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Welcome to AmericanSkiJumping.com
Thank you for your interest in the history of American ski jumping!
We hope you’ll find this site interesting and informative. Find out
how this organization began and learn about its mission. Check for
announcements and upcoming events. Visit our online Hall of Fame,
and find links to other ski jumping history resources. You’ll find all of
these things via link buttons at the top of each page. We’ll also invite
you to become a member of Friends of American Ski Jumping!
Point your mouse at each thumbnail picture above
to see a larger image in the frame at left.
Red Wing MN, late 1880s. Second from left is
Mikkel Hemmestvedt, who set the first US
distance record of 37 feet at Red Wing in 1887.
Here’s a photo of a historic ski tournament held
in the summer of 1954 at Chicago’s Soldier
Field. Shaved ice covered the surface!
If you hover your mouse over the other three
thumbnails (below right), you’ll see several
other interesting historic photos.
Second from left is a temporary jump
constructed in the Los Angeles Coliseum for a
summer event in 1938.
The second picture from right is the 1952 US
Olympic Ski Team after the tryouts were held in
Iron Mountain, Michigan. L to R are Art Devlin,
Art Tokle, Ralph Bietila, Wilbert Rasmussen,
Billy Olson, and Joe Perrault.
The far right picture was taken in 1953, also in
Iron Mountain. Temporary lights were set up
for night jumping, but the tournament was held
in daylight. Night jumping is common now.
Enjoy your visit to the rest of our website!
See historic ski jumping videos via links on our “Historical Info” page ... click button above ...
Preserving the history of the sport of ski jumping in the United States
Ishpeming MI, probably early 1900s ... this was
one of the early ski jumping hotbeds, and is
now home to the National Ski Hall of Fame.
Art Tokle and Bob Immens, probably early
1940s. Art was US National Champion in 1951
and 1953, and an Olympian in 1952 and 1960.
Art Tokle and Bob Immens, Lake Placid, 1980.
Bob was a walking encyclopedia of ski jumping
history ... some of his photos are displayed
elsewhere on this site.