Joe Roark's IronHistoryArchives.com
The HUGE library of Iron History compiled by Joe Roark.
Welcome to Iron History with Joe Roark!
Joe Roark has been studying the iron game since 1957, and by 1970 began a systematic gathering of information on index cards. By the time his first computer was acquired, there were several hundred thousand references to be typed into it.
For a few years he published his own newsletter called MuscleSearch: The Roark Report. By 1992 he was appointed as the IFBB Men's Bodybuilding Historian, and began writing about history for FLEX in his column Factoids. For ten years he contributed to Iron Game History from the U of Texas at Austin. Recently he also began writing All Our Yesterdays for FLEX.
His passion has always been the period between 1880 and 1920, with particular emphasis on the oldtime strongmen of that era. Joe will be offering bits of history for Cyberpump once per week, and the text will be relevant to the dates of the calendar for those events of yesteryear relevant to the coming week.
In this column, readers will also be able to ask Joe questions or comment on his posts. Note: The comments are solely for interaction between Joe and the readers only -- not reader to reader.
Nov 28, 2003
Friday, November 28, 2003
Just a reminder that the free forum at ironhistory.com is growing and is awaiting your participation. You must use your first name separated by a space from your last name to register, and you must use a real email address. If you enjoy the material presented here, you will probably enjoy the forum there.
So far the forum sections are: MuscleSearch (general discussion), Musty Muscle (olde time people and events), Red Pencil History (think something you read is incorrect? Ask about it here), and Iron Quiz-tory (for posting questions to challenge the forum members). Bill Piche is the admin, and John McEneany and I are moderators.
Remember it is free, so tell a friend who may care about any of our four sections! Thanks.
NEWS:
Ron Thompson, AAU Mr. America 1974, died on Monday, Nov 10, 2003, about six weeks before his 60th birthday on Dec 26 upcoming. Some of his contests, with winner in brackets were:Jun 12, 1971 � 30 AAU Mr. America [Viator]
Jun 11, 1972 � 7 AAU Mr. America [Michalik]
Aug 6, 1972 � W AAU Jr. Mr. USA
Sep 17, 1972 � 6 AAU Mr. USA [Morris]
Nov 11, 1972 � Win Mr. World
May 13, 1973 � not top 8 AAU Jr. Mr. America [Hill]
Sep 9, 1973 � 5 AAU Mr. USA [Hill]
May 5, 1974 � Win AAU Jr. Mr. America
Jun 9, 1974 � Win AAU Mr. America
Sep 21, 1974 � 2 medium NABBA Amateur Universe [Duval]
Sep 27, 1975 � 4 medium NABBA Amateur Universe [Lawrence]
Sep 11, 1976 � 3 WBBG Mr. World [Emmott]Culled from the articles by and about Ron are the following: For Strength & Health magazine Ron and Dennis DuBreuil collaborated on some training pieces in 1974 and 1975, and for the latter year in Muscular Development.
I am unaware of any updates on Ron after about 1976, and hopefully will have more information for you later.
NEWS: Paul Grant died the morning of Sunday Nov 23, 2003. Not sure of his birth year but probably 1943-1946. He was a salesman around 1970, living in Llansanlet, Wales, who upon leaving the school system at age 15, weighed 95 lbs. He had married Christine in 1968 and about the year 1970 was using five sets of five reps for his workouts.
Apparently he had endured kidney problems for many years.
In more recent years he was an official in the IFBB.
Muscle Training Illustrated Sep 1973 and May 1974 presented stories on Paul, as did Muscle Builder Feb 1976, Muscle & Fitness Jan 987, Ironman Jul 1972, May 1975, and Health & Strength Sep 1970. Other stories featured him at the time of some of his competitions which included the following wins:
1971 Mr. Wales, and his wife Christine was declared Miss Wales
1971 Mr. Europe
1971 Mr. Britain (which took place the following year on May 13, 1972) and about which the following explanation is offered.The Dating System used for the Mr. Britain Contest:
The Mr. Britain contest began as a photo appraisal event in 1930, though it was not then called the Mr. Britain. It was run by Health & Strength magazine, and not by NABBA which was not instituted until 1950. The selection continued annually until 1942 when the title was skipped, though oddly, H&S mag Jul 1944 p 270 says Don Dorans won.
Anyway, the event continued through 1955 when on Dec 3, 1955 Bill Parkinson won the title.
Then the confusion begins. During the calendar year of 1956, no Mr. Britain event was held , but the photo submission deadline was Oct 31, 1956. The issue of H&S for Jan 17, 1957 announced that though the deadline had passed, the finals for the 1956 Mr. Britain would be held on Mar 30, 1957. Henry Downs won.
On Mar 29, 1958 the 1957 winner was declared to be Len Sell, and Oscar Heidenstam wrote in H&S Apr 24, 1958: "I have not made a mistake, the judging at St. Bride's Institute, London, and the show at the Scala Theatre London on March 28 and 29 respectively were the culmination of the Area Contests held during 1957. Therefore the big week-end in London was for the selection of the winners for the 1957 titles. The 1958 Area Contests are now in full swing, and the finals will be held this time next year, all being well. "It may seem confusing, but that is how it is; so let's get our facts straight as a start."
Apr 4, 1959 John Hewlett winner. H&S Feb 12, 1959 Oscar wrote: "It is the 1958 finals that are being held on April 4 [1959], because the finalists are the winners and selected runners-up from the Area contests held during 1958 in all parts of Britain."
Apr 9, 1960 winner Tony Rothwell. Now the confusion starts because the advertisement for this event did not indicate it was for 1959, nor do the flash reports of the event indicate that, but Don Dorans in his full report confirms that this event was the 1959 Mr. Britain. See H&S Apr 9, 1960.
Apr 22, 1961 Winner Adrian Heryet. Again Dorans explains the year lag in the June 1, 1961 H&S, saying this was the 1960 event.
Mar 31, 1962 Winner David Stroud. Dorans again rescues continuity and mentions in his May 17, 1962 coverage that the event is for 1961.
Mar 30, 1963 Winner Ted Gutteridge. See Dorans' details H&S May 16, 1963 explaining "As the 1962 Mr. Britain passed into history�"
Apr 25, 1964 Winner Paul Nash. This would, by all logical progression be the 1963 event but I have found no confirmation.
Apr 24, 1965 Winner Terry Parkinson, for 1964, one assumes.
Apr 16, 1966 Winner John Citrone. The advertisement in H&S Feb 3, 1966 refers to this as the 35th, but Oscar in his May 12, 1966 report says it was the 36th. At any rate we know the progression is still out of step because Colin Sheard in H&S May 26, 1966 wrote, "The first bars of music and the 1965 Mr. Britain show was on."
If you'd like to run get a cup of coffee at this point to stay awake, you may need it because the story now begins to take more turns than a power lifter at an unlimited free buffet:
Some references indicate that John Citrone won the Mr. Britain for two consecutive years, that is, for 1965 (mentioned above, though it happened in 1966) and for 1966. But was he just 'given' an extension because the title had gotten back on track date wise on Apr 8, 1967 which was the 1967 event? Indeed some men on page 16 of H&S Feb 16, 1967 are shown and referred to as finalists who will compete in the 1967 Mr. Britain!?
Got that coffee yet? The story now becomes more twisted: In H&S May 11, 1967 p 12 John Citrone is referred to as 'last year's winner' [he won in 1966 for 1965 remember]. And let me now tell you that on April 8, 1967 the winner was Wilf Sylvetser.
There were no Mr. Britain events in between Apr 16, 1966 (for 1965) and April 8, 1967 which was for either 1966 or 1967? If 1966, then how did Citrone win two in a row? The cover of H&S May 25, 1967 features Wilf as "Mr. Britain 1967" and on page 20 Bernard Bradford is shown and referred to as "1967 Mr. Britain runner-up" and pages following also identify competitors as in the 1967 event.
If Wilf won in 1967's calendar year, as he did, was it retroactive for 1966 or current for 1967? If for 1967 this would explain Citrone 'winning' twice, I suppose.
Apr 28, 1968 (for 1967) Winner Brian Eastman is called the 1968 winner, but I think this to be incorrect because Citrone is referred to as a former Mr. Britain, not as a former two-time Mr. Britain. Stay with me now, I see the light approaching.
Apr 19, 1969 Winner Frank Richard. H&S May 1969 "The weekend of April 18th-19th brought to London NABBA enthusiasts and friends from all over Britain for what was really the 1968 Britain finals, though taking place in 1969. Our newly crowned winners are really the 1968 winners, confusing at that may seem." So all the years we have been discussing are in fact as I suspected, retroactive for the previous year.
Now, I lack some magazines, but the sequence based on dates I know, seems to be the following:
May 23, 1970 Winner Al Beckles for 1969
May 15, 1971 Winner Al Beckles for 1970Now we come to the contest Paul Grant won: the May 13, 1972 Mr. Britain, which was really for 1971.
After 1971 I have never encountered another reference about the retroactive dating of the Mr. Britain- but that is because I lack the relevant issues of H&S. So to be honest, it is only my opinion that the Mr. Britain is still being incorrectly dated each year, and I certainly welcome information to either correct my opinion or support it.
But I am confident, based upon the references presented above, that at least to the dates covered, my conclusions are correct, and that you will find no such detailed description elsewhere.
No go wash and rinse your coffee cup! And sign up for the free forum!
See you Dec 5th!
Posted by TheEditor @ 08:24 AM CST
November 21, 2003: Al Beckles's Age
Thursday, November 20, 2003
News: On November 16, 2003, Bill Piche, John McEneany, and I started a new forum called ironhistory.com
If you enjoy these weekly contributions on the paysite, probably you will be interested in the forum. We are wanting to gather together serious students of the subject and share experiences and knowledge. Please give a thought to checking it out at ironhistory.com
It is free, but registration is required using first and last names. If you are interested, please save yourself and us some time and trouble, and do not try to register using other than first and last names. Some efforts will be rejected.
Nov 21, 2004 column:Al Beckles� Age by Joe Roark
This week we weave through the wandering web of age discrepancies regarding Al Beckles. Currently, Al enjoys keeping his age a secret. But in the early years his age can be traced by tracking certain events and his participation in those events, and by simply noting age references and counting backwards to determine his age within one year of accuracy. Let�s have some fun!
First, it should be understood that Al has two brothers and four sisters; both his brothers and he have the middle name Alphonso. Oscar is the eldest, Aubrey, the middle, and Al the youngest of the Beckles boys.
What follows is a sampling of my files in regard to age references pertaining to Al Beckles.
Health & strength (H&S) Nov 3, 1960 recounts the contest at Chorley, the Mr. East Lancs event which Oscar Alphonso Beckles, having arrived too late to participate, guest posed: �Too late to enter the competition was a new arrival in the country, the current Mr. Barbados, �Al� Beckers [sic], who volunteered to pose for us.� The commentary continues that some onlookers felt they were witnessing the posing of the man who would be the next Mr. Universe. Note: this was not Al, but Al�s oldest brother.
Two weeks later- H&S was published fortnightly at that time carried coverage on the Mr. England event in Manchester. Six years later in the Mar 17, 1966 issue, Harry Rothery recalled this event: �There seems to be some controversy about the identity of one of the Instructors, namely Albert Beckles, who you may remember came third in his class in the 1965 Mr. Universe Contest. Some readers contend that he has appeared in Physique Contests before 1965. To put the record straight I would like to say that Albert, to the best of my knowledge, has never appeared in a Physique Contest before 1965, although he has taken part in Weightlifting Contests in Barbados. His brother. Alfonse Beckles has, however taken part in Physique Contests and he came third in Mr. England Contest in 1961 [sic]. He trained then, and still lives, in the County of Lancashire, but tells me he no longer takes part in any Contests because of family commitments.�
So any physique contests mentioning Al Beckles or Al Beckers before 1965 are not referring to the man currently known as Al Beckles, but to his older brother. To continue:
In the Sep 2, 1965 issue of H&S George Greenwood profiles Al Beckles and offers these comments, summarized: Al was then age 27 [1938]. He has been training for bodybuilding for six months [March 1965]. Al�s first physique contest was the Aug 21, 1965 Mr. Southeast Counties.
In H&S Jan 6, 1966 when Heidenstam discusses the advanced ages of some competitors. He mentions Reg Park at 37, George Paine at 38.5, Paul Wynter at 30, but does not mention Beckles, who by his current calculations would have then been 34.5, but then was probably 26.5 and fell under the age 30 break off point for Oscar�s purposes.
H&S Oct 26, 1967 inside front cover photo, and age 29 [1938].
H&S Apr 11, 1968 age 28 [1939, remember July birthday]
Now let�s switch to Ironman magazine:
Feb 1966 Age 27 [1938]
Jul 1967 reports his 3rd place finish in Mr. Britain. If Al were 36 at this event, why did he not enter the senior event for those over age 35? Because he was in fact age 28?
Dec 1967 age 29 at Mr. Universe
Jan 1970 age 31 at 1969 Mr. Universe
Sep 1974 age 33
Mar 1982 In answer to the question, �How old are you right now�? Al is quoted as replying, �Right now I�m 42.� Though this interview appeared in 1982, it took place in 1981, so we are back at 1938/1939.
NOW PAY ATTENTION, please, it becomes confusing!
In those days Ironman was published every other month, and by the July issue of Ironman (two issues after the above quoted issue) in an article by Gary Bartlett appear these words in reference to Beckles, �He is over 40 years old�. In that same issue in an article by Antuck we read, �Albert Beckles of England is 46 years old��. That age of 46 was also reported the following year for Al�s appearance at the 1982 Mr. Olympia.
Then in Ironman Nov 1983, by Bartlett, �Many people really do not know Albert�s real age and rumors have stated that he is past 50. However, most of us believe he is about 47.� [1936] But Bartlett six months later is writing, �I mean, the man is 52 years of age.� So what changed in that half a year to cause Albert to become 5 years older? Stay tuned. By March 1985 he is reported by the same author to be age 54, but by the next issue is back to 53.
By now, Jim Manion�s perplexity can be shared by careful followers when he offered in Ironman Nov 1985 that Al was ��51 or 112 or however old Al owns up to��.
By Mar 1986 Bartlett settles for describing the age as ��50 plus year old Al Beckles�, but if Al was born in 1938, he would not become 50 until 1988. Bothersome details.
Lonnie Teper asks in Ironman Aug 1991, ��some people claim Albert is really �only� 53 instead of 61, does it matter?� Does eight years difference matter????? Let�s see, If the cutoff for the Masters Olympia is age 40, should we allow a 32 year old to compete anyway? Does it matter? If the record books are skewed because ANYONE claims eight years additional age, does it matter, who was the oldest competitor in a contest? Does it matter that misleading statements are made about age? It depends on what is at stake. If a 25 year old fitness model claims she is really 33, will the audience buying the product line she claims has stopped her aging process, be tricked?
The reply will be that �Well, Al looks good at any age.� And, of course, he did and does. But he looks good at one age, the current, accurate, age.
Let�s continue. Muscle Training Illustrated Jan 1986. We know Al began bodybuilding training in 1965, so the reference here that says �When I started training at 28�� puts his birth year, again, at 1937/1938. Al told Flex magazine in Jan 1986 that it had taken him 27 or 28 years in the sport to arrive at his current knowledge, so counting back from 1985 when the interview took place, we arrive at 1953/1954 for a starting date for when he began training; compare this to 1965. I�m just about ready to accept the age of 112 and be done with it!
Muscular Development Feb 1972 says Al ��is 32 years of age, married with two children, and does clerical work.� Clerical work? With numbers? And his age is a mystery? Mama help me.
Was it always thus? Nope. Flex magazine July 1984 ��there�s the question of age. Forty five, he swears.� The interview would have been before his birthday in July 1984, so counting back from 1983, gives us 1938.
Can Wayne Demilia be blamed for some of the confusion? Bill Dobbins wrote in that same issue of Flex (July 1984) �Wayne Demilia says Beckles is 52, but Beckles claims he�s only 46.� So we have 45 and 46 and 52 from the same issue of Flex.
In a nutshell, here is the problem: Jerry Kindela of Flex, revealed in the Jan 1986 issue, �When asked if he would like to clear up the age issue by giving his exact date of birth, AB said: �No, I like it just the way it is.��
Unfortunately as Men�s Historian for the IFBB, I do not like it to be confused. In my record books did Al compete from age 37 through age 53 as I think, or from age 45 through 61 as the other numbers indicate?
I think you may know the answer now.
See you Nov 28th! Please consider joining us at the forum at ironhistory.com
Posted by TheEditor @ 05:52 PM CST
Nov 14, 2003
Thursday, November 13, 2003
Letter from Charles A. Smith to Joe Roark Mar 7, 1986:
I think that when Sig does pass along I�ll treat his so doing in a different manner, preferring to write of him as a human being rather than what he meant to lifting and bodybuilding. I know of course that his contributions to the Iron Game are great but his contributions as a man are greater.
I was supposed to go into work today- the time is now 7:30AM- but I got a call from Terry Todd around 7 to say his car was on the blink, he had to leave early in the afternoon to go to Houston to watch a bullfight put on by Jack Woodson- a mutual friend of ours and one who owns a club here in Austin- the very same club that XXX the Mighty lost because he didn�t come up with the rent on time- and so I have the day to myself.
I still cannot get over that T. Derek Sobel being nominated for the Hall of Fame as the CENTURY�S GREATEST BODYBUILDING WRITER. In fact I am pissed off more than somewhat since I have never heard of the dude. Terry told me- when I asked him this half an hour ago that he wrote OCCASIONALLY for Iron Man. Few people have written more than I have and even John Fair remarked about my prolific ness when he was here researching for his Golden Years of Weightlifting.
Both my letters- the one written yesterday and this one will reach you after you get back from Columbus. So I do hope you have a good time and enlarge your contacts. All grist for the mill.
As for your still discovering things new. Count the day lost in which you DON�T.
As for XXX changing personality, can a leopard change its spots or an Ethiopean his skin. It�s hard for any of us to change personality. As for letting all and sundry know you and I are in close contact, do what you want on this score. But I�d advise against it. Where is there �Need to Know� as they say in intelligence circles. I see no objection to letting people know we, rather YOU know ME. But to disclose the closeness of the connection would, I think- with my usual nasty suspicious way of still thinking like the Fuzz- would be a cardinal error. Knowing that you have heard of me or know me is one thing. But disclosing that we are in close contact might be unwise insofar as it might be a drying up agent of information that they might otherwise disclose.
I have never been in the habit of deluding myself or failing to recognize my limitations, and, I am sure beyond any possible doubt, that I have ruffled a few feathers at times and got more than one person pissed off more than somewhat. But the decision is yours to make.
I doubt that Terry Todd will mention anything beyond the fact that you visited the Collection and me and he and she. It is hardly likely to go beyond that- in my estimation. I am sure if XXX the Mighty had known you and I were in close and regular contact he would NOT have opened up as he did. Sure you get the point.
Possibly I have done XXX an injustice for thinking HE thought that I was bigoted against certain cultural or ethnic groups. Maybe what he meant was that I didn�t understand Spanish. He KNEW that I associated with [John] Davis and had quite a few bodybuilders of Latin American ancestry up to my home in the Bronx.
It is strange that he should mention this bit about my being unable to handle Chicanos since he had only ONE of them as a member of his club and NO BLACK member although he did have both blacks and Chicanos working menial tasks. It is also hard to understand this latter since XXX himself is a member of the Jewish faith and sensitive about it since he never let anyone know. To me it didn�t matter a hill of beans or a single one of them. Brought up in the English sense of fair play for all, �That just isn�t cricket, old man� sort of stuff. I never cared if a man was black, white, polka dotted or albino or what his faith or ethnic or cultural gins and preferences were.
And at the time I came to Austin I was TOTALLY UNAWARE that it had ANY CHICANO population.
You can depend on one thing. If you write to XXX, he will write back and in his usual disjointed loose at the ankles and wrists style.
That it all for now, see ya, best to you and yours,
Chas.Letter from Charles A. Smith to Joe Roark Mar 15, 1986:
Thanks for your letter dated as per post mark March 12th which reached me yesterday. I am starting this now since I am sure I won�t get to mail it before Monday- work�s piling up around me like cow flops in a well grazed meadow.
My news first. Talked with Milo Steinborn yesterday afternoon. It was the old sod�s 93rd birthday and from the degree of background decibels some hell of a party was going on. The rotten swine were probably drinking all OUR beer. He sounded marvelous. Voice vigourous and replies lucid. We nattered for a couple of minutes, I wished him many happy returns and off the phone I got Terry and Jan to get their two cents worth in.
Sig Klein is out of the hospital and, from what I am told, appears to be a little better. When I said his wife was still alive, that was an assumption on my part. I don�t know for sure, but have gathered she is still living from the gossip I hear here and there.
I don�t see how Grimek can stop anyone from writing a bio on him. He is a public personality and all he can do is sue if he feels something is said about him to which he objects.
What has me puzzled re Katie Sandwina is the name NOCK as her parents� names and her oft told name of BUMBACH. Thanks for the info on her. We have a fair amount of stuff on her here at the Collection- which by the way is not only growing but becoming more and more famous. Yesterday we had a very sweet lump of crackling up to do a story on the collection- a sprightly young German lass from the German Newspaper Mag STERN. Name Christina- last name unknown, but who cared when confronted with the presence and pleasantness of her pulchritude. She was, she told me, from Hambourg and we exchanged reminiscences of how it was now- all new, chrome glittery- and then in the old days in the early thirties when I visited it. She said she was �rich� but she was amazed at how wealthy some of the people she had met in Austin and Houston were. I said, �So you are rich are you. Can�t you see I love you madly?� Anyway, we got on famously, especially when I told her I had heard good old Adolph Hitler give a couple of speeches at the Berlin Sports Palast. Neither Terry or Jan were around and I had loads of time to work my evil wiles upon her. Don�t I wish.
Beer will be in the ice box, all cooled down, on your arrival. It�s my bounden duty to have means of revival at hand on your arrival in order to get you over the shock of meeting me face to face
Thanks for the stuff on Joe Lambert. There�s nothing I like better than jerking up someone as smug as dear old XXX. He sent me a letter the other day, saying he had been inspecting some ice rinks in Germany or Holland or some such outlandish place. He manages to travel around to various functions because he gets his way paid. He is some sort of Government employee, exactly what I will find out and let you know. He is, as I may have mentioned, a workaholic, finding it hard to get over the loss of his wife. Understand his feelings in this matter. It isn�t like a divorce at all where the �feelings� are mutual. Most times anyway. The death of someone you love, or respect takes something of yourself away.
Not too long ago I wrote to our mutual friend XXX, telling him of Siggie�s condition and that I was going to write an OBIT for Bob Kenedy in which I would deal with the character of Klein and not about his gym ownership and some such. I added these words that �I know this sounds ghoulish� but it might provide Bob Kennedy with a �scoop� and so help along he and his somewhat ailing mag.
Well, Lo and behold, as they say in Polynesia. I got a letter from Kennedy to tell me he had just received an OBIT about Sig Klein from XXX and he remarked �Strange, Chas., but he used the same words as you: �I know it sounds ghoulish etc etc.� I had previously written to Kennedy suggesting a Klein obit with space held in order to scoop the rest of the mags, also adding the words, �I know it sounds etc etc� the same words I used in my letter to XXX. I don�t need to say any more or express my feelings as to this action on the part of XXX. Nuff said�By the way, who was NUFF. And what did he say.
I like Ed Jubinville. He is a GENTLEMAN and I use this in the British sense, and you can�t possibly understand this sense. But try and be a Brit and understand. I have never heard a single derogatory word said of him. Not like me at all. I�m a sheer bastard.
Time for �I wonder why� item. I wonder why Terry Todd�s name no longer appears on the SPORTS ILLSUTRATED MAST HEAD. And why his articles no longer appear therein. Any rumors floated your way.
I am halting this missive right here and now with the hopes of catching the poxy postman. I aint goint over any typoes, so suffer. And if I have failed to answer any questions, throw them at me in your next,
Best as ever to you and yours,
Chas.Posted by TheEditor @ 07:49 PM CST
Mighty Men of Old: Ernest Cadine
Thursday, November 6, 2003
Click Here for Ernest Cadine Image
Click Here for Another Ernest Cadine Image
Click Here First to Read About Ernst Cadine (Adobe Acrobat Format).
Ernest Cadine: notes compiled by Joe Roark
Cadine was born in 1893 in St. Denis, France, and he died on May 23, 1978
Webster offers his height at 5'6" and his weight at 200 pounds- the same figures offered by Willoughby, who, in Your Physique Nov 1943 gives Cadine's 1917 measurements as: neck 17.7, arm 16.5, forearm 14.3, wrist 7.9, chest 46, waist 34.5, thigh 25.5, calf 16.5, all in inches.
At age 19 he competed in the Paris championships, managing a 141 lb right arm swing, and a two arms snatch of 187.25 lbs., in 1912. Then World War I distracted him because his trade as machinist was in demand, but by 1917 he was able to one arm swing 168 on an awkward dumbell.
In 1918 when bodyweight classes had not been established, and heavyweights had the (here comes the pun) upper hand, Cadine who was in effect a middleweight, performed a one arm swing with 176.25 lbs. The following year his two arms snatch with 239 lbs gained him some attention.
At the Championships of Paris in April 1920, Cadine managed a right arm jerk with 187.25 lbs, a two arm press with the same amount, a left arm snatch of 154.25, a two dumbbells jerk with 247, and a two arms jerk with 297.25 lbs., all at a bodyweight of 170 lbs.
Later that year at the French championships, Cadine matched his two arms jerk of 297.25 and did not push himself further because an opponent in the contest, Pierre Bugnand, who was capable of 308.5 lbs in that lift, injured himself and had to drop out.
Cadine became Olympics champion in Antwerp, Belgium in August 1920, where for the first time bodyweight classes were instituted. He was placed in the 165.34 lbs to 181.88 lbs class, where he managed: left arm snatch 154.25, right arm clean and jerk 198.25, two arms clean and jerk 297.5. This total exceeded by 66.25 lbs the total of the heavyweight class winner!
Nine months later, Cadine cleaned and jerked 319.5 lbs. He later, unofficially performed this lift with 330.5 lbs while weighing about 172 lbs. It was during this year, or soon after, that he became a professional strongman.
In 1924 Cadine crossed the Atlantic to face 250 pound Canadian heavyweight Arthur Giroux who was then beginning to blossom as a strongman. Later Giroux would be credited with two hands military press with barbell 231.5 lbs; two hands clean and jerk 327.5 lbs, two dumbbells clean and jerk 238 lbs, and a very disputed two hands deadlift which was probably under 600 lbs but declared by an announcer to be 650 lbs.
By at the time Cadine met Giroux in 1924, Arthur was not ready for Ernest, who proficiency on the fast lifts meant his success, though Giroux did out deadlift Cadine. From this match, Ernest adopted the title 'World's Strongest Man'.
It was to the following year, 1925, that a lift has been credited to Cadine, that frankly I doubt happened. Cadine supposedly performed a one hand deadlift using the Apollon railcar wheels- about 366 lbs with a non-revolving bar diameter of 1.93 inches. This feat was never ascribed to Apollon himself! Cadine did it right handed in Paris at age 33?
Also in 1925 on Oct 6 Cadine at 5'6", 200 pounds contested in a ten lift match against Charles Rigoulot 5'7.5" and 216 pounds at the Cirque de Paris. The ten lifts total favored Rigoulot by approximately 19 pounds: 2,388.75 lbs to Cadine's 2,370 lbs. according to Willoughby, and Gaudreau but 2,385.75 lbs to 2,365.5 lbs according to Webster who seems to have used rounded off poundages . The following chart comes from Gaudreau's master work 'Anvils, Horseshoes, and Cannons'.
LIFT: Rigoulot Cadine:
Right arm military press 110.25 99.25
Left arm military press 99.25 110.25
Two hands military press 208.25 201.75
Right hand swing 176.25 192.75
Right hand snatch 212.75 196.25
One hand clean & jerk 201.75 196.25
Two hands snatch 266.75 242.50
Two DB clean & jerk 229.25 253.50
Two hands clean and jerk 343.75 302Two hands deadlift 540 575.50
Keep in mind Rigoulot was ten years younger than Cadine.
Strength & Health presented a photo of him in the Aug 1933 issue on page 9 showing him in street clothes and shows, outdoors, snatching a solid iron barbell of 180 lbs. Though the date of the lift is not offered, he appears to be past his youth.
Cadine was also known for his finger and hand strength, often grasping pool cues by the small ends and holding them parallel to the floor. I have seen 5, 6, and 12 such cues attributed to him.
See you Nov 14th!
Posted by TheEditor @ 07:38 PM CST
