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Jack Shea

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Athlete

The Resume

    (September 7, 1910-January 22, 2002)
    Born in Lake Placid, New York
    Speed skater
    Won gold medals at 500 meters and 1500 meters at the Lake Placid Winter Olympics (1932)

Why he might be annoying:

    He was a beneficiary of the Americans and Europeans following different rules for speed skating, which resulted in all but two medals in the sport at the 1932 Olympics going to competitors from the US or Canada.
    He appeared in advertisements for Camel cigarettes.
    He wanted to be a lawyer but could not afford to go to law school during the Depression.

Why he might not be annoying:

    He recited the Olympic oath at the opening ceremonies of the 1932 Winter Olympics.
    He chose not to defend his Olympic titles at the 1936 Games in Garmisch-Partenkirchen after a Lake Placid rabbi asked him not to compete in Nazi Germany.
    He helped bring the Winter Olympics back to Lake Placid as a member of the 1980 Olympic Organizing Committee.
    He headed the first family to produce three generations of Winter Olympians: his son Jim competed in Nordic combined and cross-country skiing (1964) and his grandson Jim, Jr., won a gold medal in skeleton (2002).
    He was married to Elizabeth Stearns for 67 years.
    He was killed in a head-on collision with a drunk driver 17 days before he was to have watched his grandson compete in the Olympics.
    Jim, Jr., raced with Jack's funeral card tucked inside his helmet.

Credit: C. Fishel


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    In 2023, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying