William Bradford Briggs dies at 87

 One of the founding pioneers of the modern day U.S. Ski Team, William Bradford Briggs, died Nov. 1 at the age of 87 at his home in Vero Beach, Fla. In the 1970’s he was a driving force in the formation of the Team's fundraising arm, the U.S. Ski Team Educational Foundation, in the '70s and one of its staunchest supporters in the Team's heyday of the late '70s and early '80s.     One of the founding pioneers of the modern day U.S. Ski Team, William Bradford Briggs, died Nov. 1 at the age of 87 at his home in Vero Beach, Fla. In the 1970’s he was a driving force in the formation of the Team's fundraising arm, the U.S. Ski Team Educational Foundation, in the '70s and one of its staunchest supporters in the Team's heyday of the late '70s and early '80s.

     Briggs is considered one of the key people involved in guiding U.S. skiing into a prominent world wide role.  He became President of the United States Ski Educational Foundation, the governing body of the U.S. Ski Team and was instrumental in the rise of the U.S. Ski Team when Cindy Nelson and Phil and Steve Mahre emerged.

     "Brad Briggs was the one who hired me in December of 1973 to run the team," said Hank Tauber, the U.S. team director of the era. "He became a close friend and I admired him for who he was and the actions he took."

     "Much of the success our athletes have earned today can be attributed to the vision of early supporters like Brad Briggs," said U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association President and CEO Bill Marolt. "When Brad and others started our Foundation, they had no roadmap – they paved the way with their enthusiasm in mobilizing American skiers coast-to-coast to support their best athletes. It's a model that continues to serve us today, over three decades later."

    Tauber pointed out that it was Briggs who orchestrated the departure of the alpine and nordic teams from USSA at theUSSA convention in Sun Valley in June of 1973. “He thought the team should be handled in a more professional way,” Tauber added.

     Briggs called both Vero Beach, Fla., and New Canaan, Conn., home. He died Nov. 1 at Indian River Medical Center in Vero Beach.

     Born in Jamestown, R.I. Briggs attended Deerfield Academy and graduated from Bowdoin College in 1943. He served as a naval aviator during World War II. After the war he began a career in magazine publishing, ultimately becoming Vice-Chairman of Ziff Davis Publishing C where he teamed with Bill Ziff to build one of the world's great publishing empires. Ziff Davis published special interest magazines like Car and Driver, Skiing, Flying, Stereo Review and Popular Photography. For a brief span the company, under the guidance of Briggs, owned Ski Racing Magazine.

     Briggs was a tremendous athlete, a football and baseball standout in college. His greatest love was golf, a sport that he was immensely competitive in. Survivors include sons, Scott, Peter and Barry Briggs; 11 grandchildren; and one great-grandchild. He was preceded in death by his wife, "Buffy" Briggs, on Oct. 30.