1975 US Figure Skating Pins: O Canada!

Last Updated on April 20, 2024 by Netropolitan Museum

Pin is among the more difficult to find from a U.S. Championships

As the story goes, the logo pins ordered and produced for the 1975 US Figure Skating Championships, held in Oakland, California, did not arrive from the manufacturer until the event, held in February of that year, had long ago concluded. According to a former skater who competed in senior pairs at that event, competitors subsequently received their event pin by U.S. mail several weeks later.

Pins Gallery: 1975 US Figure Skating Championships

The logo pin shown in the gallery has an unusual history and journey, having been acquired from a former Canadian national ladies champion who was given the pin by a U.S. skater sometime after the 1975 event. For nearly three decades, the pin sat undisturbed—and all but forgotten—in storage in the skater’s basement until it came to rest in the permanent collection of The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins. O Canada!

Everything about the design of the 1975 US Championships logo pin places it squarely in middle-1970s America. The central design is a large “’75” flanked by opposing shields of the United Sates Figure Skating Association (USFSA, or today called U.S. Figure Skating) and the host club, St. Moritz Ice Skating Club. Along the top is the event name: “United States Figure Skating Championships”; the event location and club name are along the bottom: “Oakland Calif St. Moritz I.S.C.” Other than the skate blades in the two shields, there is no use of a skating or winter-theme motif on the pin.

Also on display at The Netropolitan is an unusual pin given to a photographer covering the event. On a plastic base, the pin features the event logo and name along the top two thirds and the photographer’s credential number and designation in the lower third: “41 PHOTO.” The customization is done with a plastic adhesive strip made on a Dymo label maker that was popular in the 1970s. Although this is not an event pin, per se, it was issued by the organizing committee of the event and carries the official logo so is included here for historical purposes. The generic base onto which the label is applied was an economical way to create media credentials for the event; although not “picture perfect,” it served it purpose well. There likely would have been pins like this made for press and television professionals.

Back to the main logo pin. Because that pin was not available to the general public, it is now considered to be one of the three U.S. Championships pins that is more difficult to find. The other two are from the 1964 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, held in Cleveland, Ohio, and the 1958 U.S. Figure Skating Championships, held in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Enjoy this week’s figure skating pins blog: 1975 US Figure Skating Pins: O Canada!

This blog was originally published at The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins on August 1, 2020, and has been updated with new and expanded information.

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