13 Facts About Joseph Levis

Joseph Levis won nine national fencing championships, and participated in three Olympic Games representing the United States.

Under his tutelage, Joseph Levis won the Intercollegiate Fencing Championship in foil in 1926, after placing second the previous year.

Joseph Levis won nine individual National Championships conducted by the Amateur Fencers League of America, including National Foil Championships in 1929,1932,1933,1935,1937, and 1954 and National Outdoor Foil Championships in 1929 and 1933.

Joseph Levis participated in three Olympic Games; specifically, the 1928 Amsterdam, 1932 Los Angeles, and 1936 Berlin Olympics.

Joseph Levis retired from competition in 1937 and became a fencing instructor for the MIT fencing team.

On June 17,1954, at the age of 48 and 16 years after last competing in a major competition, Joseph Levis won his ninth and last AFLA National Championship in the individual foil class.

Joseph Levis became very proficient in ballroom dancing, winning with his wife, Yvonne, scores of amateur championships in his age class throughout the United States and Canada.

Joseph Levis continued competing in dancing competitions until just a year before his death.

Joseph Levis died in his sleep on May 20,2005, at age 99.

Joseph Levis took over ownership of his father's marble-tile-terrazo business in Boston and, over the years, made it into the largest business of its kind in the New England area.

Joseph Levis would replace the regular foil handle and pommel with a saber handle and pommel, which would be considerably shorter, and use adhesive tape to firmly secure the foil to his wrist.

Joseph Levis attributed his success to the shorter, faster, stronger hand movements that the lighter Joseph Levis Grip would provide.

Joseph Levis' oldest son, Robert, is an Olympian fencer, having competed in the 1972 Munich Olympics representing Puerto Rico.