| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bobsleigh | ||
Representingthe United States | ||
| World Championships | ||
 | 1969 Lake Placid | Four-man |
Howard Banford Siler Jr. (June 18, 1945 – July 8, 2014) was an Americanbobsledder who competed from the late 1960s to the early 1980s.
Howard Siler won a bronze medal in the four-man bobsledding event at the1969 FIBT World Championships inLake Placid, New York. Competing in two Winter Olympics, Siler's best Olympic finish was fifth place in thetwo-man event at the1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid.[1] In all, he was a 5-time US champion and a 9-time member of the US World team.[2]
in 1985 Siler served as the United States team coach and also as chairman of the US Bobsled Federation Competition Committee.[3] Siler later coached theJamaican bobsleigh team that participated at the1988 Winter Olympics inCalgary. He was the inspiration for the character of Irving "Irv" Blitzer (played byJohn Candy) in the American filmCool Runnings (1993).[4]
Unlike the fictional Blitzer, Siler was employed outside his sporting activities, as an insurance executive. He died July 8, 2014, at his home in Clermont, Florida at the age of 69. In his obituary published by theLos Angeles Times, Siler's wife Debra Shea Siler is quoted as saying her husband was disappointed thatCool Runnings portrayed the Jamaican athletes as "cutesy, silly." Siler had agreed to coach the Jamaican bobsledding team because he found them to be serious and committed athletes.[5]
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