Born: July 18, 1929 in Englewood, NJ.
Coach: Gus Lussi
Skating Clubs: SC of Boston, Philadelphia SC and
Humane Society.
Started training seriously at age 12.
1944: U.S. Novice National Champion.
1945: U.S. Junior National Champion.
1946 - 1952: U.S. National Champion starting at age
16.
1947: World Championships Silver Medalist.
1948: European Championships - Gold Medalist
1948 Olympics, St. Moritz, Switzerland - Gold
Medalist
1948-1952: World Champion
1952 Olympics, Oslo, Norway - Gold Medalist
1952: Retired from skating, earned a law degree from
Harvard.
1952: Began touring with Ice Capades and Holiday on
Ice.
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1962: Began work as a skating commentator for ABC.
1975: Married skating coach Slavka Kohout; later
divorced.
1976: Inducted in World Figure Skating Hall of Fame.
1981: Won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Sports
Personality - Analyst.
Only American single skater who was Novice, Junior, and
Senior Champion in consecutive years.
Founded Candid Productions, created many made for
television skating events, including the World Professional Figure Skating
Championships.
First to land a double Axel, a triple
jump, first male to perform a camel spin, invented the flying camel, first
American World Champion, first American figure skating gold medallist,
first and only American back-to-back Olympic Champion in figure skating,
youngest man to win the Olympic gold medal in figure skating (18).
Button is the only American who won the European
Championship. Since then, only skaters from European
federations are eligible to compete in the European Championships.
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