Last Updated on January 1, 2022 by Netropolitan Museum
1958 U.S. Championships at The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins
When the 1958 U.S. Figure Skating Championships were held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in late March of that year, weather history shows that the temperatures were in the 30°F to 35°F range. Although that’s likely nowhere near a record temperature of any kind for Minneapolis, even for late spring, the 1958 Championships entered the record books in another way: being the first national championship to be commemorated with a collectible lapel pin.1 And a handsome and well-made figure skating pin it is.
The gold-color, metal pin features a central figure skating pair in a stag jump in relief atop the letters “FSCM,” which identifies the host club, the Figure Skating Club of Minneapolis. Around the pin’s circumference, the association and event are called out: “USFSA” at the top and “Nat’l Championships” along the bottom (employing the colloquial term “Nationals” in abbreviated form in reference to the national championship). The year “1958” is split side to side in the top third of the pin. The 1958 event, which took place at Minneapolis Arena, was the final major event of the season, coming more than a month after that year’s world championships in Paris.
The 1958 U.S. Figure Skating Championships were the first national event to be commemorated with a collectible lapel pin.
This pin, acquired in 1999 from a U.S. sports memorabilia dealer, is from the estate of a U.S. lady skater who competed in Minneapolis. Based on The Curator’s experience of more than 40 years of collecting, the 1958 U.S. Championships pin was made in a highly limited number and likely not available for sale to the general public. It is a rarity in the world of figure skating pins.
Enjoy this week’s figure skating pins blog: Into the Record Books. 1958.
(This is an edited edition of a blog titled “A U.S. Championships First. 1958.” originally published May 30, 2020.)
1Source: Former Director of the World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame.
1958 U.S. Figure Skating Championships Pin Gallery
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