Iron History

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08/25/2003 Entry: "Aug 29, 2003: William A. Pullnum"

Aug 29, 2004 to commemorate the passing of WAP on August 29, 1960 we offer some references to some of his writings which form a superb body of work for those interested in iron history.

Among top British historians for the iron game, we must always, and perhaps always first, list William A. Pullum. His history in the sport and his writings of it are enlightening and lively, and often in first person experience.

Pullum first wrote for Health & Strength magazine in July 1912 with "The Secret of My Lifting". He wrote for many major magazines over the decades, and we may offer some other listings of his articles if this list finds favor.

This is one of those, what I term, FYFC (for your files columns). If you lack the relevant magazines, this list will be of small help to you- unless you know someone who has access to the magazines and may agree to share with you. It is much like going to a library which has no books but has a great index of books.

But, here is a partial list of what WAP (as he was affectionately known) wrote regarding the history of our sport in the magazine:The British Amateur Weightlifter and Bodybuilder (incomplete listing because I lack some of the magazines):

Jan 1947 p 10 Staging a Strong Man Show
Feb 1947 p 42 Putting your strong man act together
May 1947 p 138 Kettlebell juggling
Jun 1947 p 170 Strong man act, part 6
Jul 1947 p 196 Barbell juggling, part 7
Aug 1947 p 234 The Roman column, part 7 (sic)
Sep 1947 p 262 These moves build strength, part 9
Oct 1947 p 294 Thrilling trio act, part 10
Nov 1947 p 326 Showy stunts, part 11
Dec 1947 p 358 For genuine strongmen only, conclusion
Jan 1948 p 4 [series debut: All Round Lifting Simplified] One hand snatch, part 1
Feb 1948 p 38 One hand clean and jerk, part 2
Mar 1948 p 72 One hand swing, part 3
Apr 1948 p 104 Two hands swing, part 4
May 1948 p 134 One hand anyhow, part 5
Jun 1948 p 167 The bent press, part 6
Jul 1948 p 206 Arthur's Saxon's favorite lift: Two hands anyhow, part 7
Aug 1948 p 232 Lift which tests all physical attributes, part 8
Sep 1948 p 270 How the BAWLA's greatest team was trained

Oct 1948 p 296 [series debut: Weight Training for Bodybuilding] part 1
Nov 1948 p 326 Way to a powerful torso, part 2
Dec 1948 p 356 Way to powerful arms, part 3
Jan 1949 p 5 Modern weightlifting builds fine legs, part 4
P 6 Try these exercises for your legs
Feb 1949 p 6 Building a strong and supple back, part 5
Mar 1949 p 4 Exercises to strengthen the clean
Apr 1949 p 4 Assistance exercises for the snatch
May 1949 p 4 Assistance exercises for the press
Jun 1949 p 4 Assistance exercises for the jerk
Jun 1949 p 22 WAP- Father of modern weightlifting- W.J. Lowry
Jul 1949 p 6 Analysis of the one hand snatch
Aug 1949 p 4 Technique of the one hand clean and jerk
Nov 1949 p 6 Correct position is all important
Dec 1949 p 4 Perfect posture is essential
Jan 1950 p 10 Performance and posture
Feb 1950 p 4 Military and Olympic presses compared
Jun 1950 p 6 For the squat snatcher
Nov 1950 p 2 Clean and jerk: temperament and technique
Jan 1951 p 10 Assistance exercises pay full dividends!
Mar 1951 p 10 It's determination that makes champions
Apr 1951 p 18 Temperament and morale
Jun 1951 p 10 Confidence is half the battle
Jul 1951 p 12 Champion lifters and their temperament(s)
Aug 1951 p 6 Old Timer looks at the moderns
Sep 1951 p 16 Champions must have support of everyone
Dec 1951 p 10 The way to the top (this was the conclusion to a 24 part series called "From Novice to Champion".

Jan 1952 p 12 [series debut]: intro to The 12 Strongest Men I have Known which began the next issue. The intro is written by Johnson]
Feb 1952 p 6 Louis Cyr, part 1
Mar 1952 p 4 Apollo, the man who lifted an elephant, part 2
Apr 1952 p 6 John Marx, broke horseshoes, part 3
May 1952 p 6 Josef Steinbach, a great dumbell performer, part 4
Jun 1952 p 6 George Hackenschmidt, part 5
Jul 1952 p 8 Alexander Zass- the Amazing Samson!, part 6
Aug 1952 p 10 Hermann Goerner- world's strongest man, part 7
Sep 1952 p 12 John Davis- eight times world champ, part 8
Oct 1952 p 8 Arthur Saxon- a super world's strongest man, part 9
Nov 1952 p 8 Eugen Sandow, part 10
Dec 1952 do not know - I am missing part #11
Jan 1953 p 8 Jim Pedley, part 12, series conclusion

Feb 1953 p ? [series debut: Bodybuilding Through the Ages]: Greece, part 1
Mar 1953 p 2 First great master race, part 2
Apr 1953 do not know- I am missing part 3
May 1953 p 6 Spanning the years, part 4
Jun thru Oct I am missing
Nov 1953 p 2 New style gymnastics, part 10
Dec 1953 p 4 Prof. Dowd's original health exerciser, part 11
Jan 1954 do not know, am missing part 12
Feb 1954 p 4 Sandow's victories over Cyclops and Sampson, part 13
Mar 1954 p 4 Sandow is defeated by Hercules McCann, part 14
Apr 1954 do not know, am missing part 15
May 1954 p 8 Sandow is backed by Army and medical profession, part 16
Jun 1954 p 4 Sandow's momentous worl tout, part 17
Jul, Aug do not know, am missing parts 18, 19
Sep 1954 p 10 Inch's mid-wt challenge and his victory over W.P. Caswell, part 20
Oct 1954 p 6 Inch becomes Britains's strongest man, part 21
Nov, Dec 1954 I am missing parts 22,23
Jan 1955 p 4 Weights are great, part 24
Feb 1955 p 8 Saxon Trio- men who inspired me, part 25
Mar 1955 p 8 The beginning of scientific weight training, part 26
Apr 1955 p 6 The origin of a famous strongman factory, part 27
May 1955 p 4 W.A.P. explodes the myths, part 28
Jun 1955 p 6 Experiments with bodyweight, part 29
Jul 1955 p 6 The critics are confounded, part 30
Aug 1955 p 8 Environment and character, part 31
Sep 1955 p 4 The origin of modern weight training terms, part 32
Oct 1955 p 4 The first assistance exercises, part 33
Nov 1955 p 4 Functional bodybuilding with weights, part 34
Dec 1955 p ? missing part 35
Jan 1956 p 4 This is the age of massive physiques, part 36, conclusion
Feb 1956 p 6 [series debut]: The Saxon Story, part 1
Mar 1956 p 4 Arthur Saxon- born a strongman, part 2
Apr 1956 p 4 Superhuman feat by Arthur Saxon, part 3

See you Oct 5th