Dick Button, 2-Time Olympic Champion, Dies at 95, Less Than 24 Hours After Figure Skating Community Mourns D.C. Plane Crash Deaths

Mar. 15, 2025

Dick Button commentating at the 1988 Calgary Olympics.Photo:Steve Fenn /American Broadcasting Companies via Getty

Steve Fenn /American Broadcasting Companies via Getty

Figure skating legend Dick Button, a two-time Olympic champion, has died at age 95.

U.S. Figure Skating confirmed Button’s passing in anX poston Thursday, Jan. 30.

“U.S. Figure Skating mourns the loss of the legendary Dick Button. The two-time Olympic champion’s pioneering style & award-winning commentary revolutionized figure skating. His legacy will live on forever. We extend our deepest condolences to his family and loved ones,” the post read.

A cause of death was not immediately announced.

Dick Button at the 1948 Winter Olympics in Saint-Moritz.AFP via Getty

AFP via Getty

In addition, he won seven consecutive U.S. Championships, five World Championships and also won the European Champions in 1948 (during a brief window when North American skaters were allowed in the event).

After retiring from the sport, he became known as the “voice of figure skating,” serving as a commentator between 1960 and 2010 for ABC Sports and later NBC Sports. He is best known for his longtime pairing with 1968 Olympic champion Peggy Fleming and broadcaster Terry Gannon.

At the 2006 Olympics, he earned a new generation of fans for his Q&A segment called “Push Dick’s Button,” which would also become the name of his 2013 biography.

Dick Button practicing at the 1952 Olympics in Oslo, Norway.Bettmann Archive

Bettmann Archive

In 1981, he won the Emmy for Outstanding Sports Personality.

Button also founded the World Professional Figure Skating Championships, a televised competition for skaters who no longer competed in the eligible ranks.

His death comes one day afterseveral U.S. figure skaters were killedin a plane crash in Washington D.C., including six members affiliated with his home club, the Skating Club of Boston. All 64 passengers aboard American Airlines Flight 5342 were killed.

source: people.com