I've read elsewhere (e.g., forum at judoinfo) that this man appeared as Tori in the 1942 edition of FM21-150.
I know that in the mid to late 1930s, he taught at a military school in Tenn.; before that, he taught at a YMCA in Brooklyn/Prospect Park.
A paragraph in the FM indicates he was a member of "The New York Dojo" at one time. Googling reveals a fair amount of articles from about 1942 to 1978 -- including his ca. 1960 letter that refers to the Gracies -- but I haven't found anything about his initial grading as a shodan.
Does anybody know who promoted him to shodan & when? Info in the Judoinfo thread indicates he was born in 1911. He started teaching at the Y ca. 1928 & stayed there until he went to Tenn. in 1936 or '37.
So he was pretty young when he started teaching at the Y.
I've sent out some e-mail inquiries, but so far I haven't found anybody who remembers anything about him, other than the alumni assoc. in Tenn.
A news article from much later (the 60s or 70s) indicated he was then a 6th dan in "American Jiu-Jitsu" and a 2nd dan in Kodokan Judo.
If anybody knows where his "Kodokan" rank came from, I'd like to hear about it.
Jeff Slade