Above: Dick Button and ABC announcer Chris Schenkel at “A Skating Tribute: A Legacy to the 1961 U.S. World Team”
By Tarah Kayne
Taffy Holliday, a U.S. and former ISU Olympic judge and U.S. Olympic team leader, has always held a deep reverence for those U.S. World Team members who perished in the Feb. 15, 1961, plane crash near Brussels, Belgium, as well as the Memorial Fund which has served as a living legacy for generations of skaters.
In 2001, the 40th anniversary year of the tragedy, Holliday and colleague Sue Keogh felt compelled to organize an event to pay respect to the 1961 World Team and commemorate the anniversary. Inspired by the success and spirit of togetherness garnered by Ken Shelley and JoJo Starbuck in their skating show “America on Ice,” held in honor of the Memorial Fund’s 25th anniversary, Holliday and Keogh decided to create a similar event.
“Once the idea had been born, there was the question of where to hold it,” Holliday said.
She took the idea to U.S. Figure Skating Executive Director Jerry Lace, who issued a challenge: If she could secure the commitment of the top-tier U.S. skating stars, he would handle the logistics of the venue and television coverage.
True to form, the skaters rose to the occasion, and Holliday received commitments from almost every invited Olympic and World medalist, as well as the entire 2000 World Team. In turn, Lace secured Madison Square Garden in New York City and network coverage from ABC.
With the cast and logistics set, Keogh and Holliday worked with U.S. Figure Skating, Madison Square Garden and support staff from ABC and Tom Collins’ touring show, to finalize details. Keogh, who was the Memorial Fund chair at the time, had gone to Belgium earlier in the year to commemorate the actual anniversary of the tragedy; she gave a speech on behalf of U.S. Figure Skating.
The show, dubbed “A Skating Tribute: A Legacy to the 1961 U.S. World Team,” sold out quickly (13,000 attended) and was shaping up to be a meticulously crafted star-studded event until an inconceivable tragedy struck — the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11. Amidst a nation grappling with shock and grief, questions were raised regarding the appropriateness of proceeding with the tribute show.
“New York City … the world … but especially New York City, was in a state of shock,” Holliday recalled. “Were we even going to have the show? Is it disrespectful to have the show? How dare we have the show! Should we have the show to say ‘To heck with you! We’re Americans! We’re Strong’”
The cast and crew of “A Skating Tribute” were left in a state of limbo for two weeks while the nation felt the reverberations of the horrific attack. After a year’s worth of planning and hard work from so many, the future of the event now hung in the balance.
“The ultimate decision was left up to the Garden,” Holliday said.
The staff at Madison Square Garden used a wrestling match held the week prior as a test to see if the venue could pull off the ice show. With a slew of new security measures in place, it was decided that the show could go on. The collective decision to carry on with the Oct. 5 event served as a testament to the resilience of the American spirit.
“It was both intimate and large in scope,” Holliday said.
The show, now serving as a dual tribute to the victims of both the 1961 plane crash and the Sept. 11 attacks, had transcended its original purpose — it had evolved into a symbol of hope, solidarity and resilience.
Renowned choreographer Lee Ann Miller rebuilt the opening and closing parts of the show to showcase the strength and courage of the United States during this perilous time.
Many of the family and friends of the 1961 plane crash victims attended the show.
“There were so many parallels with 9/11,” Keogh said. “There was an incredible amount of emotion for that show. There were other similar coincidences that were eeerie in other ways. The show was incredibly powerful from the perspective of the parallel of the two events — one which lost a whole team and the other which was obviously more dramatic in terms of what it did to the future of our country.”
“A Skating Tribute,” which aired on Nov. 5, 2001, featured many acclaimed Olympic and World medalists such as Dick Button, Michelle Kwan, Tara Lipinski, Scott Hamilton and Sarah Hughes, alongside a heartfelt performance from Joanna Glick, whose brother was aboard Flight 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania.
The emotional evening raised nearly $1 million for the Memorial Fund to assist current and future skaters with their athletic and scholastic endeavors and became a poignant commemoration — an embodiment of the courage of the skating community and of the United States of America.
“It’s an honor for every skater to be part of this,” said Kwan, who skated to ‘Fields of Gold.’ “It’s been an emotional reunion. The 1961 crash has affected my life because of the impact on Frank (Carroll, Kwan’s former coach). Some of the things he’s learned, he’s given to me even though it was before my time.”
Carroll lost his coach Maribel Vinson Owen and other friends in the crash.
“You had skaters who were grateful for the opportunity they had been given,” Holliday said. “And they were celebrating their joy of skating with the world, just as the ’61 World Team celebrated their skating and shared it with the world.”
