Charlie Kellogg
Hall of Fame Class of 2010
Although handicapped by growing up in meteorologically disadvantaged locations like Brookline, MA, Wickford, RI, Rye, NY and Corpus Christie, TX, Charlie discovered skiing as a student at Holderness School. At Williams College, Charlie competed in four events (slalom, downhill, jumping and cross country) under legendary coach, Ralph Townsend. Again, in spite of a geographical disadvantage (in comparison to rival schools Dartmouth, Middlebury, UVM and others), Charlie frequently finished on the podium in the Winter Carnival cross country events, often fighting it out with Dartmouth’s Jim Page who won the 1962 NCAA Championships.
Following graduation from Williams, Charlie enlisted in the Army, completed basic training and secured an assignment to the Modern Winter Biathlon Training Center at Fort Richardson, Alaska. He earned a spot on the traveling team and competed in several biathlon events during the winter of 1964, achieving the top performance for an American at the CISM (world military) competitions in Ostersund, Sweden.
After fulfilling his military obligation, Charlie left Alaska for Andover, MA, but continued to compete in biathlon, winning the first National Championship held in Rosendale, NY in January, 1965. He continued racing in Nordic skiing events as much as his full time work at IBM permitted, earning a spot on the Eastern Cross Country team in 1967. His results on the Eastern Team led to National Team selection in 1968 and ultimately to a position on the U.S. Olympic Team to the Grenoble, where he competed in the 30 k and 50 k cross country events. Following the ’68 Olympics, Charlie continued to race nationally as a member of the U.S. Ski Team, winning a number of events through 1972.
In spite of the demands of a growing family and the disruption of several relocations for his work with IBM, Charlie continued to race regularly in regional, national and even international competitions. He participated in three World Masters Cross Country Ski Championships, taking gold in his age group in the 15 k freestyle event at the 1998 Worlds in Lake Placid.
In addition to inspiring generations of Nordic racers through decades of top level participation, Charlie has also contributed his time to the organizations which support the sport. For a decade he served as the Nordic Vice President of the U.S. Eastern Amateur Ski Association (the precursor to today’s NENSA), and he has served the U.S. Biathlon Association for 15 years as a member of the board of directors, for the past several years as the Association’s Vice Chairman.
For his national and international competitive accomplishments as a biathlete in the 1960’s, but also for his decades of high-level participation, both on the ski trails and behind the scenes, it is my honor to nominate Charlie Kellogg for induction into the U.S. Biathlon Hall of Fame.