Fencers Club

20 West 33rd Street, Midtown Manhattan, New York City

Websitefencersclub.org

The Fencers Club in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, is the oldest fencing club in the Western Hemisphere.^[1] It is a member of the Metropolitan Division of the U.S. Fencing Association. Established in 1883, it has evolved into a 501(c)(3) not-for-profit fencing organization dedicated to fencing and community service. It has produced a number of national champions and Olympians.

The Fencers Club includes 22 full-length metal grounded training strips with electronic scoring equipment, as well as an in-house pro shop and armory.

History

The Fencers Club was founded in 1883 by Charles de Kay and other New Yorkers.^[2]^[3]^[4] One had to be in the Social Register to be a member.^[5] Its first fencing master was Captain Hippolyte Nicolas, a French officer who had fought in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, who was partial to the Italian school of fencing.^[6]^[3]

In 1892 it had about 200 members.^[7] In 1902 annual dues at the club were $30 ($1,060 in current dollar terms).^[8] In 1914, one third of its members were women.^[4] Rene Pinchart, a Belgian sergeant major in World War I, was fencing master at the club from 1927 to 1955.^[9] French-American Michel Alaux was fencing master of the club from 1956 until 1974.^[10]

It is the birthplace, in 1991, and home of the Peter Westbrook Foundation.^[11] In 2012, the Fencers Club became only the ninth organization to be recognized by the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) as a Community Olympic Development Program (CODP), for its innovative and world-class programs that embody the Olympic ideals.^[12]

In 2020, the Fencers Club fired a fencing coach after he made racist remarks.^[13]^[14]

Notable members

Albert Axelrod (1921-2004), 5x Olympian, Olympic bronze medalist^[15]
Norman C. Armitage (1907, as Norman Cudworth Cohn–1972), 6x Olympian, Olympic bronze medalist^[16]
Robert Blum (born 1928), 2x Olympian^[17]
Daniel Bukantz (1917–2008), 4x Olympian^[18]
Miles Chamley-Watson (born 1989), 2x Olympian, bronze medalist^[19]
Abe Cohen (1924–2016), Olympian^[20]
Herb Cohen (born 1940), 2x Olympian^[21]
Emily Cross (born 1986), Olympian, silver medalist^[22]
Eugene Glazer (born 1939), Olympian^[23]
Joel Glucksman (born 1949), Olympian^[24]
Harold Goldsmith (1930–2004), 3x Olympian^[25]
Emily Jacobson (born 1985), Olympian^[26]
Dan Kellner (born 1976), Olympian^[27]
Byron Krieger (1920–2015), 2x Olympian^[28]
Ivan Lee (born 1981), Olympian
Nate Lubell (1916–2006), 3x Olympian^[29]
James Carroll Beckwith, president of the Fencers Club^[30]
James Margolis (born 1936), Olympian^[31]
James Melcher (born 1939), Olympian^[32]
Tim Morehouse (born 1978), 3x Olympian, silver medalist^[33]
Nickolas Muray (born Miklós Mandl; 1892-1965), Hungarian-born 2x Olympian^[34]
Nzingha Prescod (born 1992), 2x Olympian^[35]
Nicole Ross (born 1989), 2x Olympian^[36]
Keeth Smart (born 1978), Olympian, Olympic silver medalist^[15]
James Strauch (1921–1998), Olympian^[37]
Albert Strauss (1876-1963), Olympian^[15]
Jonathan Tiomkin (born 1979), Olympian^[38]
Peter Westbrook (born 1952), 4x Olympian, bronze medalist^[39]

References

^ Herbst, Diane (May 23, 2016). "The unexpected way vets are rediscovering their competitive edge".
^ Kroessler, Jeffrey A. (2002). New York, Year by Year: A Chronology of the Great Metropolis. NYU Press. p. 153. ISBN 9780814738382.
^ ^a ^b Outing: Sport, Adventure, Travel, Fiction. W. B. Holland. 1913. p. 334. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
^ ^a ^b General Federation of Women's Clubs (1914). Club Women of New York. Mail and Express Company. p. 137. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
^ Bill Duryea (January 11, 1998). "En garde' AGAINST THE GHETTO". Tampa Bay Times.
^ The Illustrated American. 1890. p. 276. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
^ Livingstone, C.H. (1892). The Sun's Guide to New York: Replies to Questions Asked Every Day by the Guests and Citizens of the American Metropolis. Jersey City printing Company. p. 90. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
^ Club Men of New York: Their Clubs, College Alumni Associations, Occupations, and Business and Home Addresses, with Historical Sketches of Many Prominent New York Organizations. Republic Press. 1902. p. 18. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
^ "Rene Pinchart, 28 Years at Fencers Club, Is Dead". The New York Times. November 4, 1970.
^ "MICHEL ALAUX: Fencing Master: Maitre D'Armes: Biography". www.alaux-fencingmaster.com.
^ Kirby, Jen (August 10, 2016). "New York's Olympic Sport Is Fencing". New York Magazine. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
^ U.S. Olympic Committee names Fencers Club as CODP, archived from the original on June 15, 2012, retrieved 2012-08-24
^ Taylor, Derrick Bryson (June 13, 2020). "A St. John's Fencing Coach Is Fired After Making Racist Remarks". The New York Times.
^ http://fencersclub.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Boris-Termination.pdf
^ ^a ^b ^c "Fencers Club: Past, Present and Future booklet by Elizabeth Cross - Issuu". issuu.com.
^ "Norman Cohn-Armitage Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com". April 17, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-04-17.
^ "Blum, Robert – Museum Of American Fencing". museumofamericanfencing.com.
^ Goldstein, Richard (July 31, 2008). "Dr. Daniel Bukantz, 90, a Champion Fencer, Dies". The New York Times.
^ Smallwood, John (July 13, 2012). "Philadelphian sets sights on gold medal in fencing". The Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
^ "COHEN,11 OTHERS REACH EPEE FINAL; Defender Posts 3-1 Record in Semi-Final Round-Robin of U.S. Championship". The New York Times. June 12, 1956.
^ "Axelrod, Cohen Among 5 Picked For U.S. Olympic Foils Team". The New York Times. July 15, 1964.
^ "Olympic Medalist Emily Cross Back in Training". USA Fencing. October 17, 2010.
^ Litsky, F.; Tyno, S.; New York Times Company (1965). The New York Times Sports Almanac. American sports library. Franklin Watts, Incorporated. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
^ "Lekach Wins Saber Final In National Fencing". The New York Times. July 1, 1978.
^ "FOR THE RECORD". Sports Illustrated Vault.
^ "Olympic fencer inspires Elis". Yale Daily News.
^ "Seven Ivy League fencers going to Athens". ESPN.com. April 25, 2004.
^ "Byron Krieger Photo Gallery". www.byronkrieger.org.
^ "Copy of American Fencing" (PDF). www.fencingarchive.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
^ "Yale genealogy and history of Wales. The British kings and princes. Life of Owen Glyndwr. Biographies of Governor Elihu Yale". Archive.org. Milburn and Scott company. 1908. pp. 532–533.
^ "Asbury Park Press from Asbury Park, New Jersey on June 29, 1962 · Page 36". Newspapers.com.
^ Willoughby, Jack (August 30, 2004). "En Garde!". The Wall Street Journal.
^ "Spotlight: Olympic Silver Medalist Tim Morehouse Hopes to Create a Fencing Hub on the UWS". 6sqft.
^ Grimberg, Salomon; Muray, Nickolas (October 26, 2006). I Will Never Forget You: Frida Kahlo and Nickolas Muray. Chronicle Books. ISBN 9780811856928 – via Google Books.
^ Okeowo, Alexis. "Nzingha Prescod, Olympic Fencer". The New Yorker.
^ "Nicole Ross". Team USA. 2019-12-09. Archived from the original on September 23, 2015. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
^ "Listing" (PDF). museumofamericanfencing.com. Retrieved 2020-06-18.
^ "Jon Tiomkin Bio, Stats, and Results | Olympics at Sports-Reference.com". April 18, 2020. Archived from the original on 2020-04-18.
^ Black, David (January 19, 1984). "The Black Musketeer". Rolling Stone.