Ralph Myer Goldstein (October 6, 1913 – July 25, 1997) was an American Olympic épée fencer.

Early and personal life

Goldstein was born in

Malden, Massachusetts Malden is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, the population was 66,263 people. History Malden, a hilly woodland area north of the Mystic River, was settled by Puritans in 1640 on l ...

, and was Jewish."Goldstein, Ralph,"
''Jews In Sports''. He grew up on the

Lower East Side The Lower East Side, sometimes abbreviated as LES, is a historic neighborhood in the southeastern part of Manhattan in New York City. It is located roughly between the Bowery and the East River from Canal to Houston streets. Traditionally ...

in Manhattan, New York, and attended Brooklyn College, fencing for the college's fencing team. He lived in

Yonkers Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as enu ...

, New York, and in

Waterbury, Connecticut Waterbury is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut on the Naugatuck River, southwest of Hartford and northeast of New York City. Waterbury is the second-largest city in New Haven County, Connecticut. According to the 2020 US Census, in ...

, from 1948 on. He was killed in a car accident in July 1997, at the age of 83, when Goldstein had a heart attack and his car collided in a head-on collision with a propane truck outside

Bennington, Vermont Bennington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 15,333. Bennington is the most populous t ...

Fencing career

Goldstein competed for the United States in the team

épée The ( or , ), sometimes spelled epee in English, is the largest and heaviest of the three weapons used in the sport of fencing. The modern derives from the 19th-century , a weapon which itself derives from the French small sword. This contain ...

events at the 1948 Summer Olympics in London and 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, wh ...

in Melbourne, and was captain of the team at the

1960 Summer Olympics The 1960 Summer Olympics ( it, Giochi Olimpici estivi del 1960), officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad ( it, Giochi della XVII Olimpiade) and commonly known as Rome 1960 ( it, Roma 1960), were an international multi-sport event held ...

in Rome. He won Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) titles in team épée with Salle Santelli in 1947-48, 1950, 1953, and 1955, and won team 3-weapon titles in 1952-54. Goldstein also competed in many of the

Maccabiah Games The Maccabiah Games (a.k.a. the World Maccabiah Games; he, משחקי המכביה, or משחקי המכביה העולמית; sometimes referred to as the "Jewish Olympics"), first held in 1932, are an international Jewish and Israeli multi-s ...

in Israel, the Olympic-style competition for Jewish athletes. He won a silver medal in epee at the

1953 Maccabiah Games Eight hundred ninety athletes representing 23 countries competed in the 1953 4th Maccabiah Games, held September 20 to 29, in 18 branches of sports. Israeli President Itzhak Ben-Zvi opened the Games at Ramat Gan Stadium in Tel Aviv District, in f ...

, losing in the finals to Great Britain's world champion runner-up Allan Jay. He was Secretary of the

Amateur Fencers League of America The Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) was founded on April 22, 1891, in New York City by a group of fencers seeking independence from the Amateur Athletic Union. As early as 1940, the AFLA was recognized by the Fédération Internationale ...

(now the United States Fencing Association) from 1957-60. He was also Editor of ''American Fencing'' magazine from 1969-76. Goldstein was inducted into the

US Fencing Hall of Fame The United States Fencing Association (USFA) is the national governing body for the sport of fencing in the United States. The USFA was founded on April 22, 1891, as the Amateur Fencers League of America (AFLA) by a group of 20 New York City fenc ...

. In 1988 he was also named a Referee Emeritus, the highest honor for USA Fencing referees, awarded for multiple Olympic experience and great service to the sport of fencing in the national and international arenas, thereby retaining his USA Fencing referee rating for life.">"Referee Emeriti" » Referees' Commission
/ref> The Ralph Goldstein Memorial Épée Open is held annually in his honor.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Goldstein, Ralph 1913 births 1997 deaths American male épée fencers Olympic fencers of the United States Fencers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1956 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from Malden, Massachusetts People from the Lower East Side People from Yonkers, New York Sportspeople from Waterbury, Connecticut Jewish male épée fencers Jewish male foil fencers Jewish male sabre fencers Jewish American sportspeople Maccabiah Games medalists in fencing Maccabiah Games silver medalists for the United States Competitors at the 1953 Maccabiah Games Sportspeople from New York City Brooklyn College alumni Road incident deaths in Vermont 20th-century American Jews