Don Jackson Website | Golden Skate

Don Jackson Website

S

SkateFan4Life

Guest
Here's a link to a pretty cool website for Canadian Don Jackson, the great skater who won the World title in 1962 with the first triple lutz ever performed at the Worlds. I've seen black and white footage of this competition, which was held in Prague. The audience went positively wild when Jackson landed the jump, as did the television commentators. Jim McKay and Dick Button all but screamed into the mikes, "He did it! He did it!"

The scores were amazing, too. A near-complete string of 6.0s for technical merit.

Jackson's book, "King of Blades" (mentioned in the website) contains the footage of the 1962 triple lutz. You flip the pages of the book and see Don prepare, rotate, and land the jump.

Great stuff! 👍

http://www.jacksonskates.com/html/dj_bio.html
 
S

SkateFan4Life

Guest
Does anyone out there remember Don Jackson's historic first triple lutz at the 1962 Worlds?

Does anyone out there know if Don is still involved with skating? I know he had a long professional skating career, but I'm assuming that he no longer performs on a regular basis, as he must be in his mid-60s by now.

Is Don a coach?
 

trains

On the Ice
Joined
Dec 2, 2004
Don Jackson is alive and well and living in Ottawa Ontario Canada.
He and his wife coach at his old club, the Minto Skating Club, one of Canada's oldest and largest clubs. This club also produced Barbara Ann Scott among others. Don still skates about 50 shows a year, touring with the NHL Oldtimers charity hockey game, performing a program in the intermissions. He is 64 years old and can still do up to a double lutz! The guy is absolutely amazing.
 

love2sk8

Rinkside
Joined
Jan 6, 2004
He still skates the freeskate sessions too, when he's not coaching...he'll just skate with the other skaters, or stay on later in the morning and practice his show programs. He's an awesome guy!
 
Joined
Jul 11, 2003
Really a great guy and sportsman! and I remember the triple lutz, McKay and Button. If you've never seen it check out the newsreel.

Joe
 

76olympics

On the Ice
Joined
Mar 4, 2004
I think I read in one of Beverly Smith's books that he did an astounding number of jumps during that Worlds long program (over 20- I think). They were singles, doubles and of course that triple lutz! He was one of the best and most natural jumpers ever. I am not surprised that he can still jump now in his 60s.
 
S

SkateFan4Life

Guest
trains said:
Don Jackson is alive and well and living in Ottawa Ontario Canada. He and his wife coach at his old club, the Minto Skating Club, one of Canada's oldest and largest clubs. This club also produced Barbara Ann Scott among others. Don still skates about 50 shows a year, touring with the NHL Oldtimers charity hockey game, performing a program in the intermissions. He is 64 years old and can still do up to a double lutz! The guy is absolutely amazing.

Wonderful to hear this about Don Jackson! I've always admired him as one of the greatest skaters of all time, and as a wonderful gentleman on the ice. What a thrill for the skaters of the Minto Skating Club to have the opportunity to take lessons from one of the masters of the sport! 👍
 

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
SkateFan4Life said:
Here's a link to a pretty cool website for Canadian Don Jackson, the great skater who won the World title in 1962 with the first triple lutz ever performed at the Worlds. I've seen black and white footage of this competition, which was held in Prague. The audience went positively wild when Jackson landed the jump, as did the television commentators. Jim McKay and Dick Button all but screamed into the mikes, "He did it! He did it!"

The scores were amazing, too. A near-complete string of 6.0s for technical merit.

Jackson's book, "King of Blades" (mentioned in the website) contains the footage of the 1962 triple lutz. You flip the pages of the book and see Don prepare, rotate, and land the jump.

Great stuff! 👍

http://www.jacksonskates.com/html/dj_bio.html


I discovered this site a long time ago and have from time to time contributed topics and pictures from Dons' site. Donald Jackson is one of the best Canadian male skaters of all time and has inspired many Canadian champions such as Brian Orser and Kurt Browning. In fact, Kurt said the night he landed his now famous first quad Donald Jackson told him to "just focus and do it" before he went out on the ice.

Thanks for this great topic.
 
S

SkateFan4Life

Guest
Ladskater said:
I discovered this site a long time ago and have from time to time contributed topics and pictures from Dons' site. Donald Jackson is one of the best Canadian male skaters of all time and has inspired many Canadian champions such as Brian Orser and Kurt Browning. In fact, Kurt said the night he landed his now famous first quad Donald Jackson told him to "just focus and do it" before he went out on the ice.

Thanks for this great topic.

Don Jackson was not only "one of the best Canadian male skaters of all time" but he was one of the best skaters of all time, period. Nationality doesn't play into his greatness. The whole world embraced Don and his great skating! 👍
 
Joined
Dec 30, 2004
don

hi,
Ya don is still coaching at minto actually and he still does a lot of skating. He actually does ice shows and tours the country with the hockey old timers. If you live in ottawa he is also in a show on the canal during winterloud called the Clairca ice cafe. I saw it last year and the skating by minto is amazing and donny is just fantastic.

Tripple Loop
 
Joined
Jun 21, 2003
Thanks for the info Trains and PinkSkating Qieen, and welcome to the Forum. We hope you like us. Keep on postin'!:)

Mathman
 
S

SkateFan4Life

Guest
At the time of the 1961 Worlds, Don Jackson was training in New York under the great French coach, Pierre Brunet. Don had been scheduled to fly with the US Figure Skating Team to the 1961 Worlds in Prague, but he came down with the flu and booked another flight for a few days afterwards.

As we know, the plane carrying the US team crashed in its approach to the Brussels airport, and everyone on board was killed. Had Don been healthy, he would have been on that flight, and he, too, would have been lost. Thank heavens he was ill!

The 1961 Worlds were cancelled as a sign of mourning for the lost American team, and they were rescheduled for the next year in Prague. It was then that Don electrified the world with the first-ever triple lutz.
 

Ladskater

~ Figure Skating Is My Passion ~
Record Breaker
Joined
Jul 28, 2003
SkateFan4Life said:
Don Jackson was not only "one of the best Canadian male skaters of all time" but he was one of the best skaters of all time, period. Nationality doesn't play into his greatness. The whole world embraced Don and his great skating! 👍


You took my meaning out of context. Since Don was our Canadian male champion before he was the world champion I guess we can brag about him a little! Give us a break. Don is a skater's skater who belongs to the whole world of figure skating - especially since he landed the first triple Lutz in competition. He is still a great champion who is looked up to and an ambassadour of Figure Skating for Canada. Both he and Barbara Ann Scott are legends.
 
S

SkateFan4Life

Guest
Ladskater said:
You took my meaning out of context. Since Don was our Canadian male champion before he was the world champion I guess we can brag about him a little! Give us a break. Don is a skater's skater who belongs to the whole world of figure skating - especially since he landed the first triple Lutz in competition. He is still a great champion who is looked up to and an ambassadour of Figure Skating for Canada. Both he and Barbara Ann Scott are legends.

And you took my meaning out of context. Did I say that you weren't entitled to brag about Don Jackson? Of course not. My meaning was that Don was such a great skater that he was one of the world's best skaters, plain and simple. I've seen Don Jackson skate in person, and he's a joy to watch. Perhaps we can all be a bit less parochial about nationality, etc.
 
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