1990 25c Olympians: Helene Madison
# 2500 - 1990 25c Olympians: Helene Madison
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US #2500
1990 Helene Madison
- Part of Set of five stamps featuring five former Olympic gold medal winners
- First Stamps issued under USPS sponsorship of Olympics
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Olympians
Value: 25¢, First-Class mail rate
First Day of Issue: July 6, 1990
First Day City: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Quantity Issued: 35,697,500
Printed by: American Bank Note Company
Printing Method: Photogravure
Format: Panes of 35 from printing cylinders of 140
Perforations: 11
Why the stamp was issued: This stamp is part of a set issued to honor past American Olympic stars. They were the first stamps issued by USPS during its sponsorship of the 1992 Olympic Games.
About the stamp design: The Olympians stamps were designed by Bart Forbes, who was also the talent behind the 1988 Winter and Summer Olympics stamps. He used existing photos of the athletes as inspiration for his stamp designs.
About the printing process: The Olympians stamps were originally going to be produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Because of other commitments, the printing job was given to the American Bank Note Company. The panes of 35 was a new format.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue ceremony was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during the US Olympic Festival 90.
About the Olympians set: The US Postal Service originally planned to issued a single stamp honoring Jesse Owens. When the USPS became an official Olympic sponsor, the issue was expanded to include a booklet of five athletes instead of one. Later, it was announced that the stamps would be issued as a sheet rather than a booklet.
History the stamp represents:
By the time Helene Madison was 17 years old, she already held 27 world’s freestyle swimming records. In 1932, she won Olympic gold in the 100-meter and 400-meter races and as a member of the 400-meter relay. Madison was the most successful female athlete at the Games that year.
Birth of Helene Madison
Olympic swimmer Helene Emma Madison was born on June 19, 1913, in Madison, Wisconsin.
Madison’s family moved to Seattle, Washington when she was two. As a child, she loved swimming in Green Lake. She played other sports in school, but always liked swimming the best.
Jack Torney provided Madison with some of her early swimming training, helping her to improve her technique. By the time she was a teenager, she outswam all the other swimmers at Green Lake. Another coach, Ray Daughters, had seen Madison’s success in summer league competitions and offered her further training.
When she was 15, Madison broke the state record for the women’s 100-yard freestyle. Not long after, she broke the Pacific Coast record. Madison made her national debut the following year and broke six records in one swim at the national championships in Florida. Madison continued to break records over the next two years and became the first woman to swim the 100-yard freestyle in one minute.
In 1931, the Associated Press named Madison their female athlete of the year. That year and the following year, she won every freestyle event at the US Women’s Nationals. And in 1932, she qualified for the summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
In her first race at the 1932 summer Olympics, Madison won the women’s 100-meter freestyle with a time that was four seconds faster than the Olympic record. She then won her second gold medal in the 400-meter relay, with her team breaking the previous world record by 9.6 seconds. Madison won a third gold medal the following day in the 400-meter freestyle, a race that many consider to be the one of the most exciting in Olympic history.
“Queen Helene,” as she came to be known, returned home to Seattle and received one of the city’s largest-ever ticker-tape parades. After much celebration and a swimming demonstration, Helene went to Hollywood to pursue an acting career. She only appeared in a few movies – The Human Fish (1932), It’s Great to Be Alive (1933) and The Warrior’s Husband (1933) – but didn’t find much success as an actress.
Madison returned to Seattle and hoped to find work as a swimming instructor, but the city’s parks department didn’t allow women to teach swimming, even with her three gold medals. Instead, she found work at a concession stand and a department store. In 1948, she opened a swimming school at the Moore Hotel, but closed it in the late 1950s after suffering two minor strokes and undergoing back surgery. She went on to work part-time in a convalescent home and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1966. She died four years later on November 27, 1970.
US #2500
1990 Helene Madison
- Part of Set of five stamps featuring five former Olympic gold medal winners
- First Stamps issued under USPS sponsorship of Olympics
Stamp Category: Commemorative
Set: Olympians
Value: 25¢, First-Class mail rate
First Day of Issue: July 6, 1990
First Day City: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Quantity Issued: 35,697,500
Printed by: American Bank Note Company
Printing Method: Photogravure
Format: Panes of 35 from printing cylinders of 140
Perforations: 11
Why the stamp was issued: This stamp is part of a set issued to honor past American Olympic stars. They were the first stamps issued by USPS during its sponsorship of the 1992 Olympic Games.
About the stamp design: The Olympians stamps were designed by Bart Forbes, who was also the talent behind the 1988 Winter and Summer Olympics stamps. He used existing photos of the athletes as inspiration for his stamp designs.
About the printing process: The Olympians stamps were originally going to be produced by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing. Because of other commitments, the printing job was given to the American Bank Note Company. The panes of 35 was a new format.
First Day City: The First Day of Issue ceremony was held in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during the US Olympic Festival 90.
About the Olympians set: The US Postal Service originally planned to issued a single stamp honoring Jesse Owens. When the USPS became an official Olympic sponsor, the issue was expanded to include a booklet of five athletes instead of one. Later, it was announced that the stamps would be issued as a sheet rather than a booklet.
History the stamp represents:
By the time Helene Madison was 17 years old, she already held 27 world’s freestyle swimming records. In 1932, she won Olympic gold in the 100-meter and 400-meter races and as a member of the 400-meter relay. Madison was the most successful female athlete at the Games that year.
Birth of Helene Madison
Olympic swimmer Helene Emma Madison was born on June 19, 1913, in Madison, Wisconsin.
Madison’s family moved to Seattle, Washington when she was two. As a child, she loved swimming in Green Lake. She played other sports in school, but always liked swimming the best.
Jack Torney provided Madison with some of her early swimming training, helping her to improve her technique. By the time she was a teenager, she outswam all the other swimmers at Green Lake. Another coach, Ray Daughters, had seen Madison’s success in summer league competitions and offered her further training.
When she was 15, Madison broke the state record for the women’s 100-yard freestyle. Not long after, she broke the Pacific Coast record. Madison made her national debut the following year and broke six records in one swim at the national championships in Florida. Madison continued to break records over the next two years and became the first woman to swim the 100-yard freestyle in one minute.
In 1931, the Associated Press named Madison their female athlete of the year. That year and the following year, she won every freestyle event at the US Women’s Nationals. And in 1932, she qualified for the summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
In her first race at the 1932 summer Olympics, Madison won the women’s 100-meter freestyle with a time that was four seconds faster than the Olympic record. She then won her second gold medal in the 400-meter relay, with her team breaking the previous world record by 9.6 seconds. Madison won a third gold medal the following day in the 400-meter freestyle, a race that many consider to be the one of the most exciting in Olympic history.
“Queen Helene,” as she came to be known, returned home to Seattle and received one of the city’s largest-ever ticker-tape parades. After much celebration and a swimming demonstration, Helene went to Hollywood to pursue an acting career. She only appeared in a few movies – The Human Fish (1932), It’s Great to Be Alive (1933) and The Warrior’s Husband (1933) – but didn’t find much success as an actress.
Madison returned to Seattle and hoped to find work as a swimming instructor, but the city’s parks department didn’t allow women to teach swimming, even with her three gold medals. Instead, she found work at a concession stand and a department store. In 1948, she opened a swimming school at the Moore Hotel, but closed it in the late 1950s after suffering two minor strokes and undergoing back surgery. She went on to work part-time in a convalescent home and was inducted into the International Swimming Hall of Fame in 1966. She died four years later on November 27, 1970.