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Richard Ewell: the first black skater to win a national title in singles and pairs
Famed coach Mabel Fairbanks helped launch another career
1:23 PMRichard Ewell, a student of famed skating coach Mabel Fairbanks, is the first African-American to win a national title in singles and pairs figure skating.
Born: 1951 or 1952
His story: Ewell grew up in Los Angeles and began skating in 1963. He trained with Fairbanks in Culver City, California. He first qualified for the U.S. Figure Skating Championships in 1969 in the junior division and took home the national title in 1970. Ewell also was training in pair skating, teaming with fellow African-American Michelle McCladdie in 1968. They earned a bronze medal at nationals in 1971 before winning the junior pairs crown in 1972. They turned pro after winning nationals and toured with the Ice Capades.
Fast fact: Ewell’s doubles partner, McCladdie, was a fair-skinned black woman with blond hair and green eyes. “My looks contradict my origins,” she told Ebony magazine in 1972. “But then, black comes in many different shades and I’m proud of it. Maybe it’ll bury a few stereotypes.”
Quotable: Ewell told Ebony Jr.! magazine in 1977 that he would like to help get more blacks interested in ice skating. “I’d really love to see at least one black get into Winter Olympic competition.”
The Undefeated will profile an athlete each day during Black History Month.