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 ...

and epee fencer.

Early and personal life

Goldsmith was born in Gensungen, Felsberg,

Hessen Hesse (, , ) or Hessia (, ; german: Hessen ), officially the State of Hessen (german: links=no, Land Hessen), is a state in Germany. Its capital city is Wiesbaden, and the largest urban area is Frankfurt. Two other major historic cities are Darms ...

, 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. He served as an officer in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. 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 4,452 at the 2010 census. The mayor of Ardsley is Nancy Kaboolian. The Ardsley post office serves the entir ...

, and in 1991 they moved to Chilmark, Massachusetts.

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 university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York City. Founded in 1847, Cit ...

. Goldsmith won the 1952

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 an ...

(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 and

1959 Pan American Games The 1959 Pan American Games were held in Chicago, Illinois, United States between August 28 and September 7, 1959. Host city selection One city initially submitted a bid to host the 1959 Pan American Games that was recognized by the Pan Am ...

, 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 Daniel Bukantz (December 4, 1917 – July 26, 2008) was an American four-time individual United States national foil fencing champion, Maccabiah Games individual foil champion, four-time Olympic fencer, fencing referee, and a dentist. He has been ...

, Albert Axelrod,

Nathaniel Lubell Bennet Nathaniel Lubell (August 15, 1916 – September 17, 2006) was an American three-time Olympian fencer. Early and personal life Lubell was born in New York City, and was Jewish. Later in life he lived in Fort Lee, New Jersey. Fencing ...

, and

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

. 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 German emigrants to the United States Sportspeople from Manhattan People from Ardsley, New York People from Chilmark, Massachusetts Stuyvesant High School alumni CCNY Beavers fencers American male foil fencers American male épée fencers Jewish male épée fencers Jewish male 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 of the United States American people of German-Jewish descent Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Pan American Games silver medalists for the United States Pan American Games medalists in fencing Fencers at the 1951 Pan American Games Fencers at the 1955 Pan American Games 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews Medalists at the 1951 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1955 Pan American Games