Maribel Vinson-Owen
Encyclopedia
Maribel Yerxa Vinson-Owen (October 12, 1911 – February 15, 1961) was an American
figure skater and coach. She competed in the disciplines of ladies singles
and pair skating
. As a single skater, she was a nine-time U.S. national champion and the 1932 Olympic bronze medalist
. As a pair skater, she won six national titles, two with Thornton Coolidge and four with George Hill
. She is a member of the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame
and a three time inductee in the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame
as a singles skater. pairs skater and a coach.
She was married to Guy Owen
and was the mother of Laurence Owen
and Maribel Owen
. Vinson-Owen is tied with Michelle Kwan
for the record in US ladies figure skating titles.
. Both of her parents were figure skaters and Maribel was made an honorary member of the Cambridge Skating club at birth. She began to take lessons with Willie Frick at the Boston Arena at the age of 9. She won the U.S. junior ladies title at the age of 12.
A good student, she studied at Radcliffe College
while pursuing an interest in ice skating. In the ten years between 1928 and 1937, Maribel Vinson won the Women's Singles title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships every year except for 1934. During this stretch, she also teamed up with Thornton L. Coolidge to win the United States Pairs championship in 1928 and 1929 then in 1933 she partnered with George E. B. Hill to win the U.S. Championship again followed by three more Pairs' titles in 1935, 1936, and 1937.
At the 1932 Winter Olympic Games
in Lake Placid, New York
, Maribel Vinson earned the bronze medal behind the Norwegian
champion Sonja Henie
and the Austria
n runner up, Fritzi Burger
. While still competing, in the 1930s, Maribel Vinson became the first woman sportswriter at the New York Times newspaper. Following her retirement from amateur ice skating she married Canadian
skater Guy Owen
(1913–1952) with whom she toured as professionals in an ice skating revue. Initially based in Berkeley, California, following the birth of their two daughters: Maribel Yerxa Owen
(1940–1961) and Laurence Rochon Owen
(1944–1961), she returned to the rink as an ice-skating coach in Berkeley, California
to five U.S. titles and then to the first Olympic Games
gold medal for an American in Ladies figure skating. She also taught Frank Carroll
who himself went on to be one of America's top skating instructors and coached Michelle Kwan
to her numerous World and National titles, and Evan Lysacek
to his Olympic Gold Medal.
During her lifetime, Vinson-Owen authored several books on her sport:
In 1961, her daughter and namesake, Maribel
, won the United States figure skating Pairs title with partner Dudley S. Richards
. These national championships were broadcast on television
for the first time by CBS. In that same competition, her youngest daughter, 16-year-old Laurence
, won the ladies Singles championship and because of the television exposure the Owen family became instant celebrities.
in Prague, Czechoslovakia. With her daughters winning championships, they too were part of the American team that boarded Sabena Flight 548
at New York City
's Idlewild International Airport
bound for the World Championships in Prague. The overnight flight had a stopover scheduled for Brussels, Belgium and on its arrival in the morning of February 15, 1961 the captain had to abort the approach and circle around for a second attempt to land on a different runway. The plane, a Boeing 707
, never made it back to the airport; instead, it plunged into the wooded farmland of the village of Berg, Belgium, taking the lives of all 72 passengers and crew plus a farmer at work in his fields. All 18 members of the American figure skating team plus 16 of their relatives, friends, and coaches were among the dead.
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
.
In 1976, Maribel Vinson Owen was posthumously named to the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame and was inducted a second time in 1994 with George E.B. Hill in the Pairs category. In 2011, she was inducted a third time as a coach for the 1961 World Team. In 2001, Maribel was inducted to the inaugural class of the Professional Skaters Association' Coaches Hall of Fame, which included the five coaches that perished beside her. In 2002, she was inducted in the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame
. Her daughters Laurence and Maribel Jr. were inducted in the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2011.
In Winchester, Massachusetts
, the Vinson-Owen school was named in her honor.
(with Coolidge)
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
figure skater and coach. She competed in the disciplines of ladies singles
Single skating
Single skating is a discipline of figure skating, wherein a single person skates alone. Men's singles and ladies' singles are both Olympic disciplines and are both governed by the International Skating Union. The other Olympic figure skating events are pair skating and ice dancing...
and pair skating
Pair skating
Pair skating is a figure skating discipline. International Skating Union regulations describe pair teams as consisting of "one lady and one man." The sport is distinguished from ice dancing and single skating by elements unique to pair skating, including overhead lifts, twist lifts, death spirals,...
. As a single skater, she was a nine-time U.S. national champion and the 1932 Olympic bronze medalist
Figure skating at the 1932 Winter Olympics
At the 1932 Winter Olympics, three figure skating events were contested. The competitions were held from Monday, February 8, 1932 to Friday, February 12, 1932...
. As a pair skater, she won six national titles, two with Thornton Coolidge and four with George Hill
George Hill (figure skater)
George Edward Bellows Hill was an American figure skater who competed in single skating and pair skating. As a pair skater, he was the 1933, 1935, 1936, and 1937 U.S. national champion with partner Maribel Vinson. As a single skater, he was the 1930, 1931, 1934, and 1936 U.S...
. She is a member of the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame
World Figure Skating Hall of Fame
The World Figure Skating Hall of Fame serves as a repository for the sport of figure skating. The World Figure Skating Hall of Fame is where the greatest names in the history of the sport are honored...
and a three time inductee in the United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame
United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame
The United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame serves as a repository for the sport of figure skating. The United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame is where the greatest names in the history of the sport are honored. To be inducted into the Hall of Fame is considered the highest achievement an...
as a singles skater. pairs skater and a coach.
She was married to Guy Owen
Guy Owen
Guy Owen was a Canadian figure skating champion.Guy Rochon Owen initially competed in the men's individual figure skating event, winning the1929 Canadian junior men's singles championship. He went on to specialize in the "Fours Event" with great success...
and was the mother of Laurence Owen
Laurence Owen
Laurence Rochon "Laurie" Owen was a Hall of Fame American figure skater. She was the 1961 U.S. National Champion and represented the United States at the 1960 Winter Olympics, where she placed 6th. She was the daughter of Maribel Vinson and Guy Owen and the sister of Maribel Owen...
and Maribel Owen
Maribel Owen
Maribel Yerxa Owen was an American pair skater. With partner Dudley Richards, she was the 1961 U.S. national champion and represented the United States at the 1960 Winter Olympics, where they placed 10th. She was the daughter of Maribel Vinson and Guy Owen and the sister of Laurence Owen...
. Vinson-Owen is tied with Michelle Kwan
Michelle Kwan
Michelle Wingshan Kwan is an American figure skater. She is a two-time Olympic medalist, a five-time World champion and a nine-time U.S...
for the record in US ladies figure skating titles.
Early career
Maribel Vinson was the daughter of Thomas and Gertrude Vinson of Winchester, MassachusettsWinchester, Massachusetts
Winchester is a town located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, eight miles north of Boston. With its agricultural roots having mostly disappeared, it is now an affluent suburb...
. Both of her parents were figure skaters and Maribel was made an honorary member of the Cambridge Skating club at birth. She began to take lessons with Willie Frick at the Boston Arena at the age of 9. She won the U.S. junior ladies title at the age of 12.
A good student, she studied at Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College
Radcliffe College was a women's liberal arts college in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and was the coordinate college for Harvard University. It was also one of the Seven Sisters colleges. Radcliffe College conferred joint Harvard-Radcliffe diplomas beginning in 1963 and a formal merger agreement with...
while pursuing an interest in ice skating. In the ten years between 1928 and 1937, Maribel Vinson won the Women's Singles title at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships every year except for 1934. During this stretch, she also teamed up with Thornton L. Coolidge to win the United States Pairs championship in 1928 and 1929 then in 1933 she partnered with George E. B. Hill to win the U.S. Championship again followed by three more Pairs' titles in 1935, 1936, and 1937.
At the 1932 Winter Olympic Games
Figure skating at the 1932 Winter Olympics
At the 1932 Winter Olympics, three figure skating events were contested. The competitions were held from Monday, February 8, 1932 to Friday, February 12, 1932...
in Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid, New York
Lake Placid is a village in the Adirondack Mountains in Essex County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the village had a population of 2,638....
, Maribel Vinson earned the bronze medal behind the Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
champion Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie
Sonja Henie was a Norwegian figure skater and film star. She was a three-time Olympic Champion in Ladies Singles, a ten-time World Champion and a six-time European Champion . Henie won more Olympic and World titles than any other ladies figure skater...
and the Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
n runner up, Fritzi Burger
Fritzi Burger
Friederike "Fritzi" Burger was an Austrian figure skater competitive in the late 1920s and early 1930s. She was Jewish.-Career:...
. While still competing, in the 1930s, Maribel Vinson became the first woman sportswriter at the New York Times newspaper. Following her retirement from amateur ice skating she married Canadian
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
skater Guy Owen
Guy Owen
Guy Owen was a Canadian figure skating champion.Guy Rochon Owen initially competed in the men's individual figure skating event, winning the1929 Canadian junior men's singles championship. He went on to specialize in the "Fours Event" with great success...
(1913–1952) with whom she toured as professionals in an ice skating revue. Initially based in Berkeley, California, following the birth of their two daughters: Maribel Yerxa Owen
Maribel Owen
Maribel Yerxa Owen was an American pair skater. With partner Dudley Richards, she was the 1961 U.S. national champion and represented the United States at the 1960 Winter Olympics, where they placed 10th. She was the daughter of Maribel Vinson and Guy Owen and the sister of Laurence Owen...
(1940–1961) and Laurence Rochon Owen
Laurence Owen
Laurence Rochon "Laurie" Owen was a Hall of Fame American figure skater. She was the 1961 U.S. National Champion and represented the United States at the 1960 Winter Olympics, where she placed 6th. She was the daughter of Maribel Vinson and Guy Owen and the sister of Maribel Owen...
(1944–1961), she returned to the rink as an ice-skating coach in Berkeley, California
Coaching
In 1952 Maribel Vinson-Owen's husband died unexpectedly and the 41-year-old widow was left to raise their young daughters alone. Living in her native Winchester, Massachusetts, she earned a living as a figure skating instructor at rinks in the Boston area. Her daughters developed a love for ice skating and she trained them in the sport. A master instructor, Maribel Vinson-Owen coached Tenley AlbrightTenley Albright
Tenley Emma Albright, M.D. is an American figure skater. She is the 1956 Olympic champion in Ladies' Singles, 1952 Olympic silver medalist, the 1953 & 1955 World Champion, the 1953 & 1955 North American champion, and the 1952–1956 U.S...
to five U.S. titles and then to the first Olympic Games
Olympic Games
The Olympic Games is a major international event featuring summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The Olympic Games have come to be regarded as the world’s foremost sports competition where more than 200 nations participate...
gold medal for an American in Ladies figure skating. She also taught Frank Carroll
Frank Carroll
Francis M. "Frank" Carroll is an American figure skating coach and former competitive skater. He has coached three skaters to win the World Figure Skating Championships: Linda Fratianne, Michelle Kwan, and Evan Lysacek...
who himself went on to be one of America's top skating instructors and coached Michelle Kwan
Michelle Kwan
Michelle Wingshan Kwan is an American figure skater. She is a two-time Olympic medalist, a five-time World champion and a nine-time U.S...
to her numerous World and National titles, and Evan Lysacek
Evan Lysacek
Evan Frank Lysacek is an American figure skater. He is the 2010 Olympic champion, the 2009 World champion, the 2005 & 2007 Four Continents champion, the 2007 & 2008 U.S. national champion, and the 2009/2010 Grand Prix Final champion....
to his Olympic Gold Medal.
During her lifetime, Vinson-Owen authored several books on her sport:
- Primer of Figure Skating - McGraw-Hill/Whittlesey House (1938)
- Advanced Figure Skating - McGraw-Hill/Whittlesey House (1940)
- The Fun of Figure Skating - Harper & Brothers (1960)
In 1961, her daughter and namesake, Maribel
Maribel Owen
Maribel Yerxa Owen was an American pair skater. With partner Dudley Richards, she was the 1961 U.S. national champion and represented the United States at the 1960 Winter Olympics, where they placed 10th. She was the daughter of Maribel Vinson and Guy Owen and the sister of Laurence Owen...
, won the United States figure skating Pairs title with partner Dudley S. Richards
Dudley Richards
Dudley "Dud" Shaw Richards was an American figure skater who competed in men's singles and pairs. In singles, he won the bronze medal at the 1953 United States Figure Skating Championships and finished sixth at that year's World Figure Skating Championships...
. These national championships were broadcast on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
for the first time by CBS. In that same competition, her youngest daughter, 16-year-old Laurence
Laurence Owen
Laurence Rochon "Laurie" Owen was a Hall of Fame American figure skater. She was the 1961 U.S. National Champion and represented the United States at the 1960 Winter Olympics, where she placed 6th. She was the daughter of Maribel Vinson and Guy Owen and the sister of Maribel Owen...
, won the ladies Singles championship and because of the television exposure the Owen family became instant celebrities.
Plane crash
As a coach, Maribel Vinson-Owen was part of the United States team scheduled to compete in the 1961 World Figure Skating ChampionshipsWorld Figure Skating Championships
The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion...
in Prague, Czechoslovakia. With her daughters winning championships, they too were part of the American team that boarded Sabena Flight 548
Sabena Flight 548
Sabena Flight 548, registration OO-SJB, was a Boeing 707 aircraft that crashed en route to Brussels, Belgium, from New York City on February 15, 1961, killing the entire United States Figure Skating team on its way to the 1961 World Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia.The flight, which...
at New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Idlewild International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport
John F. Kennedy International Airport is an international airport located in the borough of Queens in New York City, about southeast of Lower Manhattan. It is the busiest international air passenger gateway to the United States, handling more international traffic than any other airport in North...
bound for the World Championships in Prague. The overnight flight had a stopover scheduled for Brussels, Belgium and on its arrival in the morning of February 15, 1961 the captain had to abort the approach and circle around for a second attempt to land on a different runway. The plane, a Boeing 707
Boeing 707
The Boeing 707 is a four-engine narrow-body commercial passenger jet airliner developed by Boeing in the early 1950s. Its name is most commonly pronounced as "Seven Oh Seven". The first airline to operate the 707 was Pan American World Airways, inaugurating the type's first commercial flight on...
, never made it back to the airport; instead, it plunged into the wooded farmland of the village of Berg, Belgium, taking the lives of all 72 passengers and crew plus a farmer at work in his fields. All 18 members of the American figure skating team plus 16 of their relatives, friends, and coaches were among the dead.
Aftermath
The 1961 World Championships at Prague were canceled. The remains of Maribel Vinson-Owen and her daughters were brought home for interment in the Story Chapel Columbarium at Mount Auburn CemeteryMount Auburn Cemetery
Mount Auburn Cemetery was founded in 1831 as "America's first garden cemetery", or the first "rural cemetery", with classical monuments set in a rolling landscaped terrain...
in Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
.
In 1976, Maribel Vinson Owen was posthumously named to the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame and was inducted a second time in 1994 with George E.B. Hill in the Pairs category. In 2011, she was inducted a third time as a coach for the 1961 World Team. In 2001, Maribel was inducted to the inaugural class of the Professional Skaters Association' Coaches Hall of Fame, which included the five coaches that perished beside her. In 2002, she was inducted in the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame
World Figure Skating Hall of Fame
The World Figure Skating Hall of Fame serves as a repository for the sport of figure skating. The World Figure Skating Hall of Fame is where the greatest names in the history of the sport are honored...
. Her daughters Laurence and Maribel Jr. were inducted in the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2011.
In Winchester, Massachusetts
Winchester, Massachusetts
Winchester is a town located in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, eight miles north of Boston. With its agricultural roots having mostly disappeared, it is now an affluent suburb...
, the Vinson-Owen school was named in her honor.
Single skating
| Event | 1926 | 1927 | 1928 | 1929 | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympics Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating... |
4th | 3rd | 5th | |||||||||
| World Championships World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion... |
2nd | 3rd | 4th | 4th | 5th | |||||||
| North American Championships North American Figure Skating Championships The North American Figure Skating Championships were a former elite figure skating competition for skaters from the United States and Canada. It was a biennial competition held between 1923 and 1971, with locations alternating between the two countries.Although the event was classified as an... |
2nd | 2nd | 1st | |||||||||
| European Championships European Figure Skating Championships The European Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition in which figure skaters compete for the title of European Champion... |
3rd | |||||||||||
| U.S. Championships United States Figure Skating Championships The United States Figure Skating Championships is figure skating competition held annually to crown the national champions of the United States. The competition is sanctioned by U.S. Figure Skating. In the U.S. skating community, the event is often referred to informally as "Nationals".Skaters... |
3rd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
Pair skating
(with Hill)| Event | 1930 | 1931 | 1932 | 1933 | 1934 | 1935 | 1936 | 1937 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winter Olympic Games Winter Olympic Games The Winter Olympic Games is a sporting event, which occurs every four years. The first celebration of the Winter Olympics was held in Chamonix, France, in 1924. The original sports were alpine and cross-country skiing, figure skating, ice hockey, Nordic combined, ski jumping and speed skating... |
5th | |||||||
| World Championships World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships is an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union in which elite figure skaters compete for the title of World Champion... |
5th | 5th | ||||||
| North American Championships North American Figure Skating Championships The North American Figure Skating Championships were a former elite figure skating competition for skaters from the United States and Canada. It was a biennial competition held between 1923 and 1971, with locations alternating between the two countries.Although the event was classified as an... |
1st | 2nd | ||||||
| U.S. Championships | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | |
(with Coolidge)
| Event | 1928 | 1929 |
|---|---|---|
| North American Championships North American Figure Skating Championships The North American Figure Skating Championships were a former elite figure skating competition for skaters from the United States and Canada. It was a biennial competition held between 1923 and 1971, with locations alternating between the two countries.Although the event was classified as an... |
3rd | |
| U.S. Championships | 1st | 1st |