Jack Shea, Jim Shea and
Jim (Jimmy) Shea, Jr.
The most celebrated family of Olympians in US History. The Shea family represents the first three-generation family to compete in the Winter Olympic Games for the United States. This family personifies the Olympic ideals of perseverance, dedication, sportsmanship and dignity.
JACK SHEA
Jack Shea competed in the 1932 Winter Olympics, where he won two gold medals in the 1500 and 500 meter Speed Skating events.
John A. “Jack” Shea was born in Lake Placid on September 7, 1910, to the honorable James and Grace Obrey Shea. At the age of three, Jack began skating and by the age of 10, he won his first speed skating International Championship (1921). The following year, Jack claimed his first National Title in the 12-year-old class as well as the Adriondack Silver Cup event. In 1927, Jack broke all records in high school competition and in his Senior year of high school entered Senior Skating competitions for the first time. He won the North American Senior Men’s Speed Skating Championships that year (1929) and won the title again the next year while a Freshman at Dartmouth College. As a student at Dartmouth, Jack won the Intercollegiate Championships all four years.
In 1932 Jack Shea took the world by storm. The III Winter Olympic Games were held in Lake Placid and the hometown boy put the village on the map. Jack was given the honor of reading the Olympic Athlete’s Oath at the Opening Ceremonies. He followed that with an incredible performance on the ice, winning the first event on the schedule -speed skating’s 500-meter race.
The next day Jack, Jack put on another spectacular performance and won the 1500-meter race, making him the first double Gold Medalist in the history of the Olympic Winter Games.
In 1962, Jack was elected into the Speed Skating Hall of Fame and followed that with the admission to the Lake Placid Hall of Fame. In May of 1977, Jack was awarded the North Country Citizen Award by St.
Lawrence University. Speed Skating USA established the Jack Shea Award in 2000. This award is presented annually to an outstanding speed skater for overall contributions to the sport of speed skating.
For the 1980 Winter Olympics, held in Lake Placid, Jack was a member of the Games Commission, the LPOOC and the “Bid Team.” In 1982, Jack was appointed as a member of the ORDA Board of Directors and served as its Vice Chairman.
JIM SHEA, SR.
Jim Shea, Sr. competed in Nordic combined and Cross Country Skiing during the 1964 Winter Olympics.
James Edmund “Jim” Shea was born in Lake Placid, New York . Although Jim’s father’s sport had been speed skating, Jim was drawn to the thrilling sport of ski jumping. When Jim was 10 years old he began ski jumping on two old jumps near the local high school.
Starting at such a young age had a positive impact on Jim as he became President of the Ski Team by his Senior year in High School.
After graduating from Lake Placid High School, Jim attended the University of Denver on an athletic scholarship for skiing. The University of Denver had a great ski team and claimed the 1961 NCAA Championships.
In 1962, Jim joined with the US Army and began competing in military competitions. In the summers he trained by running and shooting while in the winter he remained an avid skiing competitor. After his two years in the Army, Jim headed back to the University of Denver where he was employed as a ski coach.
Jim became a member of the 1964 US Olympic Ski Team in Innsbruck, Austria. He competed in the Nordic Combined and had the honor to carry the Oslo Flag with his teammates during the ceremonies.
In 1969 Jim became the coach for the Junior National Nordic Team, then moved on to become the coach of the U.S. Nordic Combined Ski Team, competing in Czechoslovakia in 1970. In 1973 Jim was named the coach for the US Olympic Biathlon Team, which took fifth place in Japan, the highest placing of any American team in the Olympic Biathlon. From 1977-1979 Jim was the President of the US Ski Association’s Eastern Division. During the 1980 Winter Olympic Games in Lake Placid Jim was Assistant to the Chief of Cross Country events.
Currently Jim is the President of the US Bobsled and Skeleton Federation and will be present with the Federation during the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Torino, Italy.
JIM SHEA, JR.
In the 2002 Winter Olympics, Jim Shea, Jr. won the gold medal in Skeleton, a reintroduced Olympic event
Born in 1968 in Hartford, Connecticut, Jimmy Shea is the third generation Olympian in this family of world class athletes. Although his sport of Skeleton was not the sport his father or grandfather competed in, Jimmy still found his family had hard earned advice on being an Olympic competitor.
"From my Grandfather, I learned to be persistent, and to have real desire. Also, to remember that at the end of the day, it's not about the medals you win. You can't celebrate the medals if you don't have someone to celebrate with. The friendships are so much more important. From my father, I learned hard work and determination. You have to keep at it. The more you keep going, the more chances you have to succeed.”
Three generations: Shea family bronze statue of Jack, Jim and Jimmy
Zion's Bank has honored Jack, Jim Sr, and Jimmy Shea with a 3/4 life size bronze statue inside their Newpark branch in Kimball Junction, Park City, Utah.
Scott Anderson, CEO of Zion's Bank made the decision to immortalize the first three generations of the of the Winter Olympics Shea family. At the unveiling in January 2005, Scott Anderson said, "the statue represents the values that made America great, and which were passed from generation to generation in the Shea family. On behalf of all of us, thank you."
A guest book is by the statue honoring the Shea legacy where people are encouraged to sign their names and give their thoughts. The Shea family is deeply honored by this tribute.
