Sammy Vogel

EAST HARTFORD – David Vogel just found out that his brother Sammy was an Olympic boxer, in Antwerp, at the 1920 summer games.
“I knew he was a professional fighter but I never knew his record,” David says of Sammy, 21 years his senior and born in 1902.
The brothers grew up on the Lower East Side in New York, two of six children born to Polish-Jewish immigrants. Their father had come to the U.S. before World War I, leaving behind his wife and three young children, including Sammy. David was born in New York. By the time David was old enough to get to know Sammy, the elder Vogel was in his second career as a union organizer in New York City. A month ago, the son of David’s lifelong friend saw a photo of Sammy from his boxing days and went online to find out more.
Sammy represented the U.S. as a bantamweight at the 1920 Summer Olympics, defeating Georges Cochon of France and losing to Henri Hebrants of Belgium. Between 1920 and 1928, Sammy went on to fight in 65 professional bouts as a lightweight, ending his career with a record of 46 wins, 15 losses, and three draws.
David, 88, also became a sportsman. After serving with the U.S. Army on Guam during World War II, he took up running and never gave it up. He has run in more marathons than he can recall, including the first Boston Marathon, in 1956. A founder of the New York Road Runners, he helped Fred Lebow organize the first New York City Marathon and plan the course when the run became a five-borough event.
David isn’t sure why his family never discussed Sammy’s early career. “Maybe it wasn’t something a Jewish mother wished for her son in those days,” he says. But the brothers’ shared love of sports started early. “We were close,” David says. “Sammy took me to my first baseball game at Yankee Stadium.”