Inducted into the Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, 1995
A track star at Great Neck High School in New York, Boston University and Long Island University, Silpe won a gold medal for the U.S. at the Fifth Maccabiah Games in Israel in 1957. As a student he won the New York State sprinting championships in 1955. He held the NCAA records for the fastest 100-yard and 200-yard dashes, winning two gold medals in the regional championships.
Silpe has been active as a sports manager promoter, coach and teacher of judo and karate. He had a black belt rating from the World Tae Kwon Do Federation and was a member of the United States Judo Federation.
In his career in the meat industry, he was president of Mosey, Inc. and of the New England Meat Dealers Association, and a director of the American Meat Institute. Silpe was recognized by President George Bush for his efforts in raising over two million pounds of meat for the needy, and traveled to Russia on behalf of the U.S. government to train management in the meat packing business.
In civic affairs, Silpe served as a trustee of the Endowment Foundation of the Jewish Federation, as a director of the Connecticut Joint Council for Economic Education, and as an incorporator of St. Francis Hospital in Hartford. In Florida, he and his wife Linda Silpe have been dedicated supporters of cultural organizations including Dramaworks and the Norton Museum of Art.