Charles Selberg
Fencing Master at UC Santa Cruz, member of a team that won gold at the World Master’s Championships
Preserving Fencing History
The passion for fencing history you’ll find reflected here on the West Coast Fencing Archive can be traced to the legacy of Charles Selberg.
An exceptional teacher and storyteller, Charlie brought fencing history to life for his students through his vivid tales of great fencers and famous bouts.
His estate, filled with posters, photos, scrapbooks and other fencing memorabilia, became the initial collection for the Archive. Since then, we have incorporated sixty more collections and counting.
The Latest Story
Boffers: Found!
Some time back, I wrote a story about Boffers. Designed by fencer/coach Jack Nottingham, they were the Rolls-Royce of polyethylene toy swords.
Other Tales from the Archive
Maxine
It’s interesting, writing stories about people who you never knew well. I knew Maxine well enough to recognize her when she walked into a tournament. She was always wearing a USA sweat suit of an older vintage. Even as a newbie fencer, you could recognize the respect given by those around you to someone who had
Hungarian Helpers?
I recently received an email from one Dr. Geza Horvath He is (was?) a fencer, and the brother of Olympic Gold medalist and World Champion Zoltan Horvath. He’s working on a number of projects and has reached out to the West Coast Fencing Archive for some help.
A Man without Fear
Captain John Duff. In some circles, his name still resonates. He won the second ever 24 hours of Le Mans auto race and was known as one of “The Bentley Boys”
The Serial Acquisitionist
One of the terribly fun parts of running the WCFA is the constant hunting for stuff. I’m bringing things in on a fairly regular basis, but like to imagine myself a fairly careful and cautious buyer.
An Afternoon with Delmar Calvert
I spent a priceless afternoon in the company of Delmar Calvert in February of 2014 at his apartment in the lakeside town of Oswego, Oregon, but I was fortunate to get there and back.
Americans in Poland, 1961
In March of 1961, a team from the USA traveled to Poland to compete in an international meet in sabre. Six Americans attended the match: Tibor Nyilas, Robert Blum, Wally Farber, Laszlo Pongo, George Worth and Michael D’Asaro.
The Last Captain
FEATURE LENGTH FENCING DOCUMENTARY
For fifty years, the Hungarian National Sabre team had two constants: they took home gold in every tournament they entered and they had George Piller.
This is the story of Jekelfalussy (Piller) Gyorgy, the 1932 Olympic Sabre champion who defected to the United States during the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne.
By Doug Nichols and Greg Lynch
Meet the Fencers
Meet the Fencing Masters
Relic Spotlight
A 1961 medal from the Colonel Laurance Brownlee collection.
Film Library
Check out our video library
Vintage Posters
View our collection
Books
By the West Coast Fencing Archive
SHARE YOUR
STORY
Have something to share or add? Our goal is to capture the stories we know are out there. Plus photos, videos, home movies, posters—you name it. All this material helps preserve the stories of West Coast fencing.
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