James Arthur Margolis (born July 17, 1936) is an American Olympic

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 contains ...

fencer."James Margolis Bio, Stats, and Results,"
Olympics at Sports-Reference.com

Early life

Margolis was born in New York, New York, and is Jewish.Bob Wechsler
''Day by Day in Jewish Sports History''
/ref> His brother Don also fenced for Columbia University, coming in third in the NCAA nationals in

in 1963.15 April 1963
''Columbia Daily Spectator''. He later lived in

Teaneck, New Jersey Teaneck () is a Township (New Jersey), township in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is a bedroom community in the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2010 United States census, 2010 U.S. census, th ...

Fencing career

He fenced for the Columbia Lions fencing team. Margolis was the 1957 NCAA épée champion, as well as the 1957

IFA IFA or Ifa may refer to: Organisations Economics * Independent financial adviser, a type of financial services professional in the UK * Index Fund Advisors * Institute and Faculty of Actuaries, representing actuaries in the UK * Institute of Act ...

champion, fencing as a junior for

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

, from which he graduated in 1958."Hall of Fame Series: James Margolis '58CC & 1954 Men's Fencing - Columbia University Lions"
/ref> He was All-Ivy League in 1957 and 1958, All-American in 1957, and Eastern Champion in épée in 1957. He then joined the

U.S. Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

, and became a

Lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

. In 1960, Margolis placed third in epee at 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 ...

(AFLA) national tournament. Margolis also competed on behalf of the United States in the individual and team épée events 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 was the

Ivy League The Ivy League is an American collegiate athletic conference comprising eight private research universities in the Northeastern United States. The term ''Ivy League'' is typically used beyond the sports context to refer to the eight schools ...

's first Olympian in fencing. He competed in the 1960 Pan American Games. Margolis won a gold medal in team épée 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 ...

.Martin Harry Greenberg
''The Jewish lists: physicists and generals, actors and writers, and hundreds of other lists of accomplished Jews''
/ref> Margolis was inducted into the Columbia University Athletics Hall of Fame. After his fencing career concluded, Margolis worked in the

life insurance Life insurance (or life assurance, especially in the Commonwealth of Nations) is a contract between an insurance policy holder and an insurer or assurer, where the insurer promises to pay a designated beneficiary a sum of money upon the death ...

business for 40 years, and served as manager at the Brookline Emergency Food Pantry, a food shelter for individuals, families, and seniors in need.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Margolis, James 1936 births Living people Fencers from New York City Sportspeople from Teaneck, New Jersey American male épée fencers Olympic fencers for the United States Fencers at the 1960 Summer Olympics Sportspeople from New York (state) Pan American Games medalists in fencing Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Fencers at the 1963 Pan American Games Jewish épée fencers Jewish American sportspeople Columbia Lions fencers United States Navy officers 21st-century American Jews Military personnel from New Jersey Medalists at the 1963 Pan American Games