Cornell University Athletics

In his 27 years as head fencing coach at Cornell, he developed into one of the most respected and best loved fencing masters in the country. In 1955 his team won the three-weapon championship of the Intercollegiate Fencing Association while the 1956 foil team won the Little Iron Man trophy at the Eastern Intercollegiates. He was appointed trainer of the 1956 U.S. Olympic crew, which was Yale, and was thus given the opportunity to watch his star pupil, Richard Pew ’55, take fourth place in the epee. Pew, who is also being inducted into the Cornell Hall of Fame this year, had never fenced until coming to Cornell in 1951. Another of the coach’s successful protégés was 1960 NCAA fencing champion Raoule Sudre, another member of Cornell’s Hall of Fame. Cointe was a trainer for football from 1934-41 and for crew following service in WWII. He was so devoted to his fencers that despite three heart attacks and doctor’s orders to the contrary, he continued to watch and advise the team. In 1961 he suffered a fatal attack while watching a close fencing match between Cornell and Penn.