John S. "Bud" Palmer (b. September 14, 1921 in Hollywood, California) is a former pro basketball player. He was a member of the original New York Knickerbockers, and was their leading scorer in their inaugural season 1946/47. Palmer is considered to be one of the inventors of the jump shot.

After his NBA career ended, Palmer went on to a successful career as a sportscaster.

He was Chief of Protocol and Official Greeter for the City of New York for seven years during John Lindsay's sdministration.

References[link]

• Christgau, John (1999). The Origins of the Jump Shot. Eight men who shook the world of Basketball. Lincoln (NE): University of Nebraska Press. 

This biographical article relating to a United States basketball player, coach, or other figure born in the 1920s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v t e

William Joseph "Billy" Welu (b. July 3, 1932 in St. Louis, Missouri, d. May 16, 1974) was a famous professional bowler, executive for the Professional Bowlers Association (PBA), bowling broadcaster, and a great ambassador for the sport. A founding member of the PBA, he won four PBA titles, including two ABC Masters championships. He is the only the second bowler in history to successfully defend an ABC/USBC Masters title, winning the event in 1964 and 1965.^[1]

Known for his heavy southern accent and easygoing personality, Welu spent several years as an analyst alongside legendary broadcaster Chris Schenkel on ABC's Saturday afternoon telecasts of the Pro Bowlers Tour. He was posthumously inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1975.^[2]

Welu's death of a heart attack at age 41 in 1974, which took a major toll on his close friend Schenkel, prompted ABC to find a new color commentator to join Schenkel in the booth. This was during a time when bowling was wildly popular and garnered very high ratings on television. Dick Weber and Dave Davis alternated telecasts for a brief period until Nelson Burton Jr. was selected as a permanent analyst. Nelson and Chris spent nearly 23 years together calling the action for ABC Sports.

References[link]

1. ^ Randy Pedersen on ESPN broadcast of the USBC Masters final, February 15, 2009
2. ^ Hall of Fame bios at www.pba.com, official website of the Professional Bowlers Association and Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour

Dick Button
Dick Button commentating at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid
Personal information
Full name	Richard Totten Button
Country represented	United States
Born	(1929-07-18) July 18, 1929 (age 82) Englewood, New Jersey, United States
Former coach	Gustave Lussi
Skating club	SC of Boston Philadelphia SC & HS
Retired	1952
Medal record Competitor for United States Men's Figure skating Olympic Games Gold 1952 Oslo Men's Singles Gold 1948 St. Moritz Men's Singles World Championships Gold 1952 Paris Men's singles Gold 1951 Milan Men's singles Gold 1950 London Men's singles Gold 1949 Paris Men's singles Gold 1948 Davos Men's singles Silver 1947 Stockholm Men's singles European Championships Gold 1948 Prague Men's singles North American Championships Gold 1951 Calgary Men's singles Gold 1949 Philadelphia Men's singles Gold 1947 Ottawa Men's singles

Richard Totten "Dick" Button (born July 18, 1929) is an American former figure skater and a well-known long-time skating television analyst. He is a two-time Olympic Champion (1948, 1952) and five-time World Champion (1948–1952). He is also the only non-European man to have become European Champion.

Button is credited as having been the first skater to successfully land the double axel jump in competition in 1948, as well as the first triple jump of any kind – a triple loop – in 1952. He also invented the flying camel spin, which was originally known as the "Button camel".^[1]

Biography[link]

Amateur career[link]

Dick Button was born and raised in Englewood, New Jersey. He began skating at a young age. He did not begin training seriously until the age of 12 after his father overheard him being told he would never be a good skater.^[1] Soon after, Button's father sent him to New York to take lessons from ice dancing coach Joe Carroll. He trained over the summer in Lake Placid, New York, eventually switching on Carroll's recommendation to coach Gustave Lussi, who coached Button for the rest of his career.

In his first competition, the 1943 Eastern States Novice Championship, he placed second behind Jean-Pierre Brunet.^[1] In 1944, he won the Eastern States Junior title which earned him the opportunity to compete at the National Novice Championships. He won the event. In 1945, his third year of serious skating, he won the Eastern States Senior title and the national Junior title. At this time, he was also skating pairs, and competed with Barbara Jones in Junior Pairs at the 1946 Eastern States Championships. They performed Button's singles program side by side with minor modifications and won.^[1] This competition, where Button also competed as a single skater, led into the 1946 United States Figure Skating Championships.

Button won the 1946 U.S. Championships at age 16, winning by a unanimous vote. According to Button, this was the first time anyone had won the men's novice, junior, and senior titles in three consecutive years.^[1] This win earned Button a spot to the 1947 World Figure Skating Championships.

At the 1947 World Championships, Button was second behind rival Hans Gerschwiler following the compulsory figures part of the competition, with 34.9 points separating them.^[1] Button won the free skating portion, but Gerschwiler had the majority of first places from the judges, three to Button's two.^[1] Button won the silver medal at his first Worlds. It was the last time he placed lower than first in competition.

At the competition, Button was befriended by Ulrich Salchow. Salchow, who was disappointed when Button did not win, presented him with the first International Cup Salchow had won in 1901.^[1] Button later passed on this trophy to John Misha Petkevich following the 1972 Olympics and World Championships.^[2]

Button faced Gerschwiler again at the 1948 European Figure Skating Championships. Button led after figures in points, having 749 points to Gerschwiler's 747.8, but Gerschwiler led in placings, with 14 to Button's 15.^[1] During the free skate, Button performed his Olympic program for the first time. He won, with 11 placings to Gerschwiler's 18.^[1] Following this year, when North Americans took home the men's and ladies' titles, non-Europeans were no longer allowed to enter into the European Championships. Button is the only American to have won the European Championships.^[1]

At the 1948 Winter Olympics, Button led Gerschwiler by a 29.6 point lead following the figures portion of the competition, having won four of the five figures.^[1] Button had been attempting the double axel jump in practice but had never landed it. In practice on the day before the free skating event, Button landed one in practice for the first time. He decided to put it into his free skate for the next day. Button landed it in competition, becoming the first skater in the world to do so. Button received eight firsts and two seconds, for a total of 10 places. Gerschwiler had 23.^[1] That combined with the figures results gave Button the gold medal.^[3] He became, and remains, the youngest man to win the Olympic gold in figure skating.^[4] Button went on to the 1948 World Championships, where he faced Gerschwiler for the last time. Button won the event. At the time, the U.S. Championships were held after the World Championships, and Button finished his season by defending his national title.

In February 1948, Button, his coach, and his mother were in Prague to perform an exhibition. They were stranded there after the Communist uprising and had to be extracted by the U.S. Army.^[1]

In 1949, Button won the Sullivan Award as the outstanding amateur athlete in the United States. He is one of 2 male figure skaters to win this award. Evan Lysacek being the other.^[4]

Button had intended to attend Yale University beginning in the fall of 1947, but deferred a year due to the Olympics.^[1] Although he had originally been assured that his skating would not be a problem as long as his grades were good, he was later informed that he could not continue competing if he wanted to attend Yale. On advice from people from the Skating Club of Boston, Button applied to, and was accepted at, Harvard University. Button was a full-time student at Harvard while skating competitively and graduated in 1952.

Button won every competition he entered for the rest of his competitive career. He trained at the Skating Club of Boston while attending Harvard, commuting to Lake Placid during breaks.

As reigning and defending champion, as well as being the first skater to perform a double axel and a flying camel, Button was under pressure to perform a new jump or spin every season. In 1949, he performed a double loop-double loop combination. In 1950, he performed the double loop-double loop-double loop. In 1951, he performed a double axel-double loop combination and a double axel-double axel sequence.^[1] For the 1952 Winter Olympics, Button and Lussi began working on a triple jump. They settled on training the triple loop. Button landed it for the first time in practice in December 1951 at the Skating Club of Boston, and for the first time in exhibition in Vienna following the European Championships.^[1]

Dick Button's 1952 Olympic gold medal

At the 1952 Winter Olympics, Button had the lead after figures, with 9 first places, over Helmut Seibt. Button's point total was 1,000.2 to Seibt's 957.7.^[1] During his free skate, Button successfully landed the triple loop, becoming the first person to complete a triple jump in competition.^[1] He then went on to defend his titles at the 1952 World Figure Skating Championships and U.S. Championships.

Professional career[link]

Button decided to enter Harvard Law School in the fall of 1952. Because of the time commitments, Button retired from amateur skating that year in order to focus on law school.^[1] Following his retirement, Button signed on to skate with the Ice Capades during his law school vacations.

After his competitive skating career ended, Button toured with Ice Capades and Holiday on Ice, and completed a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B.) degree at Harvard Law School.^[5] After graduation, he was admitted to the bar in Washington, D.C..^[4] He co-produced "Dick Button's Ice-Travaganza" for the 1964 New York World's Fair, starring 1963 World Champion Donald McPherson, but the ice show lost money and closed after a few months. As an actor, Button has performed in movie roles such as "The Young Doctors" starring Fredrich March, to "The Bad News Bears Go to Japan" starring Tony Curtis. And, in television roles on The Hallmark Hall of Fame's "Hans Brinker" co-starring Tab Hunter, as well as "Dancing is a Man's Game" dancing alongside star Gene Kelly and famed New York City Ballet star Edward Villella, and appeared in "Mr. Broadway" starring Mickey Rooney. Other television appearances include "Beverly Hills 90210" and Stephen Spielberg's "The Animaniacs", "Omnibus", "Art Linkletter's House Party", numerous appearances on the Hallmark Hall of Fame, "Christmas at Rockefeller Center" with Robert Goulet and Carol Lawrence; among his other numerous guest star television appearances. On the stage, Button has starred in the touring productions of Irving Berlin's "Call Me Madam", Leonard Bernstein's"On the Town", The Gershwins' "Girl Crazy", Rodgers and Hart's "Pal Joey" , "The Teahouse of the August Moon", "Tall Story", and "Picnic" as well as in the New York City Center revivals of "Mister Roberts" and "South Pacific" to name a few. Button also studied acting with the famed Sandy Meisner at his school in New York City.

Button provided commentary for CBS's broadcast of the 1960 Winter Olympics, launching a decades-long career in television broadcast journalism. Button again did commentary for CBS's broadcast of the 1961 United States Figure Skating Championships. Then, beginning in 1962, he worked as a figure skating analyst for ABC Sports, which had acquired the rights to the U.S. Championships as well as the 1962 World Figure Skating Championships. During ABC's coverage of figure skating events in the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, Button became the sport's best-known analyst, well-known for his frank and often caustic appraisal of skaters' performances. He won an Emmy Award in 1981 for Outstanding Sports Personality – Analyst.^[5] Although other U.S. television networks aired the Winter Olympics from the 1990s onward, Button still appeared on ABC's broadcasts of the U.S. and World Figure Skating Championships until ABC removed them from its broadcast schedule in 2008. Button's reputation and influence in the sport of figure skating therefore long outlasted his own competitive and performing career.

During the 2006 Games, Button appeared on loan from ABC to once again provide commentary on the Olympics. Also during the 2006 Winter Olympics, USA Network ran a show called Olympic Ice. A recurring segment, called "Push Dick's Button," invited viewers to send in questions which Button answered on the air. The segment proved very popular so ABC and ESPN put it into various broadcasts, most notably the 2007 Skate America, the 2007 United States Figure Skating Championships, and the 2007 World Figure Skating Championships.

In the fall of 2010 Button was lead Judge on the popular ABC show "Skating with the Stars" produced by BBC Worldwide, producers of the hit show "Dancing with the Stars". In 2009, Button served as a judge on the CBC's Battle of the Blades reality show. He again appeared on NBC to do commentary for 2010 Games.

As founder of Candid Productions, he created a variety of made-for-television sports events, including the "World Professional Figure Skating Championships", "Challenge of Champions", Dorothy Hamill specials for HBO, and other non-skating sporting events like Superstars."Super Teams", "Junior Superstars", "Women's Superstars", and the popular "Battle of the Network Stars"^[5]

Button was inducted into the World Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1976, the same year it was founded.^[6]

Personal life[link]

In 1975, Button married figure skating coach Slavka Kohout, but they later divorced. ^[7] Button has two children, Edward and Emily.^{[citation needed]}

Button suffered a serious head injury on July 5, 1978 when he was one of several men assaulted in Central Park by a gang of youths armed with baseball bats. According to differing articles on different days in the New York Times, Button was variously reported to have been passing through the park on his way to an appointment with a cabinetmaker when he was attacked, or to have stopped to watch fireworks while jogging through the park. Three persons were subsequently convicted of assault for the attacks. News accounts and trial testimony indicated the assailants were intending to target gay people and attacked persons in the Central Park Ramble area as that was an area where gay persons congregated, but that the victims were attacked at random, and that because of the random nature of the attacks ". . . the police said there was no reason to believe the victims were homosexual."^[8]

On December 31, 2000, Button was skating at a public rink in New York State when he fell, fracturing his skull and causing a serious brain injury.^[9] He has since recovered, and now is a national spokesman for the Brain Injury Association of America ^[10] as well as continuing his Award^{[citation needed]} winning commentary for the broadcasts of The Olympic Games, and various figure skating television shows.

Firsts[link]

• First skater to land a double axel.^[4]
• First skater to land a triple jump (a triple loop)^[4]
• First male skater to perform the camel spin and inventor of the flying camel spin (also known as the Button Camel, after him)
• Only American to win the European title.^[1]
• First American World Champion.
• First American to win the Olympic title in figure skating.
• First and only American back-to-back Olympic champion in figure skating.^[4]
• First and only male skater to simultaneously hold all the following titles: National, North American, European, Worlds, and Olympics.^[4]
• Youngest man to win the Olympic title in figure skating (age 18).^[4]

Results[link]

• N = Novice level; J = Junior level

References[link]

1. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u} Button, Dick (1955). Dick Button On Skates. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall. pp. 40–41. Catalog Card No. 55-12069. 
2. ^ Petkevich, John Misha (1989). Figure Skating: Championship Techniques. Sports Illustrated. ISBN 1-56800-070-7. 
3. ^ Wright, Benjamin T. "Button Brings It." Skating Jan. 2009: 32–33.
4. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} "United States Olympic Committee – Button, Richard T. (Dick)". Archived from the original on September 28, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070928005756/http://www.usoc.org/26_597.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-06. 
5. ^ ^{a b c} "ABC SPORTS COMMENTATOR: Dick Button". Archived from the original on April 4, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20070404154807/http://www.abcmedianet.com/shows05/sports/commentators/button.shtml. Retrieved 2007-09-06. 
6. ^ "Official Site World Figure Skating Museum and Hall of Fame: Hall of Fame Members". http://www.worldskatingmuseum.org/Museum_HOF_Inductees.htm. Retrieved 2007-09-06. 
7. ^ Scott Hamilton, Landing It. ISBN 1-57566-466-6
8. ^ The New York Times, July 7, 1978; July 8, 1978; July 9, 1978; July 13, 1978; July 14, 1978; July 28, 1979; October 17, 1979
9. ^ Sandomir, Richard (2006-02-15). "Dick Button Now Back on the Stage He Loves". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/15/sports/olympics/15button.html. Retrieved 2010-02-15. 
10. ^ "Brain Injury Awareness Month". Brain Injury Association of America. http://www.biausa.org/spokespersons.htm. Retrieved 2010-02-15. 

• Past U.S. Champions – SeniorPDF (123 KB)

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dick Button

• Biography of Dick Button
• Dick Button's U.S. Olympic Team bio
• Olympic.org Video: Dick Button lands the first double axel
• Ranking the Rink
• Dick Button at the Internet Movie Database

William Bruce "Billy" Hardwick (born July 25, 1941) is a former right-handed ten-pin bowler and member of the Professional Bowlers Association. He currently hails from Florida^[1].

PBA career[link]

Hardwick joined the PBA Tour in 1961, and amassed a total of 18 PBA titles during his career. He was the first player to capture the PBA career "Triple Crown" -- which is achieved by winning the three primary PBA major tournaments: U.S. Open, PBA National Championship, and Tournament of Champions. Hardwick captured all three between 1963 and 1969. There have been only five other Triple Crown winners since: Johnny Petraglia, Mike Aulby, Pete Weber, Norm Duke and Chris Barnes. He was named PBA Player of the Year in both the 1963 and 1969 seasons. In 1969, he set a record by winning seven titles in one season.^[2] The record would stand until 1978, when it was broken by Mark Roth's eight titles.

Billy was ranked #12 on the PBA's 2008 list of "50 Greatest Players of the Last 50 Years."

Hardwick retired relatively early from the PBA Tour after developing arthritis. He was inducted into the PBA Hall of Fame in 1977, and is now the proprietor of Billy Hardwick's All-Star Lanes in Memphis. ^[3]

According to his son, Chris Hardwick on the Opie & Anthony Show on August 12, 2010, Hardwick was the last athlete to film a beer commercial profiling athletes. Chris also said that his father originally had lines in the commercial but, "got a little intoxicated after so many takes that they cut out his lines for the commercial." A decision was made after that commercial that it would make a bad impression on the youth to give the message that if you want to become a champion, you should drink. Chris also mentioned that his father, at 69, hadn't bowled in about 25 years due to his arthritis.

Personal Life[link]

He is the father of the comedian and television personality Chris Hardwick, as well as Emily Hardwick, an Art Major at UC Santa Cruz.^[4]

References[link]

1. ^ Based on statements by his son Chris Hardwick on WTF with Marc Maron Episode 212.
2. ^ "PBA History" at www.pba.com
3. ^ U.S. Bowle<rr, Spring 2009 issue, p. 7.
4. ^ U.S. Bowler, Spring 2009 issue, p. 7.

Sources[link]

• www.pba.com, official site of the Professional Bowlers Association and Lumber Liquidators PBA Tour

Medal record
Billy Mills
Men's athletics
Competitor for the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold	1964 Tokyo	10000 metres

William Mervin Mills or "Billy" Mills, also known as Makata Taka Hela (born June 30, 1938), is the second Native American to win an Olympic gold medal.^[1] He accomplished this feat in the 10,000 meter run at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the only American ever to win the Olympic gold in this event. His 1964 victory is considered one of the greatest of Olympic upsets.^[2] A former United States Marine, Billy Mills is a member of the Oglala Lakota (Sioux) Tribe.

Biography[link]

William Mervin Mills was born in Pine Ridge, South Dakota, and was raised on the impoverished Pine Ridge Indian Reservation for Oglala Sioux people. He was orphaned when he was twelve years old and was raised by his grandmother. Mills took up running while attending the Haskell Institute, which is now known as Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, Kansas. Both a boxer and a runner in his youth, Mills gave up boxing to focus on running.

He attended the University of Kansas on an athletic scholarship. He was named a NCAA All-America cross-country runner three times and in 1960 he won the individual title in the Big Eight cross-country championship. The University of Kansas track team won the 1959 and 1960 outdoor national championships while Mills was on the team.

After graduating with a degree in Physical Education, Mills entered the United States Marine Corps. He was a First Lieutenant in the Marine Corps Reserves when he competed in the 1964 Olympics.^[2]

1964 Olympics[link]

Billy Mills crosses the finish line in the 10,000 m in the 1964 Olympics, 14 October 1965. U.S. Marine Corps photo

Billy Mills qualified for the 1964 Summer Olympics on the U.S. Track and Field Team in the 10,000 meter and the marathon. The favorite in 1964 for the 10,000 m was Ron Clarke of Australia who held the world record. The runners expected to challenge him were defending champion Pyotr Bolotnikov of the Soviet Union, and Murray Halberg of New Zealand, who had won the 5000 m in 1960.

Mills was a virtual unknown. He had finished second in the U.S. Olympic trials. His time in the preliminaries was a full minute slower than Clarke's. Clarke set the tone of the race. His tactic of surging every other lap appeared to be working. Halfway through the race, only four runners were still with Clarke: Mohammed Gammoudi of Tunisia, Mamo Wolde of Ethiopia, Kokichi Tsuburaya of Japan, and Mills. Tsuburaya, the local favorite, lost contact first, then Wolde. With two laps to go, only two runners were still with Clarke. On paper, it seemed to be Clarke's race. He had run a world record time of 28:15.6 while neither Gammoudi nor Mills had ever run under 29 minutes.

Mills and Clarke were running together with Gammoudi right behind as they entered the final lap. They were lapping other runners and, down the backstretch, Clarke was boxed in. He pushed Mills once, then again. Then Gammoudi pushed them both and surged into the lead as they rounded the final curve. Clarke recovered and began chasing Gammoudi while Mills appeared to be too far back to be in contention. Clarke failed to catch Gammoudi, but Mills pulled out to lane 3 and sprinted past them both. His winning time of 28:24.4 was almost 50 seconds faster than he had run before and set a new Olympic record for the event. No American had ever before won the 10,000 m, nor has one come seriously close since.

American television viewers were able to hear the surprise and drama as NBC expert analyst Dick Bank^[3] screamed, "Look at Mills, look at Mills" over the more sedate play-by-play announcer Bud Palmer, who seemed to miss what was unfolding.^[4] For bringing that drama to the coverage, Bank was fired.^[5]

After the race, Mills talked with Clarke and asked if he was straining as hard as he could on the final straightaway to the finish, to which Clarke replied, "Yes." Mills has stated that he tried to be relaxed during his final kick to the finish line and felt that helped him to pass both Gammoudi and Clarke. Both Clarke and Mills ran the marathon at the 1964 Olympics after the 10,000 m event. Clarke finished in 9th place, and Mills finished in 14th, in a respectable 2:22:55.4, approximately two-and-a-half minutes behind Clarke.

Post-Olympics[link]

Mills speaking at Schofield Barracks in November 2010

Mills later set U.S. records for 10,000 m (28:17.6) and the three-mile run, and had a 5,000 m best of 13:41.4. In 1965, he and Gerry Lindgren both broke the world record for the six-mile run when they finished in a tie at the AAU National Championships, running 27:11.6.^[6]

Legacy and honors[link]

• 1976, Billy Mills was inducted into the United States National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1976,^[7]
• 1984, he was inducted into the U.S. Olympic Hall of Fame. *He has also been inducted into the National Distance Running Hall of Fame, the Kansas Hall of Fame, the South Dakota Hall of Fame, the San Diego Hall of Fame, and the National High School Hall of Fame.

• Mills is the subject of the film Running Brave (1983), starring Robby Benson.

• Mills also serves as the spokesperson for Running Strong for American Indian Youth,^[8] an organization that helps support projects that benefit the American Indian people, especially the youth.

Books[link]

• 1990, Wokini: A Lakota Journey to Happiness and Self-Understanding, written with Nicholas Sparks.^[9]

• 2005, Lessons of a Lakota.

See also[link]

	Biography portal
	United States Marine Corps portal

• Olympic medalists in athletics
• Jim Thorpe

Notes[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Billy Mills

• Billy Mills, USA Track and Field Hall of Fame
• Running Strong for American Indian Youth Website
• Billy Mills, Running Past