Unveiling of the
Art Devlin Statue
mounted at the base of the
MacKenzie-Intervale Ski Jumps
Lake Placid, NY, June 13, 2008
Following the 2004 death of ski jumping legend Art Devlin, friends and family sought an appropriate memorial to the life-long resident of Lake Placid. They quickly established the Art Devlin Cup, making the first award in 2004.
Later they commissioned a bronze sculpture (right) to be mounted permanently at the ski jumps. The life-size image of the five-time Olympian gazes up at the two Olympic ski jumps which played such a great role in Devlin's life. On June 13, 2008 about a hundred people gathered at the jumps to honor Devlin for the unveiling of the statue.
Each guest received a printed page with the program on one side and a nice memorial (below) on the other in words and pictures. One photo shows Art dressed in his team uniform for the 1954 World Championships while the other is the famous 1952 shot of Art at Oberstdorf, Germany flying to a distance of 405 feet. Here is the an image and the text of the memorial.
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Art Devlin 1922 - 2004
Art Devlin was born on September 7, 1922 in Lake Placid, N.Y. He started jumping at a young age and even built a small jump at his childhood home. He won his first medal at the age of 10.
At age 17, Art had earned a spot on the 1940 Olympic Team but was never able to compete due to World War II. He enlisted in the Army Air Corps in 1943 as a bombardier on B-24 planes and was discharged in 1946 with the rank of Captain. In his military career, Art had been awarded many military honors. His most impressive were five Air Medals, three Purple Hearts, three Distinguished Flying Crosses and two Presidential Unit Citations.
After the war, he returned to his ski jumping roots. Art made the 1948 (St. Moritz, Switzerland), 1952 (Oslo, Norway), 1956 (Cortina, Italy) and the 1960 (Squaw Valley, CA) U.S. Olympic Teams. Unfortunately, injuries from his past plagued his hopes of competing in 1960 so he gave up his place on the team.
The Squaw Valley Games were the first Olympic Games to be covered by television and Art became a CBS color commentator. In 1961, he was recruited as a commentator by ABC’s Wide World of Sports. Two years later, Devlin was inducted into the U.S. Ski Hall of Fame.
Art played an important role in bringing the Olympics
back to Lake Placid in 1980. He served as the Vice
President of the Lake Placid Olympic Organizing
Committee. Devlin stayed with the Wide World of
Sports until its final broadcast in 1981. On April 22,
2004, Art Devlin passed away at the age of 81.
The Art Devlin Cup
The Art Devlin Cup was created in 2004 in memory of Lake Placid’s greatest ski jumper. The cup recognizes excellence across Lake Placid ski jumping events at three different competitions: July’s Chevrolet Summer Jump, October’s annual Flaming Leaves Festival and in December at the New Year’s Masters Jump. The Devlin Cup is awarded to the winner during the New Year’s Masters Jump in December.
This memorial statue was commissioned and funded by family and friends of Art Devlin.
Sculptor - Rob Eccleston of Lake Placid
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Master of Ceremonies Roby Politi, Supervisor of the Town of North Elba, said a few words about Devlin and then introduced three speakers in order: Ted Blazer, Jay Rand and Art Devlin, Jr.
Right to left: The shrouded statue, Roby Politi at the podium, Ted Blazer, Art Devlin Jr,
Sculptor Rob Eccleston, Jay Rand Jr, two of Devlin's daughters Jackie Devlin and Alexis Norling with her daughter Milan Norling.
Jay Rand at the podium
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The first speaker was Ted Blazer, President and CEO of the Olympic Regional Development Authority.
Blazer was followed by Lake Placid native and Olympic ski jumper Jay Rand Jr. (left) Rand served for several years following the 1980 Games as the first venue manager of the
Olympic Ski Jumping facility before moving to Whiteface where he has been the Manager
until now.
Rand talked about Devlin's middle period, including his work on TV with ABC Wide World of Sports as color commentator for ski jumping.
The next speaker was Art Devlin Jr. who came to the podium accompanied by his two sisters Jackie and Alexis. Artie recalled his Dad with memories and stories.
He told about a nine year old boy who, in the winter of 1932, sneaked into the jumping facility and climbed a tree where he watched the great Norwegian champion Birger Ruud win the gold medal for ski jumping in the first Lake Placid Olympic Games. The young boy was his dad, Art Devlin, who resolved then and there to become a champion ski jumper.
Sculptor Rob Eccleston of Lake Placid joined the four Devlin family members at the podium, where he briefly described the process of creating the statue and how he got to know Art Devlin's appearance by studying sixty or more photographs. Then came the climax of the ceremony -- Eccleston pulled down the black shroud, revealing a life sized bronze statue of Art Devlin Sr. holding his skis and gazing up at the Olympic ski jumps.
Family members applaud as sculptor Rob Eccleston unveils his creation.
When the applause subsided, Roby Politi directed people's attention to the top of the 90 meter ski jump tower, remarking that it was only appropriate that a ceremony honoring Art Devlin finish with an exhibition jump by a Lake Placid native.
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The jumper was up-and-coming youngster Colin Delaney who flew far down the hill, landed gracefully on the green plastic surface, came to a stop on the grassy outrun, and walked over to pose with the star jumper of five decades ago.
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With the official ceremony finished, Politi invited all assembled to stay around on a beautiful June day to admire the memorial, pose for pictures and chat with the Devlin family
L-R: Jackie Devlin, (Art Sr.), Alexis Norling
with daughter Milan, Artie Devlin
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Ted Blazer, (Art Devlin), Roby Politi, Jay Rand
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Organizers called for the members of the Devlin Memorial Committee to come forward and pose with the fruits of their labors, and finally they called forward any old ski jumpers who might had skied with Devlin back in the day.
L-R: Roby Politi, Art Devlin Jr, (Art Sr), Doug Brown , Don Scammell, Jack Irvin
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Larry Stone, Peter Roland, (Art Devlin), Don West, Jack Irvin, Jay Rand, Jim Shea, Favor Smith
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Art Devlin never forgot where he came from, and as he traveled the world, he proudly told everyone he met that he came from Lake Placid, New York. He was a great ski jumper and a ambassador for the Olympic village in the Adirondacks.
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