William Beck (September 1, 1929 – February 16, 2017) was an American alpine ski racer. He competed at the

1952 Winter Olympics The 1952 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VI Olympic Winter Games ( no, De 6. olympiske vinterleker; nn, Dei 6. olympiske vinterleikane) and commonly known as Oslo 1952, was a winter multi-sport event held from 14 to 25 February 195 ...

and the

1956 Winter Olympics The 1956 Winter Olympics, officially known as the VII Olympic Winter Games ( it, VII Giochi Olimpici invernali) and commonly known as Cortina d'Ampezzo 1956 ( lld, Anpezo 1956 or ), was a multi-sport event held in Cortina d'Ampezzo, Italy, from ...

. Born in

Melrose, Massachusetts Melrose is a city located in the Greater Boston metropolitan area in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. Its population, per the 2020 United States Census, is 29,817. It is a suburb located approximately seven miles north of Boston. I ...

, Beck graduated from

South Kingstown High School South Kingstown High School (SKHS), originally known as the Wakefield High School is a public high school located in South Kingstown, Rhode Island. Approximately 931 students attend South Kingstown High School in grades 9–12. South Kingstown Hi ...

Wakefield, Rhode Island Wakefield is a village in the town of South Kingstown, Rhode Island, United States, and the commercial center of South Kingstown. Together with the village of Peace Dale, it is treated by the U.S. Census as a component of the census-designated ...

, and skied for

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College (; ) is a private research university in Hanover, New Hampshire. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, it is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the American Revolution. Although founded to educate Native A ...

Hanover, New Hampshire Hanover is a town located along the Connecticut River in Grafton County, New Hampshire, United States. As of the 2020 census, its population was 11,870. The town is home to the Ivy League university Dartmouth College, the U.S. Army Corps of Eng ...

. Beck's fifth place in the 1952 Olympic downhill was the best result for an American male in that event for over three decades (tied by

Pete Patterson James Peter Patterson (born January 4, 1957) is a former World Cup alpine ski racer for the United States, from Sun Valley, Idaho. At the Winter Olympics, he finished thirteenth in the downhill in 1976 and fifth in 1980. At th ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

), until Bill Johnson's gold medal in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

Olympic results

References

External links

Obituary
1929 births 2017 deaths American male alpine skiers Olympic alpine skiers of the United States Alpine skiers at the 1952 Winter Olympics Alpine skiers at the 1956 Winter Olympics People from Melrose, Massachusetts People from Middlebury, Vermont Sportspeople from Middlesex County, Massachusetts Sportspeople from Vermont People from South Kingstown, Rhode Island {{Vermont-sport-stub