Doug started competitive skating in 1938 at the age of 8 years old at the old Arena Gardens in Detroit, Michigan. At first he joined the Saturday Safety Club speed skating races but soon was more interested in doing jumps, spins and dances.
Doug says he was doing Freestyle before Toe Stops were invented. Notice the skates Doug and his partner are wearing, they are completely different than skaters today need. The boots were high and actually very soft by todays standards.
In years to follow Doug showed extreme talent and graduated to figures, pairs, singles and dance skating, winning the United States National Championships in 1944's Novice Men's Figures and Freestyle events, as well as placing at Nationals in Dance events.
In this picture of Doug, taken when he was around 13, he is wearing a 1st Place Medal in Dance, a 1st Place Medal in Figures, and 1st Place Medal in Pairs all pinned to his sweater for this shot. Notice the skates Doug is wearing, NO TOE STOPS and THEY ARE WHITE! Doug says this shot was taken around 1944, during World War II, and you could not buy black skates during the war. Even at this young age Doug looked so Debonair and comfortable in front of a camera that it was natural for him to be drawn toward the world of Show Skating.