Iron History

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03/12/2003 Entry: "Apollon 3"

The Rasso Trio:

On December 18, 1892, in Lille, France, Apollon's wife warned him that the Rasso Trio would be in the audience at the Varieties Theatre and would be trying to discredit his lifts. In fact, it appears, that the Trio was planning to simply enjoy his afternoon performance, but he, believing his wife's preparatory remarks, became angered that he would be challenged. Usually, Apollon lifted well within the bounds of his strength- those same bounds being beyond the reach of other strongmen, but nonetheless well within his comfort, take-this-for-granted- limits.

Here are some Rasso Trio compositions:

1. Godfrey Nordmann, Weber, George Stanglemeier
2. Stanglemeier, Pilade, Weber
3. Nordmann, Johann von Barr, Henri Hertzog
4. Nordmann, Jacob Bauer, G. Singer
5. Nordmann, Johann von Barr, Henri Hertzog [this is the relevant trio for our purpose]
6. Weber, Daniel, Fritz Schultz
7. Nordmann, Singer, Emile Boudgoust
8. Pilade, Cacetta, and Cacetta's wife

The Rasso Trio one week before Christmas 1892 was composed of Godfrey Nordmann, Henri Hertzog, and Johann von Paar. The Rasso Trio was most famous from about 1890 to 1895, and some of the members worked solo as late as 1905 or thereabouts.

Godfrey Nordmann: The personnel of the Rasso Trio changed over the years, but Nordmann was a member of at least five of the batches. He stood about 6' tall, and was the largest member of the trio. When dressed in his winter's coat this day, he looked enormous.

Henri Hertzog: 66.1" tall, neck 16.5", biceps 16.1", forearm 12.8", chest 43", waist 31.5", thigh 23.2",, and calf at 15.5" with a bodyweight of probably 165 pounds. Henri could bent press (from the shoulder) a 143 pound man for five or six reps.

Johann von Barr was born in Holland but lived in Vienna, was 69" tall, neck 18.1", biceps 17.7", forearm 14.2", chest 50", thigh 26.8", calf 16.9", and his waistline of 43.3" was reportedly due to quantities of beer! Barr is acknowledged to have jerk-pressed 209 pounds five or six consecutive reps from the shoulders.

Apollon became agitated and asked his helper Batta to increase the weight of one of the stage barbells. This bell weighed about 143 pounds when empty, but the handle thickness was slightly greater than 2.5", therefore many lifters found it very difficult to get to the shoulders. Batta filled the two hollow globes with sand, increasing the weight by 55 pounds to 198. Apollon felt that the bell was still too light and requested Batta to acquire more sand so that the two smaller spheres could also be filled. Then Apollon went to his dressing room to rest for the performance at 2 pm. The smaller spheres screwed onto the bar's threaded ends, while the two, larger spheres, nearer the lifter's hands, slid onto the bar. So, depending on the actual configuration, it appears part of the bell was fixed and part of it rotated, but that is a guess, and it could have been that the spheres interlocked and were thus all non-rotating. It was the two smaller spheres that could be replaced with solid spheres.

Now we have a problem from Gaudreau in Anvils, Horseshoes, and Cannons. In that fine book he avers that the empty bell did not weigh 143, but 210. And when filled to its heaviest it weighed 286.5 (when the solid spheres were used). But the 341 lbs amount is agreed to when the solids were used and when the larger spheres were filled with sand. And that total is the relevant poundage for our discussion here.

A further problem arises from Professor Desbonnet's description of this same barbell, and again, thanks to David Chapman for the translation of Desbonnet's, King of Strength: "He brought with him his equipment which consisted of a barbell which weighed 96 kilos empty and four hollow balls (two large and two small) arranged in the following fashion: a bar joining the two large balls passing through holes drilled in the center of the spheres. The enormous balls were hollow and could be filled with sand which Apollon could easily find in any town. That spared him the shipping costs since the barbell traveled empty. "When the two large balls were in place, the bar stuck out 30 centimeters out from the balls on each side. On this extension were attached two other balls which when filled were 20 kilos each. In a special locker were two absolutely empty balls but similar to the smaller filled balls except they weighed only three kilos each."

Then Desbonnet acknowledges that even when these three kilo spheres were used: "Even so, very few people could move the enormous weight from off the ground because of the thickness of the bar. I confess that I too, was among those who could not lift it." -keep in mind this was when the barbell was composed to weigh only 96 kilos.

Before going further, let me mention that Apollon may not at this time have owned the railcar wheels (366 lbs 1.93" diameter bar) which Willoughby says Apollon acquired sometime in the 1890s, so he may have owned only the lighter set of wheels as of this occasion. He appears to have owned the lighter set of railcar wheels weighing 260 pounds since 1889, but that set was not employed on the occasion of the Rasso Trio's visit in late 1892, and I suspect Apollon did not own the heavier set then. We know the lighter set was used in Apollon's 1889 defeat of Charles Batta, and that Emile Valtier, editor of La Culture Physique wrote a letter on April 30, 1940 to Leo Gaudreau, explaining:

"At a certain time this axle weighed118 Kgs. (259.6 lbs.) as explained in the book Les Rois de la Force, but Apollon had the habit of increasing the weight of his material as it became too easy to handle. Thus it was, that later, having obtained another axle of 166 Kgs. (365.2 lbs.) he was able to handle it as he did the one of 118 Kgs."

I suspect Apollon acquired the heavier set after the Rasso Trio incident. Now back to our story:

Paul Pons suggested to Batta that it might be time for a trick on Apollon. There were two solid iron spheres at hand, and Pons pondered that they should be substituted for the hollow, end, globes. This was done and the bell now weighed 341 pounds.

[As an aside, please keep in mind that the Apollon railcar wheels weighed 366 lbs but that the handle diameter on that set was 1.93" whereas the bell which now weighed 341 lbs had a handle diameter of more than 2.5". Those who assert that Apollon could not have lifted the railcar wheels puzzle me. What is the greater obstacle, 25 more pounds, or more than half an inch increase in bar diameter? Apollon's hand length was 9", remember. Also, yes I am aware that Mighty Men of Old says the bar diameter was 3", but Mighty Men of Old is filled with some mighty sized mistakes, and this is one of them. Gord Venables who wrote Mighty Men of Old also asserted that the Apollon railcar wheels bar was about 3" thick instead of the known 1.93". MMOO is one of the poorer sources for information about iron history (in my opinion). David Webster in The Iron Game gives the weight as 314 lbs not 341, but this is most assuredly a simple typo.]

Leo Gaudreau adds from his wonderful book 'Anvils, Horeshoes, and Cannons': "Now the total weight of the bar was 155 kilos, or 341-3/4 pounds, and more poundage than Apollon had ordered. Batta, due to his powerful grip was able to stand erect with the bar. 'Apollon is strong enough to lift it,' said Pons, "at Joigneret's I saw him do 142 kilos (313 pounds)." (After Joigneret hung himself, his Caf� Gymnastique, avenue des Tilleuls, Paris, was taken over by Paul Pons.) [The fact that no mention is made of the 366 pound railcar wheels is further indication that Apollon had not yet acquired them, because we know he transported them to his shows]

Leo Gaudreau explains in VIM magazine the preliminary weightlifting before Apollon was ready for the solid sphere. From an article from the April 1941 issue:

"Three weights of 44 lbs and one of 55 lbs. tied together and snatched with one hand three times. [note: total of 187 lbs, one hand snatched 3 reps]

"A weight of 55 lbs. spanned with one hand and held at arm's length in that way. Same weight spanned with right hand and caught in the same manner with left hand and passed back and forth that way several times. [note: this is an early example of pinch lifting which is difficult to judge within the dimensions of the object involved]

"Various juggling tricks with a 110 lb. weight and concluded by a one arm hold-out with a slight bend at the waist. [note: if Apollon required a slight bend at the waist to manage a 110 lb holdout, then most assuredly his holdout with 176 lbs must have involved much cheating and poor enough style to not properly be called a holdout. Nonetheless, holding out 110 lbs in no small feat even among the strongest men of our day!]

"A dumbbell of 157 lbs. with a very thick handle, was taken from between his legs on a line with his heels and snatched with one hand without moving his feet." Please let me interject here- though the handle diameter is not given, and may have been less than 2.38" to equal the original Inch 172 dumbell handle, it is my opinion that the handle was probably equal to the Inch handle, considering Apollon had weights with thick handles for the express purpose of making the lifts harder for a shorter-handed man. The weight of this bell is 15 lbs less than the Inch 172, but the lift involved, a snatch without moving the feet, and keeping in mind Apollon's disdain for 'dipping' under a weight, suggests that the centrifugal force on the wrist would have been greater during the bell's arc, than would have been present in a clean performed in a more vertical lift. This is just my opinion, as is this: Apollon would have toyed with the Inch 172, and would have emptied Inch's bank account had Inch been so foolish as to have the bell on hand near Apollon's hand!

Resuming Gaudreau's description:

"The famous 176 lb. rectangular weight was snatched with one hand and held-out for three seconds with considerable bend at the waist." Frankly, the key here is not the 176 lb snatch on this odd object, but the hold-out which simply is not possible UNLESS the considerable back bend was extreme and the bell considerably above parallel to the floor, and thus could not properly be called a hold-out.

Now here comes a key statement about the Rasso Trio, all of whom to this point in the performance had remained seated and not approached the stage:

"At this point the German athletes [walked to the stage and] tested the weights and returned to their places with AMAZEMENT written in their eyes." [Emphasis mine]

Now we return the barbell with two spheres on each end.

"Next the double-sphered barbell was rolled out and the announcement made that a sum of money would be paid to any man capable of picking up this 341 lb. weight with two hands and stand erect." The offer was 100 francs.

Some notes: I suspect the poundage was not announced, because Apollon was expecting a bell whose weight would have been much less than 341 but more than the 198 he had appraised as too light. Probably, the challenge was to lift the barbell, weight unannounced. Also notice, the challenge was a deadlift, and I am guessing here, but I suspect Apollon, a Frenchman, used the French grip- both palms facing shins. This belief is supported by the fact that Apollon cleaned the weight and no mention is made of hand reversal during the clean. But, again, that is my opinion, and it disagrees with Desbonnet's account that the weight was announced as 155 kilos. I am puzzled, because if the weight of the bell was announced within hearing of Apollon, then of course he must have known of his ability to lift the amount- indeed may have lifted it before in this configuration. We do not have evidence that Apollon became panicked upon hearing the amount on the bar, so he either did not hear the amount announced- which is very unlikely- or the amount did not concern him.

"Apollon swooped down on the bar, cleaned it and without resting it on his chest sent it overhead with another mighty heave. From two hands overhead he passed it to one hand and then balanced himself on one leg. From overhead he allowed the weight to drop into the bend of his arms and then lightly replaced it on the floor. Batta, Pons, and Desbonnet looked at each other almost ready not to believe what they had actually seen.

Then speaking of Nordmann, Leo continues:

"One of the Rasso's who could handle 286 lbs. overhead with two hands tried to lift this weight but by reason of the size of the bar it rolled out of his hands before it had reached his knees.

Willoughby's version of this incident, presented in Ironman, March 1958 offers more details, in that the bell was held overhead then put into the right hand as he stood on his left foot, as Apollon extended his right leg upward and out straight. Also this:

"Allowing the bell to drop, he caught it in the bend of his elbows, tossed it up, grasped it in midair and gently set it on the floor. It is difficult to conceive of a man so strong that he either ignored, or did not notice, the difference in weight between a barbell weighing in the neighborhood of 200 pounds and another weighing no less than 341! Yet that is the way Apollon reacted on the stage that afternoon in 1892."

Desbonnet says that eight hours later the Rasso Trio named itself The Three Apollons- that would have been at about midnight if the performance ended at 4pm. Other sources say it was eight days later that the renaming took place.

Those who assert that Apollon never lifted his 366 pound railcar wheels absolutely baffle me- I cannot understand the reasoning that 25 lbs more on a bar �" THINNER than what has just been described would be anything other than EASIER, not harder. Willoughby had his doubts regarding the railcar wheels: "At one time, I doubted whether this were actually true; however, information obtained meanwhile inclines me to believe that it was."

It should also be noted that the other men who have lifted the original railcar wheels were skilled weightlifters: Charles Rigoulot, John Davis, Norb Schemansky- all skilled in the cleaning of a barbell, with Davis's small hands a handicap requiring that he use a reverse grip and switch one hand position near the top of the clean. Apollon with very lengthy hands had no such problem and probably performed what is today known as a power clean.

One of the crucial, but rare, necessities to understanding iron history is to have a grasp of comparative strength. Though an uncertain endeavor some conclusions can be drawn. If a lifter can one hand snatch a 176 pound rectangular block weight with a ring handle, is it a stretch to accept that that same man could two hand clean and push/jerk twice that much? Apollon, by numerous accounts could snatch his 176 ring weight at will, and it was not his limit, but a weight employed frequently at his performances. Even allowing for the thick handled barbell we have been discussing, I must agree with Willoughby that the thick bars that would be a hindrance to normal size hands would be the least of Apollon's troubles.

So the conclusion, as I understand it, is that Apollon held about 341 lbs overhead one handed, and keep in mind that holding a weight overhead one handed was the necessary conclusion of other lifts by other lifters- notably Saxon and his bent presses.

For the past two years at the Arnold Classic in Columbus, Ohio, a replica set of Apollon wheels manufactured by Tom Lincir of Ivanko Barbell, has been employed during the strongman competition. 366 lbs with a 1.93" diameter bar. Would it not be a wonderful addition to have a replica made of the barbell we have been discussing here, with a handle of 2.5" diameter and the four balls for a total weight of 341 pounds, with at least the two end balls screwed onto the bar and thus non-revolving?! In my opinion this would be a greater feat than the Apollon railcar wheels lift (due to the thicker bar). And this belief is what prompts me to assert that Apollon could and did, frequently, lift the 366 pound wheels.

Your comments are welcomed and appreciated whether about this article or ironhistory.com in general. Frankly, I write about what interests me, but suggestions will be considered.

Best regards,
Joe