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Historical collection of Olympic awards and artifacts from the estate of Canadian speed skater Frank Stack and his involvement at the Lake Placid 1932 Winter Olympics, which includes Stack’s bronze winner’s medal in the 10,000-meter skating event, his bronze participation medal, gilt contestant badge, and three participant diplomas awarded to Stack for the 10,000-meter (3rd), 500-meter (4th), and 1,500-meter (4th) skating events.
The collection is as follows:
Exceedingly rare winner's medal from the Lake Placid 1932 Winter Olympics, awarded to Canadian speed skater Frank Stack for his third-place finish in the 10,000-meter skating event. Bronze, 54 mm, 86 gm, by Robbins Co., Attleboro. The front depicts a winged goddess holding a laurel wreath and rising over a rural New York landscape and the site of the Olympic Games; the reverse features laurel branches and the Olympic rings, with central raised text: “III Olympic Winter Games, Lake Placid, 1932.” The edge bears the maker’s mark, and the medal includes a period presentation case. Winner’s medals from the Third Olympic Winter Games are virtually unobtainable, with a reported 45 examples struck, an appreciably small number due to the low athlete count (252) and event list (14 in four sports, with seven disciplines); in contrast, the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics featured 109 events in seven sports (15 disciplines). This winner’s medal represents our first from the American debut of the Winter Games.
Scarce participation medal from the 1932 Lake Placid Winter Olympics. Bronze, 60 mm x 48 mm, 81 gm. The front depicts the winged figure of Fame blowing into a long horn against a wintry landscape, with the Olympic rings above; the reverse, inscribed "III Olympic Winter Games Lake Placid 1932," features six shields depicting winter events, with scenes of curling and dogsledding below. The top edge is inscribed by the manufacturer, "Robbins, Co., Attleboro." A beautifully designed Olympic medal from America's premiere Winter Games, an award made all the more desirable by its scarce quantity—only 700 of these seldom-seen medals were struck.
Rare gilt contestant badge issued for the Lake Placid 1932 Winter Olympics, 36 mm, 17 gm, featuring enameled Olympic rings at center with "Contestant" inscribed in a red tablet below, encircled by the text, "III Olympic Winter Games, Lake Placid, 1932." The reverse is numbered "244" and marked "Robbins Co., Attleboro," and retains its screw-back closure.
Three official partly printed diplomas from the “III Olympic Winter Games, Lake Placid 1932,” each 14 x 10, awarded to “Frank Stack of Canada,” for “Speed skating – 10,000 meters,” “Speed skating – 500 meters,” and “Speed skating – 1500 meters.” Each diploma is signed below in ink by Godfrey Dewey as president of the III Olympic Winter Games Committee, and Henri de Baillet-Latour as president of the International Olympic Committee. Accompanied by a printed photo of Stack on the medal podium (pictured right).
Frank Stack (1906–1987) was one of Canada’s most accomplished speed skaters, having competed in the 1932, 1948, and 1952 Olympics. He began skating at 13, became Western Canadian Junior Champion (1919–23) and Senior Champion (1924–29), and won North American Indoor titles in 1931, 1932, and 1938. After semi-retiring in 1954, he returned in 1966 at age 60 and earned five podiums at the Canadian Indoor Championships. Stack also coached, preparing Canada’s teams for the 1952 and 1960 Olympics. He was inducted into the Canadian Speed Skating Hall of Fame (1965), Canada’s Sports Hall of Fame (1974), and the Manitoba Sports Hall of Fame (1981). Stack Street in Winnipeg is named in his honor.
