Spider Sabich competed at the 1968 Winter Olympics and was the pro ski racing champion in 1971 and 1972.
21 Facts About Spider Sabich
1.
2.
The grandson of Croatian immigrants, Spider Sabich was the second child of Vladimir and Frances Spider Sabich.
3.
Spider Sabich's father was an officer of the California Highway Patrol and had volunteered in World War II as a B-25 pilot in the Air Force; he was held as an internee in Siberia by the Soviets for a year after his plane was shot-up over northern Japan and forced down near Vladivostok.
4.
Spider Sabich skied on the World Cup circuit for its first four seasons, and finished fifth in the slalom in the thick fog at the 1968 Winter Olympics at age 22.
5.
Spider Sabich finished eighth in the slalom standings for the 1968 season and was the US downhill champion.
6.
Spider Sabich reached the World Cup podium three more times in the slalom in 1969.
7.
Spider Sabich finished seventh in the 1969 season standings for the slalom and 11th overall, but fell out of the top ten in the slalom the following year.
8.
Spider Sabich had 18 top ten finishes in Olympic and World Cup competition: two in downhill, three in giant slalom, and 13 in slalom.
9.
Spider Sabich turned professional after the 1970 season, following his friend Billy Kidd, who joined the pro tour in mid-February 1970 and won the first title.
10.
The attractive and charismatic Spider Sabich helped popularize skiing in the US in the late 1960s and early 1970s; he was the suspected inspiration for the 1969 film Downhill Racer, starring Robert Redford.
11.
Spider Sabich struggled to stand up, but was too stunned to walk and was hospitalized.
12.
Spider Sabich was out of the next day's slalom, and Killy won the season title in his first on the pro tour.
13.
Spider Sabich had knee surgery in August, and was featured on the cover of GQ magazine in November as "pro skiing's richest racer," holding his tri-color K2 skis, but sat out the 1975 season.
14.
Spider Sabich returned to the circuit in 1976 but qualified for only two races, with just $800 in earnings.
15.
Late in the afternoon on Sunday, March 21,1976, Spider Sabich returned from a training session at Aspen Highlands and a brief visit with Bob Beattie, whom he planned to meet for dinner.
16.
Spider Sabich claimed the gun accidentally discharged as he was showing her how it worked.
17.
Spider Sabich was hit by a single gunshot in the abdomen and lost a significant amount of blood before an ambulance arrived.
18.
Spider Sabich died on the way to Aspen Valley Hospital with Longet at his side, shortly after 5:00pm Sabich was 31 years and 2 months old.
19.
At the trial, Longet repeated the claim that the gun had accidentally discharged when Spider Sabich was showing her how to use it.
20.
Spider Sabich is buried in northern California at Westwood Hills Memorial Park in Placerville, where he attended high school.
21.
Spider Sabich is buried next to his older sister, Mary Frances Spider Sabich, a physician who died of brain cancer in 1988 at the age of 45.