Last Updated on May 16, 2026 by Netropolitan Museum

Baltimore’s brief turn on American figure skating’s biggest stage

Baltimore, Maryland, is among a long list of U.S. cities with a “one and done” record for hosting the United States Figure Skating Championships. And since the city consistently ranks high on the list for violent crime in the U.S., maybe it’s a good thing the nation’s premier figure skating event has not returned to Baltimore. But the 1989 US Figure Skating Championships were held in Baltimore, commemorated with two lapel pins that were a crime of their own (although not violent)—an ordinary main logo pin and a predictable mascot pin. Hardly surprisingly, the mascot for the 1989 US Championships was a crab, and that event may be the only one of the sport’s majors to have featured a crustacean.

Gallery: 1989 US Figure Skating Championships

Neither of the pins that marked the Baltimore event could be described as particularly creative. The polished gold-tone finish of the main logo pin does a great deal of heavy lifting in the otherwise modest design. At the center is a blue abstract skater in a layback position, along with the year, “1989,” which is framed by thin blue rules above and below. The treatment instantly places the design in the aesthetic of corporate annual reports, shopping mall logos, and television graphics packages of the late 1980s. Even without a date, anyone familiar with graphic design trends of the period could easily approximate the year within seconds.

Below the skater appears the event identification on a contrasting red background: “U.S. Figure Skating Championships, Baltimore.” The composition is clean and serviceable, although it lacks the flair or regional personality sometimes seen in championship pins from other cities. In some ways, that restraint may actually make the pin more historically interesting today, because it reflects the conservative corporate branding style that dominated many sporting events during the period.

Then there is the crab. And naturally, somewhere along the way, it was laughingly decided that what the creature needed was six tiny strapped-on skate boots. But once organizers committed to a crab as the mascot, that outcome was inevitable. The result is a crab in a chaotic pose that resembles either a skating maneuver gone wrong or a seafood-themed can-can routine. It is impossible to look at the pin without smiling a little—although perhaps not for the reasons the creators intended.

The oval-shaped pin features the crab against a blue background that presumably represents the waters of Chesapeake Bay. Along the top appears “1989 Nationals,” while “Baltimore” sits below. The entire design lands squarely in the category of “memorable for all the wrong reasons,” which, ironically, can make such pins especially appealing to collectors decades later. Many of the most sought-after collectibles are not necessarily the most beautiful; they are the ones people remember.

For collectors today, 1989 US Figure Skating Championships pins represent a singular moment when Baltimore briefly entered the national figure skating spotlight before disappearing from the championship map entirely. The pins may not be masterpieces, but they tell a story—and in the world of figure skating memorabilia, stories are often what matter most.

This blog was originally published at The Netropolitan Museum of Figure Skating Pins on March 18, 2023, and has been updated with new and expanded information.

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