From Sports Champions Exhibits Cards (W469). Distributed by Exhibit Supply Company. Dispensed in arcade machines. Postcard-sized thick card. Action "photo" of sports champion on front. Grey toned. Lower right: MADE IN U.S.A.

Title: Gretchen Merrill from Sports Champions Exhibits Cards (W469)

Publisher: Exhibit Supply Company

Date: ca. 1947–49

Medium: Commercial photolithograph

Dimensions: Sheet: 5 3/8 × 3 3/8 in. (13.6 × 8.5 cm)

Gretchen Merrill (November 2, 1925 – April 22, 1965) was an American figure skater. Gretchen was a six-time (1943–1948) U.S. national champion and thrice placed second in 1941, 1942 and 1949. She was the 1947 European silver medalist and World bronze medalist, winning those medals in the first World and Europeans Championships to be held since 1939. She was the second and last American woman to win a medal at the European Championships; following 1948, the competition was restricted to skaters representing European countries. Merrill placed 8th at the 1948 Winter Olympics.

Gretchen Merrill was a six-time US singles champion, winning the title every year from 1943-48. In 1947 she placed third in the World Championships, and was second that year in the European Championships, as in that era, the Europeans were an open competition. Merrill is the last American woman to win a medal at the European Championships, as they were closed only to Europeans beginning in 1948. Merrill also placed second at the US Championships in 1941, 1942, and 1949. 

Representing the Skating Club of Boston, Merrill was coached by US Olympian Maribel Vinson-Owen. Merrill was considered among the best dressed American female athletes by the media, and her glamour gained her attention in the European press as well. She was inducted into the US Figure Skating Hall of Fame in 2000.