Grossfeld, Abraham Israel
GROSSFELD, ABRAHAM ISRAEL
GROSSFELD, ABRAHAM ISRAEL ("Abie "; 1934– ), U.S. gymnastic and coach; two-time Olympic competitor and five-time coach, World Championships and Pan American Games champion, winner of 17 medals at the Maccabiah, including 13 gold; member of the National Gymnastics Hall of Fame. Born on the Lower East Side of New York City to immigrant parents – his father was a window washer – Grossfeld spoke Yiddish until he was four. He began gymnastics at the age of 15 while at Samuel Gompers High School, training at the West Side ymca. His first international competition was the 1953 Maccabiah, where he won six gold medals; four years later he won seven gold.
Grossfeld graduated from the University of Illinois in 1960, after finishing second in the individual all-around at the 1957 ncaa meet and first in 1958. He was also aau national champion in the horizontal bars from 1955 to 1957.
Grossfeld competed internationally for the United States for 13 years, including in the 1956 and 1960 Olympic Games; the World Championships of 1958 and 1962; and the Pan American Games of 1955, 1959, and 1963. At the Pan Am Games he won 15 medals, including eight gold, and his record score in the 1955 Horizontal Bar stood until 1987. Grossfeld also won 17 medals at the Maccabiah Games of 1953, 1957, and 1965.
After retiring from competition, Grossfeld turned to coaching and became a legend. He was head coach of the U.S. Men's Olympic gymnastics teams of 1972, 1984, and 1988, with the 1984 squad winning the Combined Exercises championship. He was also assistant coach of the 1964 U.S. men's Olympic team, and the 1968 U.S. women's Olympic team. Grossfeld served as head coach of the U.S. men's gymnastics team at five World Championships (1966, 1981, 1983, 1985, and 1987); the U.S. men's team at the 1983 and 1987 Pan American Games; the U.S. men's team at the 1982 World Cup; the men's team at the 1986 Goodwill Games; and coached the U.S. gymnasts at the 1973, 1977 (men and women), 1981, and 1983 Maccabiah Games. During this time Grossfeld was head coach at Southern Connecticut State University for 40 years, helping the program become one of the best in the country.
Grossfeld was chosen ncaa National Coach of the Year three times, Gymnastics Federation Coach of the Year in 1984, was elected to the National Gymnastics Hall of Fame in 1979, and was named one of the 50 greatest New York sports figures by Sports Illustrated in 2004.
[Elli Wohlgelernter (2nd ed.)]