Jimmy Grogan: The Susan Lucci Of Men's Figure Skating

Photo courtesy University of Southern California

"Jimmy had enough seconds to [Dick] Button in his career to give a more introspective person a complex." - "The Troy Record", August 30, 1960

Surprise, surprise... skating is expensive. No one knew that more than James David 'Jimmy' Grogan, born December 7, 1931, in Tacoma, Washington. He started skating when he was ten at the Lakewood Winter Club's rink, on a pair of hand-me-down hockey skates he found in the back of a closet. He couldn't afford to pay the admission price to skate, so the rink's management struck a deal - if he cleaned up the ice shavings after the rink was resurfaced, he could skate for free. He caught the eye of Mrs. Floyd Moore, the President of the Lakewood Winter Club, who offered to buy him his first pair of figure skates, if he agreed to take lessons. They were white 'women's' skates. Jimmy was overjoyed when he claimed the Pacific Northwest juvenile title, receiving a black pair of skates as his reward. 

Jimmy's mother passed away in April of 1944 and he was adopted by Mrs. Moore and her husband, a Major. They moved to California, where Jimmy attended Oakland's Technical High School. As a young man, Jimmy enjoyed tennis, swimming, baseball, dancing and keeping a skating scrapbook.

Jimmy's clear talent on the ice drew the attention of Margaret Garren, the well-to-do wife of a U.S. Army officer. She got the word out about his talent and contributed money towards his skating. Jimmy started training at the St. Moritz Ice Skating Club under the tutelage of Hans Johnsen. 

While learning the finer points of figures and flying spins, Jimmy washed windows and cars, worked as a doorman at a theatre and a short-order cook to supplement the support from his benefactor and help pay for his mounting training costs. His efforts paid off when he became the first skater from his club to pass the elusive Eighth Test at Iceland.

After winning the Pacific Coast senior men's title, Jimmy made his first trip to the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1947 at the age of fifteen. Incredibly, the talented teenager placed an impressive third behind Dick Button and Johnny Lettengarver. 

Shortly thereafter at the North American Championships in Ottawa, Jimmy claimed the silver medal behind Dick Button. It was clear Jimmy wasn't just going places... he was going places fast. The following season, he earned the silver medal behind Button at the U.S. Championships and placed in the top six at both the Winter Olympic Games and World Championships.

Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine

After repeating as the silver medallist at the U.S. and North American Championships and placing fourth at the World Championships the following season, Jimmy moved to Colorado Springs to train at the Broadmoor World Arena under the tutelage of Edi Scholdan. For a time, he enjoyed the status that came along with being Scholdan's prize pupil. 

However, when Edi Scholdan began coaching two other talented teenagers - Hayes and David Jenkins - he found himself sharing his coach with two skaters who would prove to be two of his toughest competitors. Hayes Alan Jenkins recalled, "Edi was willing to take me, and he continued to coach Jimmy, and it was never awkward for me. Jimmy and I roomed together when we did exhibitions, and we were very good friends."

Jimmy missed the entire 1950 season, when he broke his ankle in a serious horseback riding accident. When he returned to the ice several months later, he overrated a double Salchow jump and injured his other ankle.

Incredibly, with two taped ankles, Jimmy returned in stellar form the following year to claim silver medals at the U.S., North American and World Championships, narrowly claiming the silver in the latter event in a four-three split with Austria's Helmut Seibt. 

Skating in the shadow of Dick Button for much of his career, Jimmy earned the reputation of being something of a Susan Lucci... an outstanding skater who never quite seemed to be able to claim the gold despite finishing second countless times. In his book "Dick Button On Skates", Button described him as "a dauntless competitor" who "undoubtedly would have been champion had I retired earlier, or had I suffered a bad break in one of my tournaments... Tall, lanky, he was essentially a 'smooth' skater, yet with a great deal of ability to gain height on an Axel, and some fast steps which particularly suited his style...  Jimmy's school figures would range from very fine to very poor. His free skating was always consistent." Skating historian Gunnar Bang described him as "a witty nice Yankee... though somewhat more impatient in the figures than Dick."

Barbara Ann Scott and Jimmy Grogan. Photo courtesy Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec.

Injury again plagued Jimmy in 1952, when he injured his ankle again during practice at the U.S. Championships held at his home rink. After placing third at the Olympic Games and winning the bronze medal, despite having the second-highest points total, he struggled in the figures at that year's World Championships. Though American judge Harold G. Storke had him second in that phase of the event, Canadian judge Donald Gilchrist had him as low as sixth. Again, his consistent free skating helped him move up to the medal podium.

Jimmy Grogan and Carol Heiss at the 1953 World Championships. Photo courtesy "Skating" magazine.

After Dick Button retired, it was supposed to finally be Jimmy's turn to win, but he was drafted into the Army and sent to Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. In a January 16, 1954 interview in "The Times Record", he commented, "I really like the Army. I think a tour of Army duty is good for anybody. I didn't like it at first. I was pretty cocky when I came in. But they soon took that out of me, and I haven't had any gigs (demerits for misconduct) for a long time." 

Given a leave of absence to compete at the 1953 World Championships in Davos, he won the school figures, but Hayes Alan Jenkins' superior free skate performance again relegated him to the silver medal spot. Jimmy recalled, "I wasn't really in shape at Davos. I had been in the Army without much chance to skate, and only got 28 days of practice to get ready for the championship."

By the following year, Jimmy was serving in the Special Service office of Eighth Army and stationed in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany, where entertaining the troops became one of his duties. At the Casa Carioca nightclub, he emceed, played the ukelele and skated in daily shows. The opportunity allowed him to be on the ice every day and in a much better position to vie for the World title that had persistently eluded him. However, after turning in strong figures at the 1954 World Championships in Oslo, he again lost the title to Jenkins.

Barbara Ann Scott and Jimmy Grogan. Photo courtesy Boston Public Library.

Jimmy turned professional immediately following the 1954 World Championships. Before even heading to Oslo, ice show impresario Arthur M. Wirtz had actually travelled to Garmisch-Partenkirchen at Barbara Ann Scott's suggestion to offer him a spot in the Hollywood Ice Revue. He received a leave from active duty and toured with Wirtz's show alongside Barbara Ann, Gundi Busch, Andra McLaughlin and Ria Baran and Paul Falk.

Photos courtesy Ingrid Hunnewell

Jimmy was quite open about his stance on the strict rules of amateurism that governed figure skating at the time. Keep in mind that in the fifties, Avery Brundage wanted all amateur athletes to take an oath that they never even intended to turn professional. In an August 30, 1960 interview in "The Times Record", Jimmy lamented, "When I skated in the Olympics in 1948 and 1952, we could be tossed off the team if we even spoke to anyone connected with a professional ice revue... This made it tough on the skaters, most of whom wanted to land a pro contract through participation in the Games. That is, it did if they wanted to be honest. I think what a skater intends to do with his talent in the future is his own business."

Right photo courtesy "World Ice Skating Guide"

In the years that followed, Jimmy left the military behind and toured with the Ice Capades, Sonja Henie's European show and regularly performed in shows in Sun Valley. He even appeared on "The Ed Sullivan Show" in the sixties, skating a duet with Bobby Specht.

Jimmy later turned to coaching, founding a year-round skating school in Squaw Valley and working with Ice Follies skaters. He began teaching at the Ice Castle International Training Center in Lake Arrowhead, California in 1985. He regularly brought large groups of Japanese skaters to California to train and worked with the likes of Brian Orser, Nobuo Sato, Midori Ito and Charlie Tickner. Ironically, the skater whose inconsistent figures cost him several major titles became something of a figure specialist. He was also known for using videotape replay as a teaching aid, which (though done by a handful of other elite coaches) wasn't exactly common in those days.

An avid golfer, Jimmy was a tall and handsome skater who was popular with the ladies. He dated Sherri Westerfeld, the sister of Stephanie Westerfeld, the 1961 U.S. Silver Medallist who - like Edi Scholdan - perished in the 1961 Sabena Crash. He married an Ice Capet named Diane Jacobsen and Olympic Gold Medallist Barbara Wagner before marrying his third wife, a Japanese woman named Yasuko. He had a son and a daughter.

Inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall Of Fame in 1992, Jimmy founded the Ice Castle International Skating Foundation in 1997, which provided financial support to skaters training at Ice Castle. Among the many skaters who benefited from the scholarships from this fund? Why, Michelle Kwan herself. 

Sadly, Jimmy passed away suddenly of multiple organ failure at the age of sixty-eight, in San Bernardino, California on July 3, 2000. He left behind the incredible story of a skater who may not have won gold but accomplished more in skating than most could ever dream of. At the time of his death, Carol Probst, the owner of the Ice Castle International Training Center said, "You felt like you were with your best friend when you were with him."

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