blue band that represents smoke trailing from the two smokestacks, is the event location: “Cincinnati.” Below the riverboat, on a blue field that represents the waters of the Ohio, is the event year and name: “’79 Nationals.” The tightly set, condensed oblique font easily dates the pin to the late 1970s. And as is seen on pins from other older U.S. Championships, the colloquial term “Nationals” is used in place of the formal event name, U.S. Figure Skating Championships. This pin is a throwback to another time and age of figure skating.
In a bit of trivia from the 1979 Championships, birds in the rafters of Riverfront Coliseum occasionally swooped down in search of food or water. In an unfortunate turn of events, one of the birds left an unwelcome deposit on the head of an ice dance competitor.
Enjoy Big Wheels Keep On Turning. 1979.
1979 U.S. Championships Gallery
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