American Ski Jumping Began in the Midwest ...
Norwegian immigrants brought the sport of ski jumping to the US. Its
American roots go back to the 1880s, and it began in the midwest ...
places like
Red Wing MN,
St Paul MN,
Eau Claire WI, and
Ishpeming MI.
Some of these clubs date back to the 1880s! The first recorded North American
distance record was set in 1887 by Mikkel Hemmestvedt. He flew 37 feet at Red Wing, Minnesota!
We believe the two center figures in picture below are Mikkel and his brother Torjus.
The Wright brothers didn't get around to flying until about fifteen years
after this photo was taken. Their first flight of 120 feet was not as far
as the ski jumping distance record of that time ... 134 feet (41 meters), held by
Nils Gjestvang of Norway!
Before downhill skiing became a popular participant sport following World War II, most
people's familiarity with skiing was tied to jumping. The Norge Ski Club in Chicago,
one of the oldest ski clubs in the world, helped to bring visibility of the sport to
that city. In 1939, and again in 1954, temporary jumps were erected in Soldier Field,
now the home of the Chicago Bears. They were "snowed" with shaved ice.
See our Photo Gallery page (via link at left) for photos of the Soldier Field jumps.
A temporary jump was also erected in a far more unlikely location than Chicago. Click
the image to get a closer look. The location is written in the lower left corner of
the picture. The year is 1938. The jump was covered with shaved ice or snow transported
via truck from nearby mountains. Thanks to Don Dahl of Eau Claire for sending this photo.
Click the following link to learn more about ski jumping exhibitions in
Southern California! Thanks to Catherine Ohl of San Diego,
who maintains this site, for giving us the correct year, and for researching the history
of skiing in the west. There are a few other interesting photos on this website.
Since the inception of the Winter Olympics in 1924, the midwestern U.S. has been very well
represented in the Olympics. There are strong junior programs at many of the dozen or so
midwestern jumping clubs. There are also
four Olympic-sized jumps in the midwest.
You can visit our page which lists all
Minnesota Olympians; we'd like to expand this to include all
US Olympic jumpers and NC athletes if possible. Clubs? Can you help with this?
Our "Related Links" page has links to some sites of historical interest. You might also
explore the links on our "Regional Jumping Clubs page. The Ishpeming and St Paul clubs date
back to the 1800s. The Duluth and and Norge (Chicago area) clubs go back to the early 1900s.
This page lists all known active US jumping clubs, and even lists a few that are inactive.
A book, "Midwest Skiing: A Glance Back" by John Pontti, is available via Amazon.com,
and the proceeds are being used to raise funds for the
National Ski Hall of Fame
in Ishpeming, Michigan. Before WWII, skiing WAS jumping!
There's an excellent book about the Aurora Ski club of Red Wing, MN. Entitled "Sky Crashers"
it's by Fred Johnson, and it's available through the
Goodhue County Historical Society Museum.
One more important history book, "On Wings of Wood", was written by Wally Wakefield and
Tom Harrington; it's about the history of the St Paul Ski Club, and you can contact the club via
the SPSC website..
Another excellent ski history site (also on our links page) is Eastern Ski Jumping, maintained by
Don West, who was a competitor in the 1950s and who is still jumping! Although his site focuses
on the Eastern U.S., it's a great resource for anyone interested in the history of ski jumping
in North America.
Please check our "Photo Gallery" page via the button in the left margin. We've started
including some historical pictures that you might enjoy!
