Iron History

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11/26/2002 Entry: "Ironhistory Nov 29-Dec 5, 2003"

Hopefully your Thanksgiving was a wonderful time packed with happy events!

This is the one week make-up column to carry us thru to next week.

ANNOUNCEMENT: On Jan 4, 2003 in Urbana, Illinois, I will have my wife load up the Inch 152, the Inch 172, and the Millennium 232 so they can be at the Snowman Challenge. Check out the grip board for more details. As yet, no man or woman or child on this planet has performed a one hand, standing erect deadlift with the Millennium. This is not to say the bells will be available for you to attempt (liability unsettled as yet) but it should be a momentous occasion, especially when I come walking in marching to music twirling the 172 in one hand and the 232 in the other hand. Wait, that was a dream.

HELP: In January 2003, I am planning a necrology for 2002, a listing of those iron folks who departed during this past year. The famous and the not so famous, so if you have info to share on someone's passing, please contact me so that person can receive mention. If you could provide the exact date of death, or other specifics, the cause would be helped. Anyone who was written about or featured in the mainstream muscle mags EVER- we wish to mention them, so thanks in advance.

SEARCH: You may have noticed that this column is written curtly, not flowingly. I have tried to type it so that searches are easier. For example, by typing Alyce Yarick died, or Alyce Yarick born, you should be led to that date via the search function. Usually I provide both dates together so you do not have to search twice, finding birth date, and then in another location the death date. The goal this year has been an orderly presentation of facts. Next year, we will be more investigative and profiling in our reports. After the Dec 6 and Dec 20 columns, this basic chronology will be ended. There is much that has not been included, but we have presented several of the highlights.

2003: I have some ideas for next year's text, but if you have suggestions, please contact me with them. Remember we have a Q+A section, which now that we have become a pay site has less traffic than before. I check it once per day, so if you have a question, please post it there. I'll answer if I can, and if I cannot (more modern lifting for example) I perhaps can refer you to someone who can help.

GALLERY: We have posted a couple more photos in the gallery: One is of Bob Hoffman's gravesite, and the other is of a young friend, Zach, lifting Inch 172 off the floor. Zach is a friend of Larry Aumann, who tried to duplicate Zach's lift. Don't become discouraged, Larry, you've got a couple of good years left.

RED PENCIL HISTORY: MMI in the Feb 2003 issue, while commenting on Joe Weider's publishing empire being for sale, offers this bit of incorrect chronology: "Joe started some 60 years ago with Your Physique, which became MusclePower(sic) and then ultimately Muscle & Fitness."

Actually Your Physique began with the Aug 1940 issue and ran for 100 issues, ending with the Jul 1952 issue. In Aug 1953 Mr. America magazine began which incorporated Your Physique. With the Jan 1953 issue, Mr. America 'For the Man with a Future' began, and was NOT a bodybuilding magazine.

In Aug 1953 Muscle Builder began and Mr. America ended. So, it was actually Muscle Builder, not Muscle Power which continued the lineage began as Your Physique. There was a later magazine called Mr. America which morphed into Shape-Up magazine

Muscle Power began back in Oct/Nov 1945. With the Feb 1958 issue, Muscle Power was incorporated into Muscle Builder, which in Jun 1980 changed into Muscle & Fitness. Confused yet? Nutshell: Your Physique did NOT become Muscle Power, Your Physique became Mr. America, which ended in Aug 1953, though there was a later incarnation of it in Jan 1958 (mentioned in the previous paragraph).

Thank you and good night.

Nov 29, 1883 Wilfred J. Diamond born in Liverpool, England; died Jan 28, 1969 in Florida. Wilfred was an historian, but not so well known as Willoughby or Gaudreau in America. He was elected president of the BAWLA in 1933, and that year began writing for Strength & Health magazine in America. Among his offerings for S&H, noteworthy are his 'Memories of an Oldtimer' series which ran in 1933 in Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec and in Jan 1934. In Jan 1935 he offered 'Tales of Great Oldtimers'.

He also wrote for Weider, usually on oldtimers, or on boxing. Here is a letter he wrote to Joe Weider which appeared in the Jul 1965 issue of Muscle Builder mag on page 64:

[I cannot verify some of the info, but here is what is written]

"Dear Joe,

It was nice to hear from you at Christmas. I received 75 cards and 30 letters, which shows that an old-timer like myself is not forgotten. It hardly seems that 70 years have passed since I was on the same bill with John Gruhn Marx at the Palace Theatre, New Brighton, England. I was helping a conjuror, but the performance of Marx set off the spark that led me into the world of weights. I knew most of the great old-timers in the athletic world�Also most of the strongmen, particularly my dear friends, the late Thomas Inch, and W.A. Pullum, and the great pioneer Edward Aston, who is the same age as myself.

"I was responsible for the formation of the BAWLA way back about 1911, and I collected more official records than any other man in the world. Incidentally, I won both the Fenton and the Furness Cups for jiu-Jitsu, wrote the text book of self defense for the London police, and gave a demonstration for Her Majesty, the late Queen Mary of England, at Wembly in 1925.

"I find myself remarkably fit and well at 80, and working harder than ever on literary work. I wrote Health & Strength (the English publication) in 1911, and have been writing ever since. I am the author of two very successful Latin books, and two religious books- 12 books in all, and several ready for a publisher. I have had more experience than twenty ordinary men, and am writing this up as a series of letters.

"How to be young at 80? Cultivate mental, physical, and spiritual harmony! Be at peace with God, with all mankind!

"Sincerely,

WILFRED DIAMOND New Smyrna Beach, Fla."

Page 5 of that issue shows a photo of Diamond with his Furness Cup. Diamond has always been a fascination to me- I know relatively little about him, but plan to change that for a series I have in mind about 'Historians of the Iron Game' which we will present several months from now. So, if anyone has helpful info about Diamond, I would certainly welcome it.

Ottley Coulter wrote to Muscular Development magazine in Jun 1969 to inform us of Wilfred's passing, and mentioned that Wilfred was 'also responsible for the establishment of Diamond City in Canada'. I wonder if Wilfred is buried in New Smyrna Beach?

Nov 29, 1922 Joe Weider born. The year may have been 1921. I'll get back to you on that.

Nov 29, 1947 Mr. Arizona was scheduled for this date but I have been unable to determine details about the results.

Nov 29, 1950 Keith Stephen begins working out at Stern's Gym. Please do not confuse Keith with Al Stephan. Keith was profiled in Ironman Feb 1952 by Leo Stern and called a new superman.

Nov 29, 1958 Cecil Phillips wins Mr. Oregon. Other than his participation in the 1955 Jr. Mr. Northern California, I have nothing on Cecil. Can anyone help?

Nov 29, 1963 Alan Anderson wins Mr. South Dakota. This is the only contest record I have for Anderson.

Nov 30, 1919 Goerner right hand snatch 220.46 lbs

Nov 30, 1930 Harold Wood two hands continental and jerk of 301.25 lbs

Nov 30, 1951 Doug Hepburn became the first man in history to squat with 600 lbs. He was age 25. [born Sep 16, 1926]. Though a case can be made that Hepburn's upper body strength was on par, if not superior to, Paul Anderson's, the side press for reps attributed to Doug was 172.5 lbs for ten reps, witnessed not by some star struck fan, but by Leo Gaudreau, whose attention to detail was remarkable. This was one of many feats Leo documented during Apr and May of 1951. This one hand side press is about 130 lbs LESS than what is attributed to Paul Anderson.

Willoughby in Your Physique Jul 1952 in an article entitled: 'Doug Hepburn: Is He a Second Louis Cyr?' concluded that Doug was on pace to match Cyr's strengths.

Because of a problem with his calf, cleaning weights was difficult for Doug, but he power cleaned 350, and in the summer of 1954 took 400 pounds off the rack and pressed it four reps. He was also credited with jerking 500 off the rack in 1954.

Even Rader offered in Lifting News Dec 1954 'Just as Hepburn is the top example of overhead pushing power so Paul Anderson might be classified as the leading example of lower body pushing power'. At the time that statement was written, Paul had not yet peaked, and was in fact in fourth place among American/Canadian weightlifters in the heavy class, whose totals were: Schemansky 1,084, Hepburn 1,040, Bradford 1,034 and Anderson 1,030.

As I recall, Doug was credited with about 760 in the squat, though in the Steel Spiel interview on cyberpump.com he presented before he died, he averred that he had done 800, in swimming trunks. He also claimed a 220 lb right hand MILITARY press, which, of course, allows no bending of the trunk.

Nov 30, 1952 Mickey Hargitay won Mr. Indianapolis. His first victory had been in 1951 in the Mr. Mid States. His third and final win would be the 1955 NABBA Universe.

Nov 30, 1961 Tony Scrivens born. Tony will be in Urbana, Illinois to compete in the fourth Snowman Challenge contest on Jan 4 next year. Also there will be an Inch 152, an Inch 172, and a Millennium dumbell which weighs about 232 lbs. He has deadlifted the 172, so the 232 sits smiling in anticipation.

Nov 30, 1967 Roland Cziurlok born

Dec 1950 issue of Strength and Health, for the first time, presented a photo on the inside of the front cover- it was George Eiferman

Dec 1, 1913 Emile Bonnet born. Coverman on S&H Feb 1939, Nov 1941.

Dec 1, 1940 Bob Hoffman, John Grimek, Tony Terlazzo headed west on a trip. Gracie Bard also went along. Here is their agenda:

Dec 1 Departed from York, PA.
Dec 2 at Columbus, Ohio, YMCA
Dec 6 Denver
Dec 12 Boise, Idaho
Dec 13 Spokane, WA
Dec 15 at the Portland, Oregon Multnomah Athletic Club- this was the only show during the trip in which Grimek did not lift.
Dec 17 Watsonville, CA Civic Auditorium
Dec 20 San Francisco YMCA
Dec 22 Los Angeles Athletic Club
Dec 23 San Diego YMCA
Dec 24 Santa Monica at Vic Tanny's Gym
Dec 27 Phoenix, AZ at the YMCA

For those wanting more info: In the announcement in S&H Dec 1940 p 49 an approximate schedule was outlined and Gracie Bard and Steve Stanko mentioned. For changes to the itinerary, see S&H Jan 1941 p5, 50. A series of stories about this trip were presented in S&H Feb 1941 p 23, Mar 1941 p 22, Apr 1941 p 18, May 1941 p 18, Jun 1941 p 12, Jul 1941 p 12, Aug 1941 p 12, Sep 1941 p 24, Oct 1941 p 18, and Nov 1941 p 12.

[getting ahead of ourselves a bit here: During this trip, elsewhere in the strength world, G.W. Rolandow died on Dec 6]

Dec 1, 1949 WGN televised the first ever physique American contest so broadcast, the Mr. Tavern Pale which Leo Lederer won

Dec 1, 1963 Paul Anderson Youth Home in Vidalia, Georgia, opens. By this time, Paul had tried to be a professional strength athlete, a pro boxer, and a pro wrestler. There was no market for the first, no temperament for the second, and no endurance for the third.

Dec 1, 1969 Bob Hoffman, Joe Dube, Bob Bednarski and John Terpak meet with President Richard Nixon in the White House

Dec 1, 1970 Jouko Ahola born

Dec 2, 1938 At Klein's Gym, although he almost succeeded on some of his 14 attempts at bent pressing the Rolandow dumbell, Aurele Veilleau did not accomplish it.

Dec 2, 1944 Steve Neece born; died Oct 21, 2001 of a heart attack. Steve had an extensive background behind the scenes in the iron game, make book on that. From 1992 thru Jul 1995 he published The Muscle Beach Newsletter which included bits too juicy for the news-stand mags. There was some solid material in his newsletter as well as some topics that seemed way off key, but the factor that caused me to respect Steve's place in the sport was that he did not rattle when it came to asking for verification of claims feats. He was not impressed that the lifter was famous. Famous does not lift.

He also wrote the Muscle Beach Column for MMI magazine, which began as Venice Calling, one suspects, for MTI magazine in Nov 1989. We spoke on the phone Sep 5, 1991 when he told me that he would be switching to MMI soon, and soon was the Dec 1991 issue when he debuted Muscle Beach Gossip and it ran until Jan 2000.

For Iron Game History from the U of Texas, he offered in May 1998 recollections of ten famous strongmen including Merjanian, Ahrens, Kee, Coleman and six others.

Steve did not suffer fools gladly, and he was particularly disturbed by some of the claims made for Paul Anderson, and wrote a piece in MMI Jul 1992 titles 'Paul Anderson: No! His claims are exaggerated! MMI also offered a rebuttal to his arguments.

In May 1993 in MMI David Dearth thru Steve told the inside story of the WBF (World Bodybuilding Federation) which turned out to be anything but Worldwide or bodybuilding. It was, however, a federation.

In Apr 1995 thru MMI he offered $5,000 to Manfred Hoerberl if Manfred could in fact, as some claimed, curl 440 pounds for reps. Do I need to tell you that the challenge was never accepted?

Steve was an asset to the sport, at least in regard to keeping matters on the up and up. I miss his late evening calls when he would ask for clarification on certain facts, and when I in turn could ask him first person stories about behind the scenes current happenings.

He died while eating at a restaurant.

Dec 2, 1973 Beth Horn born in Chicago. Won the 2000 NPC Nationals Fitness contest, to earn her pro card, and in her pro debut in 2001 at the Arnold Classic Fitness International she placed dead last, but has been placing much better more recently.

Dec 3, 1927 Sig Klein one arm clean and jerk 190.5 lbs. This was four years before he began publishing Klein's Bell. His body weight was probably about 150 lbs.

Dec 4, 1905 Joseph Steinbach jerked 380.5 lbs for two reps

Dec 4, 1943 Kurt and Clare Saxon had to flee their burning home at 4am. They lost everything.

Dec 4, 1955 Bill Pearl's daughter born

Dec 4, 1991 Alyce Yarick died; born Apr 18, 1916. I spoke to her son Bart after she passed. He was planning to move into her house with his family. Alyce, he said, had traded in the weights for long walks with her dogs, and she and Ed (her husband) would also jog. The two of them presented shows of physical culture, one was Apr 11, 1953, and Ed, of course, was instrumental in helping Steve Reeves train.

Dec 5, 1943 William Bush won Mr. Ohio

Dec 5, 1943 Bill St. John born. In the 30+ contests I have filed for him, his victories include 1964 Mr. South Jersey, Mr. New Jersey, Mr. Most Muscles, and Mr. Philadelphia; 1968 Mr. East Coast, Mr. Delaware Valley; 1969 Mr. Chesapeake Bay. His attempts at the AAU Mr. America yielded these results: 1964-14, 1966-10, 1968-6, 1969-4, 1970-4, 1971-3, 1972-4, 1974-12

Letter from Charles A. Smith to Joe Roark Nov 14, 1985 excerpts:

Do you enjoy these letters? Takes my two fingers a while to type them, so if you would rather the space have some other text, use the comment button and let me know. If I do not hear from you, I will blindly follow my merry instincts.

[please remember, I am putting XXX where some names are because Charles believed what he was writing, but I have no way of proving some of his statements, and in case he was mistaken, the identities of those persons is shielded. The XXX may refer to different identities even within the same paragraph, or from paragraph to paragraph]

[Joseph Curtis Hise] our call last night did reveal some exciting news and may do a lot to clear up the mystery of what exactly happened to Joseph Curtis Hise. So much guff is, and has been, written about the greats of the past that it sometimes makes me feel like going out and ordering a dish of powdered monkey eyes. Frinstance, got a letter from Fred the other day in which he expounded at length about JCH, telling me a lot of stuff that I didn't know about him. But one bit of info he imparted was way out of line. He mentioned that Hise was probably buried somewhere in Colorado in a potter's field, that he also had a lady friend names Mrs. Abernathy to whom he, Fred, had written. Also mentioned that Hise had come to see him a month before he died, that he, Fred, had begged Joe to go see a doctor because of his poor physical condition. Among other things, Joe was suffering from emphysema, heart problems and diabetes and could only sleep while sitting up. That he had been found sick by some of his workmates, had been taken to a hospital where they had 'reduced' him from around 300 to 150 in a few months, thereby Fred opines, killing him. Your discoveries shed an entirely different light on what really happened and the kind of man Hise was. Since I had always got the impression from his letters-and I had been writing to him for more than twenty years- that he was asexual and had little or nothing to do with women, this might be one point for you to investigate. What a Tom Tiddlers ground lies before you.

My opinions about Hise are that he is the unsung genius of modern lifting and bodybuilding, that he was the one who first saw that glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel that led to Weightlifting daylight. Without Joe modern lifting and bodybuilding never would be in the position it is in today. Fred seemed a little miffed at me. I had written him saying that one day I wanted to write the definitive article about JCH and he replied that hadn't he already done so. I tried to explain that what I wanted to do was not only explain the man but also why the man was who he was. Hise was an iconoclast, a truly free spirit and an American original in the same mold as McFadden but without that latter con job man's make up, Joe's range of general knowledge was amazing. No matter what you wrote him about, he knew ALL about it. I believe I have already mentioned the case of the 'Archer's paradox' to you. That was just one of the instances.

[Roark note: Hise is buried in his hometown, Homer, Illinois, in a standard grave. Where the info about him being buried our west in a potter's grave came from was somewhere other than good research, and indicates that any 'definitive' article on Hise coming from such a researcher in unreliable.]

John XXX in his letter to me, written a month to six weeks before he died, he said he had already disposed of all his possessions and had given away his truck. He was born out of wedlock, had never been baptized, and was so before he died. It would be interesting to see if his former wife Louise, a nice girl, attended the funeral, or who did.

Had a nice letter from Reg Park. How he finally found out where I was and what had been happening I don't know, but suspect that David gentle told him. He isn't a good letter writer-never was- but he seems to be doing well. He had three grandchildren and must be around 55 years of age and says he gets up at 5:30 AM to workout. Crazy,

XXX NEVER put out any Fag Mag. He, so far as I remember, started out with one name for his mag but MAY have changed it for another a little later on. After I moved to Austin, sometime around 1961 or 2, he tried to get me to go in with him financially. But I smelled an ethopian in the fuel supply and said him nay. Shortly after then it demised. XXX was NEVER involved in any fag mag deals. Strictly bodybuilding. I had a few copies of his mag and gave them- woe is me- to the collection. There was nothing to go into ecstacies in their body content. Just rehash of the stuff that XXX had previously written.

I personally think that Dr. XXX is a big bullshit artist, one in the same mold as Jowett and Hoffman and McFadden. Anything for publicity. We have some pretty juicy material on him here at the collection and I will try and see if I can pry it loose from TT and get a Xerox copy made for you.

Horvath knew that Willoughby and Coster were dead because I wrote and told him. He seems to be totally dis-interested in the Iron Game and in fact when Weider recently sent him copies of all his mags, wrote to me expressing extreme disgust with them and sighing for the 'good old days'.

I met XXX a couple of times at shows etc etc and we talked well together. He seemed a nice, easy to get along with chap, but other than this, I had little contact with him, except for the rumor-alleged-that he gave Mae West a flesh injection in the back of her car on the way to her show in Reno or Las Vegas or somesuch place.

Best to you and yours, Chas

Letter from Charles A. Smith to Joe Roark Nov 23, 1985

[regarding an offer I had received to write a brief column in a [non-Weider] mag, which had a reputation for not paying promptly]:

Re payment. The very first time you DON'T GET WHAT WAS PROMISED. ASK FOR IT BUT DON'T SEND ANOTHER COLUMN UNTIL YOU GET PAID FOR WHAT HAS BEEN PUBLISHED. And I'd try, in a polite, diplomatic way to make this known to XXX.

As for Mrs. Abernathy in the life of Hise-XXX may be able to fill you in there. It was he who mentioned it to me. Bet old XXX will pee his lace trimmed panties when he hears of your discovery.

[Roark note: I corresponded with Abernathy, and her letters are, shall we say, enlivening]

I have read XXX's potboiler and as is the usual with all these modern Weight Bonzes, it is the same old rehash, the same old meat with a more savory sauce poured over it, much like sawdust sprinkled over a pile of dog shit to hide the mess and smother the smell.

Do tell me all about sweet Carlin. I am eager to know of the might of the man who at 53 can do one rep hand presses with 400. Dreams, Ah Dreams.

A Pullum Patent Bar was Bill's 'tried at version' of the Berg Hantel. It used ordinary PLATES and was slightly smaller in diameter than an ordinary exercise bar or Berg Hantel. And it had loads of whip. It also had brass revolving sleeves around the bar. The story is told that Pullum got the idea for his Patent Cambered Bar when Lurich bent of Pullum's Patent Bars. Lurich had a trick of jerking a heavy weight overhead then letting go of the bar and catching it across the back of his neck. On this occasion he dropped 245 and the bar curled up around the feet of Lurich. Bill could only partly straighten the bar out so it was left with a camber. When it was loaded up for squats-yes Aunt Gertrude they DID do squats in those far off days- he found the bar 'Sat' more comfortably across the shoulders. He also discovered that when he tried a one hand deadlift, it, the bar 'stayed' in his hand easier and didn't tend to roll out of it and thus was the cambered bar born. Get that alliteration?

When I mentioned PLATES in those far off days I wasn't referring to LOADABLE PLATES or plates that had a loading hole for shot to be put into them. I was referring to PLATES such as we know them today, and for which today's Muscles by Mail Moguls take the credit for inventing. Plate barbells were being used way back in the 1800's and, I SUSPECT globe barbells were purely cosmetic rather than, like the plates, utilitarian.

As to that story of you know who trying to trap a man of unstable mind into signing a contract for thousands. How reliable is your source. I always reserve judgement(sic) until I can prove or deny-part of my police training I guess. BUT I KEEP MY GUARD UP. I tag along until I find I am being done dirt and then-as I did with XXX I tell them to piss off. And that is what I'll do if and when you know who tries any tricks

And so to bed as good old Sam Pepys used to say. Best to you and yours, Chas.

[This installment of one week is a filler column- I was too busy to work on three weeks last time. See you Dec 6 for our penultimate installment for 2003. (Had to use that word to confuse those who think penultimate means final)]