Willy Bogner, Sr.

Who was Willy Bogner, Sr.?

Wilhelm Bogner, better known as Willy Bogner, Sr., was a German Nordic skier who competed in the 1930s. He won a pair of medals at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships with a silver in the 4 x 10 km event in 1934 and a bronze in the nordic combined in 1935. Bogner, Sr. also finished 6th in the 4 x 10 km event and 12th in the Nordic combined at the 1936 Winter Olympics in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, where he also took the Olympic Oath.

During his career, Bogner, Sr. was an eleven-time German and five-time nordic skiing champion. This allowed him to establish his clothing line in 1932, including outfitting the German national ski team at the 1936 Winter Olympics.

Following his stay as a POW during World War II, Bogner, Sr. returned to his business in 1947. Two of his innovations were the first stretch ski pants in 1948 which were modeled by the likes of Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Ingrid Bergman, and the tip-top hat in 1955. The American women's ski team even used his clothing line when they complained that their own American-made clothes were improperly fitted on them at the 1956 Winter Olympics in Cortina d'Ampezzo. In 1933, he participated together with Matthias Wörndle and Gustav "Gustl" Müller at the first Trofeo Mezzalama event, where they placed third.