OK, Now I Feel Old!!

Ok, I officially feel old now. Scott Hamilton turned 50 today! And of course, you all know who Scott Hamilton is, right? Scott was born August 28, 1958 in Toledo, Ohio. He was adopted as a baby by Ernest and Dorothy Hamilton, both professors at Bowling Green State University in Bowling Green, Ohio. When Scott was 2 years old he contracted an illness that caused him to stop growing. After many tests and diagnosis, he was finally diagnosed with Shwachman-Diamond syndrome. After the diagnosis it was felt that exercise would help so he took up ice skating at the BGSU Ice Arena. (Incidentally, I have spent hours and hours and hours in this arena watching hockey.) First he got into ice hockey but then turned to figure skating. He finished 5th in the 1980 Olympics where he was honored with carrying the flag for Team America. He was World Champion in 1981, 1982, and 1983 and then went on to win gold at the 1984 Olympics in Sarajevo. He then went on to found Stars on Ice.

The first time I saw Scott skate in person was in BG in May 1985. He would come back for every other year for the Ice Horizons Skating Club show. The picture above (sorry for the lousy quality) was taken in May 1987. The other gal is my friend, Marta.

Scott is a survivor. He survived his early childhood disease, Testicular Cancer, and a brain tumor. He is now married with two children and still runs Stars on Ice. Happy Birthday Scott--but how did you get to be 50???