Robin Lee: Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame inductee, Class of 1963

As a young boy in St. Paul, Robin Lee, learned to figure skate from his father, Ayner Lee, who was a talented skater.

Robin Lee, who was born in St. Paul in 1919, began his figure skating career at the age of 9. By the time he was 20, he had won five consecutive men's national titles.

At age 11, he won the Minnesota state senior championship and placed third in the national junior competition at Boston. At age 12, he became the youngest skater to win the U.S. junior championship. At 13, he won the Midwestern senior championships, placed third in the national senior championships and placed third in the North American championships.

In 1935, after finishing third and second at the national championships the previous two years, he won the first of five consecutive national titles.

"That's quite significant," Beth Davis, museum curator for the United States Figure Skating Association in Colorado Springs told the Associated Press in 1997. "There aren't a lot of skaters who manage to continue to win year after year.''

He skated for the U.S. Olympic team in the 1936 Olympics, where he finished 12th. He was selected to compete for the U.S. Olympic team in the 1940 Olympics, but the games were canceled because of World War II.

Lee served in the U.S. Navy during World War II. After the war, Lee skated professionally in ice shows and worked as a figure skating instructor. He continued as an instructor for the Figure Skating Club of Minneapolis until 1991.

In 1963, Lee became the first figure skater to be inducted into the Minnesota Sports Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the U.S. Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 1995.

Class: 1963.

Sport: Figure skating.