An outstanding alpine ski racer, Bill Beck was a U.S. Olympian.

Bill Beck was one of our outstanding alpine ski racers of the 1950s. He was a member of the National “A” Team from 1951 to 1957.

In 1952, he was named to the U.S. Olympic Team with Jack Reddish, Brooks Dodge, Jimmy Griffith and others. The 1952 Olympics in Oslo saw Bill Beck finish 5th in the downhill – the best Olympic downhill finish ever by an American male (at that time). It was tied by Pete Patterson in 1980 and finally exceeded by Bill Johnson’s gold in 1984. Beck’s record stood for 28 years.

That same year, 1952, Bill was 5th in the prestigious A-K Downhill in Chamonix, France. This was again the best American showing against the cream of European champions.

Bill tied Chick Igaya for 1st place in downhill in the National Championships on Cannon Mountain in 1955. His race results during the 1950s were such that he was named to the World Championship team in 1954 and the Winter Olympic team again in 1956, along with Tom Corcoran and Buddy Werner.

Bill Beck went on to join his teammates named above as an Honored Member of the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame.

Bill Beck was elected to the U.S. National Ski Hall of Fame in 2000.