Collectible Lapel Pins – US Figure Skating Championships 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s

Lapel pins have been around for more than a hundred years—showing up in sports, politics, military, business, religion, education, and more—and some say the origins of pins can be traced to the first modern Olympic Games held in 1896 in Athens, Greece. So it is interesting—and a bit perplexing, too—to realize that the first 40 or so US Figure Skating Championships that took place were not commemorated with lapel pins.

That changed in 1958 when the first “Nationals” pin was issued,¹ but the decades-long gap prior to that time without a single pin to remind us of events gone by is remarkable. And perhaps even more remarkable is this post-1958 fact: from 1959 through 1972, only three other years’ events—1964, 1965, and 1970—would feature a lapel pin. That’s worth exploring, and this blog takes a look at the early years of US Figure Skating Championships pins: two from the 1950s, two from the 1960s, and one from the 1970s. See them all in the galleries below and read the blogs dedicated to each pin: 1958, 1959, 1964, 1965, and 1970.

1958 and 1959 US Figure Skating Championships Pins

First up are the lapel pin from the 1958 US Championships and a competitor’s ribbon from the 1959 US Championships. 1958 was the first year a pin was issued for a national championships. Although not technically a pin, the ribbon from 1959 is included because of provenance, having belonged to competitor Bill Hickox.

1964 and 1965 US Figure Skating Championships Pins

Featured in this gallery are the 1964 and 1965 U.S. Championships pins. The 1964 Cleveland pin is considered by seasoned collectors to be the “holy grail” of figure skating pins. The 1965 Lake Placid pin was the first “Nationals” pin issued in Sterling silver.

1970 US Figure Skating Championships Pin

From the 1970 US Championships in Tulsa comes this snowflake-adorned pin. It’s one of only a few national championships pins that doesn’t feature skaters, a skate blade or boot, compulsory figure tracings, or other skating-specific art.

A Milestone in US Championships Pins

Once the milestone had been established with the 1958 pin, it seems that organizing committees for subsequent events would have wanted a championship they hosted also to be commemorated with a pin. After all, it was quite an honor for a club to host the national competition. But apparently issuing a pin just was not high on the list. The late figure skating historian and curmudgeon Benjamin T. Wright even once noted that pins were the responsibility of the sponsoring skating club and did not fall to the national association. So the decision by most clubs during those early years not to produce a pin was likely tied to various reasons, not the least of which would have been financial risk. Would anyone buy a souvenir pin so that the club would recoup its investment, let alone make money on the venture? Or maybe the absence of pins is as simple as nobody thought of producing one? Whatever the reason, the result is that collectors are left with precious few pins from the earliest US Figure Skating Championships.

A Turn for the Better in Pins

Eventually, a commemorative lapel pin from US Figure Skating Championships became common, and beginning in 1973, at least one pin has been issued for every US Championship.² But what a richer early history of the sport there would be if every event prior to 1958 and all those between 1958 and 1973 had issued a pin.

If anyone knows of or has pins from years that conflict with the information published here, please contact The Curator so this blog can be updated.

¹According to a former Director of the World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame.
²Excluding the pandemic years.

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