Ray Ellis Hadley Jr. (October 6, 1943 – February 15, 1961) was an American

figure skater Figure skating is a sport in which individuals, pairs, or groups perform on figure skates on ice. It was the first winter sport to be included in the Olympic Games, with its introduction occurring at the 1908 Olympics in London. The Olympic d ...

who competed in pairs and

ice dance Ice dance (sometimes referred to as ice dancing) is a discipline of figure skating that historically draws from ballroom dancing. It joined the World Figure Skating Championships in 1952, and became a Winter Olympic Games medal sport in 1976. Ac ...

with his sister

Ila Ray Hadley Ila Ray Hadley (September 18, 1942 – February 15, 1961), was an American figure skater who competed in pairs and ice dance with her brother Ray Hadley, Jr. Hadley was born in Renton, Washington to Ray Hadley Sr. and his first wife, Betty ...

. Hadley was born in

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is the List of municipalities in Washington, most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the List of Unit ...

to Ray Hadley Sr. and his first wife, Betty Ward. His parents divorced and both parents remarried. His father, a one-time roller skating champion, and stepmother, Alvah "Linda" Hart Hadley, a former ice skater and roller skater, opened their own skating rink to give Ila Ray and Ray more time on the ice. Ray and his sister won the bronze medal in pairs at the 1960 United States Figure Skating Championships and competed in the

Winter Olympics The Winter Olympic Games (), also known as the Winter Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event held once every four years for sports practiced on snow and ice. The first Winter Olympic Games, the 1924 Winter Olympics, were held i ...

and

World Figure Skating Championships The World Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU). The first World Championships were held in 1896 in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and they have been held e ...

that year. The next year, they finished second in pairs at the U.S. Championships and fourth at the

North American Figure Skating Championships The North American Figure Skating Championships were a biennial figure skating competition, and although they were sanctioned by the International Skating Union (ISU), they were actually a joint venture of the Canadian Figure Skating Associat ...

. They died along with their 33-year-old stepmother, who also served as their coach, on February 15, 1961, when

Sabena Flight 548 Sabena Flight 548 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Idlewild Airport in New York City to Brussels Airport in Belgium. On 15 February 1961, the Boeing 707-329 operating the flight crashed on approach to Brussels Airport, kill ...

crashed in Belgium en route to the World Championships in

Prague Prague ( ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in the Czech Republic, largest city of the Czech Republic and the historical capital of Bohemia. Prague, located on the Vltava River, has a population of about 1.4 million, while its P ...

. He was 17 years old. His parents met in

Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...

and Hadley and his sister are buried in that city. Ray Hadley Sr, had intended to fly to Europe on a separate flight the following day. When he learned of the plane crash, he told a reporter he wished that he had been on the doomed flight with his wife and children so they all could have died together. Ray Hadley Sr. died in 1966 of what friends said was a broken heart. On January 28, 2011, Hadley was inducted into the

United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame The United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame serves as a repository for the sport of figure skating. The United States Figure Skating Hall of Fame is where the greatest names in the history of the sport are honored. To be inducted into it is consid ...

along with the entire 1961 World Team.

Results

Pairs

Ice Dance

References

External links

U.S. Figure Skating biography

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadley, Ray American male pair skaters American male ice dancers Olympic figure skaters for the United States Figure skaters at the 1960 Winter Olympics 1943 births 1961 deaths Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in Belgium Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1961 20th-century American sportsmen