Robert Blum (fencer)

Robert Blum (born November 24, 1928) is an American and former Olympic fencer.

Robert "Bob" Blum
Personal information
Born (1928-11-24) November 24, 1928
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States
Sport
CountryUnited States
SportFencing
Event(s)sabre
College teamTrinity College and Columbia University
ClubSalle Santelli and the Fencers Club

Early and personal life

Blum was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and is Jewish.[1][2] He attended New York University Law School, and practiced law for 50 years.[3] His wife was Barbara Blum, who became a high-ranking social services official.[4] Blum became an aide to John Lindsay, first in Congress and then at City Hall in New York City, and later was one of New York Governor Andrew Cuomo’s NYS Assistant Attorneys General.[4][5]

Fencing career

Blum attended and fenced first as an All American for Trinity College, and then for Columbia University.[5][1][6] He also fenced for Salle Santelli and the Fencers Club in New York, winning the US Saber Team title 10 times with the two clubs, combined.[7][8][5] He was a member of the U.S. sabre team that won the gold medal at the 1959 Pan American Games.[1]

He was the first American to make the World Championship individual saber finals, when he did that at the 1958 World Fencing Championships.[5] Blum competed on behalf of the United States in the team sabre events at the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo and the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City.[9] He was inducted into the USA Fencing Hall of Fame in 2010.[10]

References
  1. "Blum, Bob". Jews In Sports.
  2. Bernard Postal, Jesse Silver, Roy Silver. Encyclopedia of Jews in Sports
  3. "Robert Blum Bio, Stats, and Results," Olympics at Sports-Reference.com.
  4. "Barbara Blum, Who Rescued Abused Willowbrook Residents, Dies at 82," The New York Times.
  5. "Blum, Robert," Museum Of American Fencing.
  6. "Fencers Trim Rutgers, 24-3; Mermen Lose, 59-27, to Navy Capture Fourteen Of Fifteen Matches To Clinch Victory", Columbia Daily Spectator, December 16, 1957.
  7. The New International Year Book
  8. The New York Times Sports Almanac
  9. "Robert Blum Olympic Results". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on April 17, 2020. Retrieved December 22, 2010.
  10. "Thanks and Credits", Museum Of American Fencing.
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