Lloyd Valdemar "Skippy" Baxter (December 6, 1919 – December 18, 2012) 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 ...

. Born in

Saskatchewan Saskatchewan is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Western Canada. It is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, to the northeast by Nunavut, and to the south by the ...

, Canada, his family moved to

Oakland, California Oakland is a city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area in the U.S. state of California. It is the county seat and most populous city in Alameda County, California, Alameda County, with a population of 440,646 in 2020. A major We ...

when he was 1 year of age. Skippy started his skating career as a speed skater. Often winning awards as a youth Speed skater in Oakland, California. Then later, he won two medals at the 1940

United States Figure Skating Championships The U.S. Figure Skating Championships are an annual figure skating competition organized by U.S. Figure Skating to crown the national champions of the United States. The first U.S. Championships were held in 1914 in New Haven, Connecticut, ...

: a bronze in men's singles and a silver in

pair skating Pair skating is a figure skating discipline defined by the International Skating Union (ISU) as "the skating of two persons in unison who perform their movements in such harmony with each other as to give the impression of genuine Pair Skating ...

with

Hedy Stenuf Hedy Stenuf Byram (July 18, 1922 – November 7, 2010) was an Austrian figure skater who later competed for France and the United States. Representing the United States, she became a two-time World medalist. Life and career Stenuf first became ...

. Baxter went on to skate professionally with the

Ice Capades The Ice Capades were traveling entertainment shows featuring theatrical ice skating performances. Shows often featured former Winter Olympic Games, Olympic and United States Figure Skating Championships, US National Champion figure skating, figur ...

, working with

Sonja Henie Sonja Henie (8 April 1912 – 12 October 1969) was a Norway, Norwegian figure skating, figure skater and film star. She was a three-time List of Olympic medalists in figure skating, Olympic champion (Figure skating at the 1928 Winter Olympics, ...

in her shows. Baxter was famous for the backflip that he regularly performed during shows. Skippy and his brother Meryl Baxter owned an ice rink in Santa Rosa, California on Summerfield Road, where the famous cartoonist Charles Schulz would take his family for skating lessons. It was there that Charles and Skippy Baxter formed a close friendship that lasted until the death of Charles Schulz. Baxter choreographed a segment for the 1969 animated film ''

A Boy Named Charlie Brown ''A Boy Named Charlie Brown'' is a 1969 American animated musical comedy-drama film, produced by Cinema Center Films, distributed by National General Pictures, and directed by Bill Melendez with a screenplay by Charles M. Schulz. It is the fi ...

'', in which

Snoopy Snoopy is an anthropomorphic beagle in the comic strip ''Peanuts'' by American cartoonist Charles M. Schulz. He also appears in all of the ''Peanuts'' films and television specials. Since his debut on October 4, 1950, Snoopy has become one of ...

skates. He later coached figure skating in Northern California at the Redwood Empire Ice Arena in Santa Rosa, California. Charles Schulz built the rink while Skippy and his brother Meryl Baxter helped run and operate the rink. Skippy 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 ...

in 2003.

Results

(men's singles) (pairs with Stenuf)

Early life

Lloyd Baxter, having endured an accident as a youth with a tractor, which almost resulted in a leg amputation, began skating at the urging of his mother to strengthen his leg to avoid amputation. In turn, began his career as a champion youth speed skater. Baxter enlisted in the United States army in 1943 and served in Northern Italy during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

with the

10th Mountain Division The 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) is a light infantry division (military), division in the United States Army based at Fort Drum, New York. Formerly designated as a mountain warfare unit, the division was the only one of its size in ...

, along with his brother Meryl Baxter. They were granted leave on weekends to continue performing in Ice Shows. Baxter was on the United States Olympic Figure Skating team, but because of the war and his enlistment, the Winter Olympics were cancelled that year.

References

2012 deaths 1919 births American male single skaters American male pair skaters Sportspeople from Saskatchewan Sportspeople from Oakland, California United States Army personnel of World War II United States Army soldiers 20th-century American sportsmen {{US-figure-skating-bio-stub