| 7/24/2008 11:45:00 AM | Email this article • Print this article | Ski Jumping Hall of Fame names second group for induction
Harrington leads St. Paul ski jumpers into Hall of Fame
Tom Harrington was there before and after Kip Sundgaard and Bryan Sanders made their way onto a U. S. Olympic ski jumping team and to the Olympic Games.
Recently the Selection Committee of the American Ski Jumping Hall of Fame, headquartered in Red Wing, enshrined the trio of Harrington, Sundgaard and Sanders into the ASJHF.
It all began with ski jumping
For the past several years, with changing trends in the ski industry, the National Ski Hall of Fame, located in Ishpeming, Mich., began to ignore ski jumpers, as the emphasis became focused on downhill racing.
Meanwhile, forgotten, ignored, or just plain overlooked were the efforts of those who were instrumental in the beginnings of the sport which began to entice Americans to enjoy winter.
A few years ago, Jerry Borgen of Red Wing nominated Harris Andersen to the Ishpeming hall of fame. The response - none - got his ire and his energy up and led to the creation of the ASJHF.
Andersen, you see, was Borgen's grandfather. Andersen was active as a jumper and officer in the Aurora Ski Club. (Borgen was a past president of the organizaton, too, before it faded into obscurity.)
Andersen was a prime mover in the formation of the Central Division and later the National Ski Association - now the USSA - and became an early president of the NSA.
Bergen took it upon himself to do something to note Andersen's accomplishments.
He gathered people together, formed a committee and out of those meetings, his idea for the ASJHF took root.
The organization did not originate to spite the Ishpeming Hall of Fame, but rather to supplement it and further perpetuate the sport of ski jumping, honoring those who have made significant contributions to the sport.
Last year, in June of 2007, the first inductees - outstanding competitors who were already in the hall in Ishpeming - were enshrined in ASJHF ceremonies held in Red Wing.
Though the date has not yet been set for the second group to be inducted, they have been selected, including the three from the St. Paul Ski Club: Harrington, Sundgaard and Sanders.
The list of 2008 inductees - a total of 68 - are in the Ishpeming hall.
A second group who have significant contributions to the sport who have been nominated but not enshrined in Ishpeming, will be inducted.
The third group to be inducted in the 2008 class of enshrinees will be those who have competed for the U.S. in Olympic competitions but have been ignored in Ishpeming.
The ASJHF is located in two places
In Red Wing, just a block from the Mississippi River, right on main street, sits the historic St. James Hotel.
If one hasn't been to the historic "River City" in some time, one should venture to Red Wing, if for no other reason than just to sight-see. It has not yet succumbed to the commercialism that has taken over many historical places.
While there, plan to venture to the mezzanine of the St. James Hotel. There you will find Borgen's "dream come true" in the display that features the American Ski Jumping Hall of Fame.
The ASJHF is still in its infancy, but it is growing and gaining in prestige.
There, at the St. James Hotel, one can view several ski jumping artifacts. A listing of many of the first enshrinees and a handsome replica of the Red Wing ski jump from which the 1928 National Championships - which drew some 25,000 spectators to the site - were held in the city.
But it's at SkiJumpingUSA.com - a "virtual" site - that the ASJHF intends to grow and perpetuate the history of the sport.
St. Paul Ski Club is part of the ASJHF
The names of Harrington, Sundgaard and Sanders are well known to ski jumpers in this area.
Harrington, late last year, made his last jump from this life. The ski slide one views traveling along I-494 is named in his honor. For more than 60 years he was an integral part of the St. Paul Ski Club.
His research for a book, "On Wings of Wood" - published in commemoration of the club's 100th birth date - traced the St. Paul Ski Club back to its beginnings in 1885.
Harrington documented that St. Paul was the site of the first ski jumping tournament ever held in the U.S.
But Harrington was more than an author. An engineer who worked at 3M, he designed ski jumps - including the one that bears his name - and was active throughout the Central Division and nationally, in organization and leadership capacities.
He was involved with the St. Paul Junior Ski Jumping Club and was a mentor and leader for decades. As an officer of the club he helped found the St. Paul Educational Foundation that raised funds to perpetuate ski jumping and was the chairman of that organization until his passing late last year.
In short, Harrington, during his lifetime, "was" the St. Paul Ski Club.
Kip Sundgaard - a graduate of North High - was state champion as a ski jumper and also was a state champion pole vaulter while at North.
Sundgaard went on to gain notoriety as a ski jumper and reached the pinnacle of his career when he became a member of the U.S. Ski Team and participated in the 1980 and 1984 Olympic Games.
Sanders - a Stillwater High grad - was, for many years, a member of the U.S. ski team and overcame a serious leg infection, suffered in summer training, that culminated in his competing in the 1992 Olympic Games, held in Courcheval, France.
The three, Harrington, Sundgaard and Sanders, had been overlooked in Ishpeming, but in the ASJHF - exclusively for the recognition of contributions to ski jumping, - they have become deserving enshrinees.
Several Minnesotans are also recognized
Additionally there are several others from the North Star State - previously overlooked - who have earned recognition for induction into the ASJHF.
Of the Minneapolis Ski Club, Ed Brisson, the flying Martins (Jay and Jerry) and Greg Windsperger and Mike Keuler will be feted.
Harold Grinden, another founder of the sport in the U.S., heads up a contingent of Duluth Ski Club members. Among those not previously recognized are Ole Feiring, Cloquet's Joe Nowak, Dave Hicks, Jim Denney, Terry Kern, Greg Swor and Adrian Watt.
Additionally, several "old timers" to the great sport who helped ski jumping flourish early on will be in the second batch of inductees, such as Art Barth, Lawrence Maurin and Carl Telefson.
A complete list of names is on the ASJHF web site.
Certainly - there are few involved in ski jumping who would disagree - the ski jumping sport is one that more people, if they knew where to look, would be fascinated with the impact it has had on this area of the world.
The American Ski Jumping Hall of Fame is trying to perpetuate the importance of that impact.
Quick takeoffs
Hey RUTH, you hang in there
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