Walter S. Powell
Walter S. Powell (1879-1961), a native of Philadelphia, joined Brown Shoe Company in 1926. A member of the board of directors and a manager for tanneries, he retired in 1951. Skating frequently at the Winter Garden rink, Walter S. Powell became a judge and helped start the “Mid-western Championships,” first held in St. Louis in 1933. After serving several years as president of St. Louis Skating Club, he went on to become president of U.S. Figure Skating Association (1943 – 1946.) In 1947, he was appointed the first U.S. representative for the International Skating Union (ISU). An international referee and a member of the United States Olympic Association board of directors, Powell was involved in the 1952, 1956 and 1960 Olympic Winter Games. En route to Prague for the World Championships, Powell was killed, with the rest of the U.S. World Team, on Sabena Flight 548 when it crashed near the Brussels airport on February 15, 1961.
Powell Hall, home of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra was named in his honor after his widow, Helen Lamb Powell, donated part of Walter’s estate to the building’s restoration.
From U.S. Figure Skating Association:
Walter Powell was USFSA President from 1943 -1945. He was the first U.S. Office holder in the International Skating Union as a Council member from 1945-1961. In addition, he was instrumental in obtaining separate ISU membership for the U.S. and Canada in 1947. Powell was killed in the 1961 plane crash that the lives of the entire U.S. World Team.
He is in the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame twice – 1993, as an official and again in 2011 with the 1961 team – which includes the skaters, coaches, officials and family members.
St. Louis SC Coach Sally Knoll accepts the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame cup from organization president Patricia St. Peter.
Obituary
F. Ritter Shumway, First Vice-President, U.S. Figure Skating
Of no one could it better be said than of Walter Powell, that “to know him was to love him.”
Gentle, self-effacing yet effective, I had the privilege, as alternate delegate of the USFSA, of being closely associated with Walter at the 1957 and 1959 Congresses of the International Skating Union, held respectively at Salzburg, Austria, and Tours, France. From the very first meeting at Salzburg, I was greatly impressed by the high regard in which Walter Powell was obviously held by all the delegates from so many different countries. If ever an ambassador was “persona grata” it was Walter Powell among his colleagues of the ISU. I well remember at the conclusion of the Congress at Tours that when the votes were counted for election to the 7 -member Council, or Executive Committee, it was found that Walter had received the greatest number of votes of any of the nominees, and was declared elected on the first ballot.
Keenly interested in, and devoted to, figure skating for nearly a lifetime Walter’s service to international skating which in the end cost his life was the logical culmination of one of the most distinguished careers ever established in the administration of our sport. Walter at one time or another held practically every office in our Association including the high office of President. Because of his vast background of experience, the wisdom of his counsels and dedication to figure skating, his advice was constantly sought and he was kept active right up to the end as an elected member of our Executive Committee, our Delegate to the International Skating Union and a member of the Council of the ISU long past the age when others would have found these burdens too heavy. Walter was, however, exceptionally young in mind and spirit for his years enjoying particularly being in the company of youth which was the reason why he wanted to be with the team on the way to the Worlds in Prague.
In the passing of Walter Powell, figure skating throughout the world lost a great spirit, a dedicated friend, a wise counsellor. We shall miss him greatly. His place can never quite be filled. We shall, however, carry on as best as we can toward the same goals to which he gave so much of his life.
