Herbert Morris Cohen (born June 7, 1940) is an American Olympic foil fencer.

Early and personal life

Cohen is Jewish, was born in New York City, grew up in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

and has lived in Holmdel, New Jersey.David Wild
''He Is . . . I Say: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Neil Diamond''
/ref>Martin Harry Greenberg
''The Jewish lists: physicists and generals, actors and writers, and hundreds of other lists of accomplished Jews''
/ref> His elder brother was the Olympic fencer

Abe Cohen Abraham Cohen (March 23, 1933 – March 8, 2001) was an American football guard who played one season with the Boston Patriots of the American Football League (AFL). He was drafted by the New York Giants in the 26th round of the 1955 NFL Draft. H ...

, who competed for the United States in the

1956 Summer Olympics The 1956 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVI Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event held in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, from 22 November to 8 December 1956, with the exception of the equestrian events, w ...

Fencing career

Cohen started fencing at the age of 15, and fenced at Abraham Lincoln High School in Brooklyn, New York. He was captain of the fencing team, which included his best friend, future singer

Neil Diamond Neil Leslie Diamond (born January 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. He has sold more than 130 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling musicians of all time. He has had ten No. 1 singles on the Hot 100 and Adul ...

. He then fenced at

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

(Class of 1962), alongside, among others, Neil Diamond and future Olympian Eugene Glazer.NYU Athletics – "Hall of Fame"
gonyuathletics.com; accessed February 8, 2018. In 1961, he went undefeated during the year and won both the

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, Canada, and Puerto Rico. It also organizes the athletic programs of colleges ...

foil championship and the NCAA saber championship. Fencing for NYU in 1962 he won his second straight NCAA Championship in foil, while being named national Fencer of the Year.Bob Wechsler
''Day by Day in Jewish Sports History''
books.google.com; accessed February 8, 2018. He was a three-time All-American. He fenced for the Fencers Club in New York. Cohen won a gold medal in team foil and a bronze medal in individual foil at the

1963 Pan American Games The 1963 Pan American Games were held from April 20 to May 5, 1963, in São Paulo, Brazil. Host city selection For the first time, two cities submitted bids to host the 1963 Pan American Games that were recognized by the Pan American Sports O ...

. In 1964, Cohen won the US National Fencing Championship in foil, while Albie Axelrod took the silver medal and Eugene Glazer took the bronze medal. Cohen competed in both the individual and team

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ...

events at the

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 ( ja, 東京1964), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this h ...

in Tokyo at the age of 24, and the

1968 Summer Olympics The 1968 Summer Olympics ( es, Juegos Olímpicos de Verano de 1968), officially known as the Games of the XIX Olympiad ( es, Juegos de la XIX Olimpiada) and commonly known as Mexico 1968 ( es, México 1968), were an international multi-sport ev ...

in Mexico at the age of 28. As to his philosophy of fencing, Cohen said: "I always fought as if my life depended on it.""Victory's Never Dull For Fencers at Taft"
''The New York Times''; accessed February 8, 2018. He was the head fencing coach at NYU from 1975 to 1977, and led the team to the 1976 NCAA Championship. In 1977 he coached the fencing team at

Stuyvesant High School , motto_translation = For knowledge and wisdom , address = 345 Chambers Street , city = New York , state = New York , zipcode = 10282 , country ...

in Manhattan, New York. In 2016, he coached

Teaneck High School , motto_translation = To enrich the mind and improve the character , fundingtype = Public , schooltype = high school , grades = 9– 12 , district = Teaneck Public Schools , enrollment = 1,239 (as of 2021–22) , faculty = ...

."H.S. fencing: Fair Lawn's Gene Packer goes out strong"
northjersey.com; accessed February 8, 2018. In 1995, Cohen was inducted into the NYU Hall of Fame.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cohen, Herbert 1940 births Living people American male foil fencers Jewish male foil fencers Jewish American sportspeople Olympic fencers of the United States Fencers at the 1964 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1968 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in fencing Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games bronze medalists for the United States Sportspeople from Brooklyn People from Holmdel Township, New Jersey NYU Violets fencers Abraham Lincoln High School (Brooklyn) alumni NYU Violets fencing coaches Stuyvesant High School Fencers at the 1963 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games 21st-century American Jews