After the tragic place crash known as Sabena Flight 548, a Boeing 707 aircraft that crashed en route from New York City to Brussels, Belgium, on February 15, 1961….which killed all 72 on board and one person on the ground….including the entire U.S. figure skating team who were travelling to the World Figure Skating Championships in Prague, Czechoslovakia….there were many special figure skating events that were staged to raise funds for rebuilding the US figures skating team to prior status….and to remember those who were lost….and this 1983 Athletes on Review exhibition is an example of one of those events.
In this particular exhibition, which is hosted by Dick Buttons…..we get to see such future US figure skating competitors as Connie Sams, Mark Davis, Jo Jo Starbuck in singles performances….along with pairs competitors Peter + Kitty Carruthers…..and Ritter Shamary + Colleen Lee, who won three world seniors pairs competitions….as this is some rare figure skating footage of skaters who never quite gained the limelight that Peggy Fleming, Dorothy Hamel, Scott Hamilton, Brian Boitano and others received.
