Joe de Capriles

Joe de Capriles graduated from New York University in 1933 and then earned law degrees from that school in 1942 and 1954. In his senior year of college he was the Intercollegiate Fencing Champion. During World War II he fought with valor, participating in both the Normandy Landings and the Battle of the Bulge. Known for his fencing ability with all weapons, in 1946 de Capriles was US champion with the foil, and runner-up with the épée and sabre, the only fencer to be on the podium in one year with all three weapons at the US championships. De Capriles served as captain of the US fencing team at the 1955 Pan-American Games and won two gold medals in team foil (with Ed Vebell, Albert Wolff, Tibor Nyilas, Byron Krieger, and Nate Lubell) and team sabre (with Frederick Weber, George Worth, Tibor Nyilas, Byron Krieger, and Nate Lubell) and one silver medal in team épée (with Ed Vebell, Albert Wolff, Frederick Weber, Byron Krieger, and Nate Lubell). Joe de Capriles served in fencing administration as well, as a president of the Amateur Fencers League of America, and a vice-president of the Fédération Internationale de Éscrime (FIE). In his law career he also stood out, and served for many years as head legal counsel for the Lehigh Valley Railroad.