"As a young girl,
Harry Radix gave pins, so much more to skating by TROY SCHWINDT
symbol of greatness and achievement. Slightly longer than a common paper clip,
T
Harry E. Radix’s design of a small golden fi gure skate blade continues to represent success at the highest levels of the sport. T e late fi gure skat- ing enthusiast’s intent was to reward accomplish- ments, but that reward soon became an inspira- tion as well.
“I think the kids thought a lot about
the blades,” said 1960 Olympic and fi ve-time World champion Carol Heiss Jenkins, re- ferring to skaters in her competitive era of the 1950s and 1960s. “We wanted the medal, but in the same
breath we were saying, ‘Oh, good! We get a Radix pin.’ T at was very, very important. As a young girl, I loved the medal, but I adored the blade with the diamond in it.” “Adored” might be an understatement, ac-
cording to Carol’s husband, 1956 Olympic cham- pion Hayes Jenkins, who earned his share of Ra- dix pins. According to Carol, “a couple of years” after they married, she took their collection of Radix pins to a jeweler to have a few special pieces fash- ioned. Carol earned 22 Radix pins, including 14 that featured a diamond in the toe of the blade to signify fi rst place. Hayes owned 12 pins with diamonds, 18 overall. “It wasn’t ‘a couple years,’” Hayes said jok-
ingly. “We’d been married about a month and she glommed onto my pins. She quickly had an eye on those diamonds.” Carol had the jeweler remove the diamonds
from most of the Radix pins to create a magnifi - cent diamond circle pin, which she wears on spe- cial occasions. “We have so many friends who are non- skaters, and when they look at it they ask, ‘Oh, my gosh. When did Hayes give you that diamond circle pin?’” Carol said. “I’d say ‘No, no, that was for many years of hard training.’ I’d think
hey are worn by Olympic greats, cher- ished by some as much as the gold medal itself. Iconic yet unassuming, these pins — Radix pins, to be exact — are a subtle
back to all of those fi gures all of those years, be- cause back then it was worth 60 percent [of your score].”
Carol also had a necklace fashioned from the golden skate blades. T e centerpiece of the necklace is one of the skate blades with a diamond insert. Carol, a longtime coach in the Cleveland area, dons the necklace for skating events and at other engagements “People are so intrigued with it,”
she said. T e intrigue is not limited to the
United States, as Radix pins continue to be awarded to any skater who wins or places at the U.S. Championships, World Championships, Olympic Winter Games and, back in the day, at the North American Championships.
Radix, a member of the Chicago Fig-
ure Skating Club, died in 1965 at the age of 77, but he left a trust to carry on his skat- ing legacy. U.S. Figure Skating continues to honor Mr. Radix by awarding Radix pins at major events listed above.
GROWING UP IN KANSAS Harry E. Radix was born on Aug. 21, 1884,
in Burrton, Kan. (near Hutchinson, Kan.), the youngest of fi ve chil- dren. His parents had emi- grated from Poland and Germany and arrived by ship in New York, where they were examined and pro- cessed at Castle
For 35 years, Harry Radix worked tirelessly to support fi gure skating and its athletes. He served on various U.S. Figure Skating and U.S. Olympic committees. He led the fundraising efforts for fi ve U.S. Olympic fi gure skating teams.
SKATING 17
I loved the medal, but I adored the blade with the diamond in it.” CAROL HEISS JENKINS
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