Albie Axelrod

Albert Axelrod was born with a micro-murmur of the heart, was anaemic, and was excused from physical education for most of his time at public school. He began fencing at New York’s Stuyvesant High School, studied at the Salle Santelli under the 1920 Olympic champion, Giorgio Santelli, and after war service continued at CCNY. While there he won the IFA and NCAA foil individual titles. Axelrod won the AFLA National Championship in foil four times and was second on nine other occasions, and representing various clubs he was a member of 11 national championship teams. Internationally besides his Olympic bronze, Axelrod finished fifth at the 1958 World Championships, which is the first time an American foilist has reached the finals in that event. He was a member of four Pan American teams, winning a silver medal each time in the individual foil (1955-1967). Also he was on the foil team that won gold in 1959 (with Hal Goldsmith, Gene Glazer, Joseph Paletta, Jr., Ed Richards, and the non-Olympian Lawrence Silverman) and 1963 (with Ed Richards, Herbert Cohen, Martin Davis, Larry Anastasi, and the non-Olympian Anthony Zombolis) and silver in 1955 (with Hal Goldsmith, Paul Makler, Sr., and Allan Kwartler) and 1967 (with Ed Richards, Jeffrey Checkes and the non-Olympian Robert Russell). A multiple gold medalist at the Maccabiah Games, Axelrod was elected to the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.