Iron History

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10/02/2008 Entry: "10/3/2008: Letter from Charles A. Smith to Joe Roark, December 11, 1987 pp 3-4"

Letter from Charles A. Smith to Joe Roark, December 11, 1987 pp 3-4

When Tommy Inch and Edward Aston were lifting- Inch the heavyweight and Aston not going above middleweight- both made slightly over 300 pounds [in the bent press].

And I believe, since I�ve seen shots of them, both at one time used a cambered bar, which makes it easier for both one and two hand cleaning. But Saxon is always shown using a STRAIGHT BAR.

I believe his lawsuit with Sandow arose out of the claim made by Saxon that Sandow had FAILED to bent press the bar Saxon lifted over his head.

The trial was, I think, held at the Birmingham Asizes (sic). I believe in their �match� Sandow did bent press the bar to arms� length but could not recover to upright position- note the weight of the bar lifted- far, far below what Saxon claimed he had lifted. When the case came to trial, the judge ruled in favor of Sandow, awarding him the sum of 500 pouunds sterling. He claimed that Sandon had indeed lifted the bar above his head- as he HAD- thus the judge was right LEGALLY but dead wrong in a weightlifting sense. But the judge was SEAD RIGHT. Sandow HAD lifted the weight. And legally that could not be gainsaid (sic). Saxon should have picked as good a lawyer as Sandow picked.

Little Neport (sic) Street is a somewhat sleazy side street in London�s Soho district, bohemian and all that. The lifting �club� was run by Bill Bakier (sic) known as the Scottish Apollo. I know just where it is- just off Leicester Square, and then, as now, a parade for prossies.

The Bill Klein spoken of also ran a gym mainly for wrestlers and off the Tottenham Court Road close to where Mile Brinn had his pub. This was the place where, later, Saxon is said to have bent pressed 375, with dumbbells tied onto the bar, said weights kept falling off and loaders shoving them back on again. NONSENSE. Just another bit of fable added to the tale, much like the tales of King Arthur and Robin Hood.

In the lawsuit, the court WAS NOT IGNORANT of the bent press rules. Saxon claimed that Sandow HADN�T LIFTED THE WEIGHT. But it was demonstrated that he, Sandow HAD indeed lifted the weight, albeit not according to the rules. But lift it above his head HE HAD although not completing the lift. The court was well briefed as to what rules applied re the bent press. Of that you and all of us may be sure.

I doubt very much if the first public record made by Saxon in the bent press was made at Old South London Road. This address referred to the old Canterburry (sic) Music Hall, and now no longer there. I have been in it as a little child with my parents.

The question that should be asked here is- What? Saxon didn�t use the bent press until he came to England. Of course he did. In Germany where he learned to use the bent press and obviously, since he performed as a pro there, must have exhibited publicly in his favorite lift.
Saxon is said to have died from pneumonia at a relatively young age. But I seem to remember seeing mention of him in the very late 1910s possible (sic) in 1919 or 1920, the year before my sister was born, giving a bent press exhibition in some London physical culture school, said exhibition being reported in the old HEALTH AND STRENGTH� Oh, what I wouldn�t give for a complete set of those mags. Worth tens of thousands if you had them.

What you need Joe is for someone to die and leave you a few million bucks so you can go over to the British Museum and go through their entire collection of H&S.

I have never believed that mercury story [in the handle of Saxon�s barbell]. If it was difficult for one then it was so for everyone else. Mercury is a hard and totally impartial judge.

As I have mentioned, that tying on of dumbbells and plates is said to have taken place at Bill Klein�s gym with not 400 but 375. Excuse for tying on the db�s and plates was there weren�t sufficient weights handy- plates that is- to load the bar. There is a contradiction here since if they had plates to TIE on the bar, then why didn�t they load them on in the usual way. Pullum is SAID to have been witness to this, but always disclaimed he was there.

Enough.

Have a good time at Xmas and if you do by some unlikely chance- since I know you abhor the stuff- do raise a glass of beer, think of me and wish me well. I don�t know what I�ll be doing for Xmas. I�ve received no word of mt being invited to Vera�s, so I may spend the holidays on my own.

The best to you and yours,
Chas