The Man on the Medal: The Life & Times of America's First Great Ski Racer

Durrance Enterprise, 1995. Hardcover. Like New/Very Good. 11x9x1. Signed. A short tear and some light edgewear to dusjacket. Inscribed on laid in page "To Dot-a great friend of one of my best friends-Elli? A great lady! Best Wishes Dick Durrance 1995". "Dick" Durrance (October 23, 1914 – June 13, 2004) was a 17-time national championship alpine ski racer and one of the first Americans to compete successfully against Europeans. In 1947, Durrance was hired to manage the Aspen Skiing Company. The struggling company was turned around by Durrance, who brought the 1950 World Championships to Aspen, the first held outside of Europe. It put Aspen on the map and it is now one of the most popular ski resorts in the United States. He also produced a number of ski films and devoted most of his life to the promotion of skiing. Durrance died of natural causes at age 89 on June 13, 2004, in Carbondale, Colorado, near Aspen. His wife Miggs died in November 2002. In its 75th anniversary issue in 2011, SKI magazine listed Durrance as the "Skier of the Decade" for the 1930s.