Harold David Goldsmith (born Hans Goldschmidt), known as Hal (July 20, 1930 – March 13, 2004) was an American Olympic

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 ma ...

and epee fencer.

Early and personal life

Goldsmith was born in Gensungen, Felsberg,

Hessen Hesse or Hessen ( ), officially the State of Hesse (), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt, which is also the country's principal financial centre. Two other major historic cities are Da ...

, Germany, and was Jewish."Hal Goldsmith Bio, Stats, and Results,"
Olympics at Sports-Reference.com.">"Harold D. Goldsmith, 73 Was Executive, Athlete,"
''The Vineyard Gazette'' - Martha's Vineyard News. In 1938 when he was eight years old, his family fled Germany and immigrated to Manhattan. He attended

Stuyvesant High School Stuyvesant High School ( ) is a co-ed, State school, public, college-preparatory, Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in Manhattan, New York City. The school, commonly called "Stuy" ( ) by its students, faculty, a ...

. He served as an officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

. In 1956 he married DelRene Millner and had sons John and Bob. In 1964 they moved to

Ardsley, New York Ardsley is a village in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is part of the town of Greenburgh. The village's population was 5,079 at the 2020 census. The mayor of Ardsley is Nancy Kaboolian. The Ardsley post office serves the en ...

, and in 1991 they moved to

Chilmark, Massachusetts Chilmark is a town located on Martha's Vineyard in Dukes County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,212 at the 2020 census. The fishing village of Menemsha is located on the western side of the town along its border with the town ...

Fencing career

Goldsmith fenced for the Fencers Club in New York. He attended

The City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 18 ...

. Goldsmith won the 1952

NCAA The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) is a nonprofit organization that regulates College athletics in the United States, student athletics among about 1,100 schools in the United States, and Simon Fraser University, 1 in Canada. ...

(National Collegiate Athletic Association) foil championship. He was inducted into the CCNY Athletic Hall of Fame in 1970. He won the individual gold medal in foil in the

1955 Pan American Games The 1955 Pan American Games, officially known as II Pan American Games () and commonly known as Mexico 1955 (), opened on March 12, 1955, at University Stadium in Mexico City, Mexico, in front of a capacity crowd of 100,000 spectators. A total ...

and

1959 Pan American Games The 1959 Pan American Games, officially known as the III Pan American Games and commonly known as Chicago 1959, were held in Chicago, Illinois, United States between August 28 and September 7, 1959. Host city selection One city initially su ...

, and a team gold medal in foil in 1959. Goldsmith also won silver medals in both team foil and team epee in 1955."Biography for Harold Goldsmith"
/ref> Goldsmith was a member of three Olympic fencing teams, competing for the United States in 1952 in Helsinki, in 1956 in Melbourne, and in 1960 in Rome. The entire USA Foil Fencing Team at the 1956 Olympics was Jewish, with the other Jewish fencers being Daniel Bukantz,

Albert Axelrod Albert "Albie" Axelrod (February 12, 1921 – February 24, 2004) was an American foil fencer. He was a five-time Olympian for the US, won a bronze medal at the 1960 Olympics, and was the only American men's foil fencer to reach the finals at th ...

, Nathaniel Lubell, and

Byron Krieger Byron Lester Krieger (July 20, 1920 – November 8, 2015) was an American Foil (fencing), foil, sabre and épée Fencing, fencer. Krieger represented the United States in the Olympics in 1952 in Helsinki and 1956 in Melbourne, and in the 1951 Pa ...

. At the US National Championships, Goldsmith won medals in 1952, 1957, and 1960. Hal Goldsmith died in New York City at the age of 73.

References

External links

Jews in Sports bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goldsmith, Harold 1930 births 2004 deaths Emigrants from Nazi Germany to the United States Sportspeople from Manhattan People from Ardsley, New York Sportspeople from Westchester County, New York People from Chilmark, Massachusetts Stuyvesant High School alumni CCNY Beavers fencers American male foil fencers American male épée fencers Jewish épée fencers Jewish foil fencers Jewish American sportspeople Fencers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Olympic fencers for the United States American people of German-Jewish descent Fencers at the 1951 Pan American Games Fencers at the 1955 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1951 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States in fencing Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States in fencing 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American sportsmen

Early and personal life

Fencing career

See also

References

External links