Members of Kay Jones’ family pose during the USA Bobsled and Skeleton Hall of Fame induction ceremony at Mount Van Hoevenberg on Saturday, March 23. From left are Dave Jones III, Maura Jones, Kathryn Jones-McQuillan, Barbara Benware, Genevieve Benware, Margaret “Peggy” Jones, Dave Jones and Linda Jones. (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

USA Bobsled and Skeleton inducted four into their Hall of Fame on Saturday, March 23 following the awarding of the two-woman and four-man IBSF World Cup winners at the Mountain Pass Lodge at Mount Van Hoevenberg.

The awards ceremony’s timing stimulated many current USA Bobsled and Skeleton members to think about people who have inspired them. For Frank DeLuca, standouts are the late Steve Holcomb and his fellow members of the Night Train: Justin Olsen, Steve Mesler and Curtis Tomasevic, who in 2010 broke the 62-year drought of gold medals in the four-man event. Two others were his coaches, Tuffy Latour and Brian Shimer, who won a bronze at the 2002 Olympic Winter Games at Salt Lake City. Shimer and Holcomb are both previous Hall of Fame inductees.

“So many people have inspired me,” said U.S. bobsled pilot and Olympic medalist Elana Meyers Taylor. “As a female athlete, I think of the women who became before me: Jill Bakken, Jean Racine, Vonetta Flowers and Shauna (Rohbock). I had the pleasure of riding with her, and I think of all her history in the sport. It’s incredible to have her now as a coach. And I am so inspired by the women around me today, like Kaysha; her season has been amazing. I think of what is taken for them and others to persevere in sport. Nobody in this sport has had an easy road, as it’s still male-dominated; I think of Kaillee and everything she’s gone through.”

Progress is not just made by athletes winning medals. There is no question that 2002 U.S. skeleton Olympic gold medalist Jimmy Shea’s drive and ability to win medals had a significant impact on getting skeleton accepted as an Olympic sport. His father, Jim Shea Sr., points out that credit also belongs to the late Saranac Lake bobsledding legend Dew Drop Morgan, who stepped up in the mid-1980s to officiate at the Lake Placid track. Jimmy and his fellow sliders could slide down the track all they wanted. Still, unless it was officiated, their runs could not be counted toward meeting international requirements. Even though he had an evening job, Morgan made it to the track whenever needed.

“He was there at 7 a.m. with a smile; he was a good man,” said Jim Shea Sr.

John Morgan, left, and Tuffy Latour (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

Vital was the role played by Hall of Fame inductee David Kurtz, an attorney. A skeleton racer, he became a USA World Cup team member, captain of the 1994 and 1998 U.S. Olympic bobsled team and vice president of international affairs for the International Bobsled and Skeleton Federation and made both happen.

Dew Drop’s son, John Morgan, who was an emcee at the event, said that back in 1991, Kurtz and the Canadian bobsledder and FIBT Vice President Bob Storey were pushing for the inclusion of skeleton and women’s bobsledding and rebuffed time and time again by the president of the IOC, who said “no chance.” With the help of skeleton delegates, Storey became president of the FIBT in 1994. In 1997, Kurtz and Storey got a call from Anita DeFrantz from the IOC, who said, “I have good news: Women’s Bob will be in the 2002 Games, but not skeleton. Kurtz said, tell her, woman’s bob and skeleton or none. Bob did, and they hung up on him. We were nervous, but they called Bob a week later and agreed. David went on to manage the U.S. Olympics teams and was elected vice president of law for IBSF.”

“Starting from nowhere and trying to bring skeleton into the Olympics was quite a deal. Of course, Jimmy had a lot to do with it by starting to win gold medals,” said Kurtz. “But it worked. We now have skeleton and women’s bobsledding in the Olympics, that’s one of the greatest achievements I’ve ever been a part of, and I think that’s why I am here now. Thank you.”

The Hall of Fame Committee has three priority criteria: athletic achievement, contribution to the sport, coaches, officials and another aspect of the sport, such as Kay Jones’ contribution as a Lake Placid photographer and documentarian of essential moments in bobsledding.

“Every bobsledder I’ve talked to, even skeleton athletes back in the day, would grab one of Kay’s posters, such as the upside-down sled and the Morgan brothers tumbling out of the back of theirs,” said Latour. “She was there to take that tragic picture of Sergio Zardini. Her contribution spans being not only a friend of the sport, but as she’s taking those pictures, her biggest thing is not only getting the shot but worrying ‘about the boys going down the hill,’ as she says. Bobsled is still a dangerous sport; the safety aspect has gotten a lot better with the advances in the helmet, sled, rack design and the athletes staying in the sled, but whether you are in a bobsled or on a skeleton, you’re still going down an ice chute at a very high speed where anything can happen.”

Jimmy Shea, left, and David Kurtz (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

“I think it’s great. My mom being inducted is well-deserved,” said Dave Jones, who had been coming to the track since he was 3. “She spent about 30-plus years out here every day, every race. My father was my initial inspiration to become involved in covering sports, and he got us all started. We had a camera store on Main Street that he started in 1947. When he tragically passed away, my mother tried to keep it going, but the lean years before the Olympics were tough. So, she started freelancing; she’d be out here in a dress, with an overcoat, taking and selling the photos.”

The committee’s challenge is that there is a tremendous backlog of worthy athletes and officials, and quite a few more since the turn of the century with the addition of women, Paralympians and skeleton. To that end, the first inductees on Saturday were Gilbert Colgate Jr. and Richard Lawrence, bronze medal winners in the 1936 Olympics and gold medal winners in the 1934 North American Championships. As no family members could accept their plaque, John Morgan lauded their contributions to the sport.

“Of course, my father and grandfather inspired me, but in the skeleton, there was Orvie Garrett, the first American to win a medal over in Europe,” said Jimmy Shea. “He did it all by himself, paying his way over there, and he coached others for free for years. There are many others before me who paved the way. I stand on their shoulders. The Hall of Fame is wonderful because it brings everybody together, including those who did so much in the past, with those competing and serving as coaches and officials today.”

(Naj Wikoff lives in Keene Valley. He has been covering events for the Lake Placid News for more than 15 years.)