Iron History with Joe Roark

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.

12/30/05: A letter from Charles A, Smith to Joe Roark July 7, 1987.
Thursday, December 29, 2005
Letter from Charles A. Smith to Joe Roark July 7, 1987
Dear Joe,
Thanks for your letter post dated July 3rd which was waiting for me on arrival home from the Concoction yesterday. Thanks too for the addresses enclosed therein.
Re that offer from the W of WW. Pardon my presumption, but I do not think you should send him any freebie until your ad appears- even for just once- in his mag. This gooney bird is right fast with promises, but as slow as a snail in sub zero weather in carrying them out.
Re the other deal-XXX. Ah, those old Spanish families. It might be well to find out who, what, when, where and how much. Remember that the Wunderful Wun has a load of material on ESPN- his men's shows, his women's shows, his doubles 'championships' and so forth. So I feel pretty sure that if it came to a question of publishing YOUR truth and the W of WW's fabcies (sic), there's no doubt as to what would be aired. Kabisch?
Now for the serious matter. That of ED's offer. Remember here you are getting two inputs. Mine and his. His comes from a much younger view of the world. Mine from the 76 year old, and men at this age get increasingly cynical and increasingly paranoid as each day passes.
From ED's point of view- and remember he is a much younger man than you are - or so I assume- it is nothing for him to up stakes and sashay off to some other patch that looks greener. He can, with his degree, and his experience, find work at any University. Especially so since he would be regarded as an 'expert' in the area of muscle building machines.
You on the other hand are in your forties now. You have no degree of any kind- not that having a degree implies intelligence for it is often nothing more than a trade union ticket. You have been in your job for 19 years. You have built up a fairly substantial pension equity- something that would have to start all over again- IF AT ALL- if you went to work for Nautilus. And there is no guarantee that this new company would be successful. But the University of Illinois WILL ALWAYS BE THERE.
Then too, there is your marriage to think of. You might settle in well in Dallas. You might not. Your wife might settle in well at Dallas. Then, again she might not. She has a circle of friends in St. Jo, plus her job, which you have told me she enjoys.
So what would I do in your position? I'd STAY WHERE I WAS and see if ED would consent to working at long distance. After all, all he seems to need is some author's input. He can attend to the layouts etc etc. He has had the experience. YOU AIN'T.
Also remember that in the two years he says HE says he might need you, you will be two years older- closer to fifty, then it is well nigh IMPOSSIBLE to get a job ANYWHERE. Don't let affirmative action kid you- THEY DO TAKE AGE INTO CONSIDERATION, as well as race, color and religion when hiring. Also in two years you will have 20 years in at the U of I.
And from this point on Joe- stash every penny away you can. Whatever you make writing. DON'T SPEND IT. BANK IT or invest it. If I had done this when I was your age, I'd have been quite well off now. But at your age I was working for the W of WW and he was as lavish with his largesse as a corpse is with its kisses. Whatever you decide, then good luck go with you.
XXX, I may have told you, when he left the W of WW tried for a job with York. No dice. Turned him down flat because, according to Grimek, his involvement with steroids.
My article on Eder is due to appear in the November issue. I have already been paid for it, but shall be vastly pissed if the mention of my friend appears or any of his 'research' appears in it. I shall drop Balik a line to this effect, methinks.
I shall drop Glossbrenner a line. Even more glaring an error than his claiming Anderson was never beaten in competition is his calling a lift the CONTINENTAL CLEAN AND JERK. Ain't no such beastie.
There is a guy in Massachusetts somewhere named Denis Reno who shoves out a newsletter on Olympic lifting. He sent me a copy, hoping I would subscribe at the rate of 14 per. I was most intrigued by an 'article' in it which proposed to 'revive' Olympic lifting in this country by awarding any man who won a gold Olympic disc, twenty five thousand bucks. He claimed the sole source of OL success was money. That's like kissing your wife twice to get her to do something she should have done without getting kissed at all. Now, go on, call me a male chauvinist pig.
I wrote back a letter, regretting my financial inability to sub to his sheet, adding that I wondered how it was that Egypt, about as poor a country as I have ever been in, managed to produce so many fine world champs and record holders, and how the Germans managed to do ditto after the 1st world war, when they were starving and inflated to the point where a daily wage wasn't enough to buy one loaf of bread. So far silence.
Wayne, I am told, took off with Mae Mollica when he returned to the Bay Rum Island. St. Lucia is famed for its toilet waters etc etc.
Joe Hood- a very nice chap. One of the best. Honest. No bullshit with him. I like Joe a lot. Good kid. He told me the other day he was hoping to get at Kuc, that he had upped his bench to 450. He has already made 730 odd, to equal Goerner's two hander. He has also narrowly missed 802. And since he is now scaling 250, he might, just might, have a chance at taking the title.
He is retiring [from lifting] because he enters chiropractic school this coming September. I shall miss Joe. Always a polite, kind word, always willing to listen and not putting you down, like some bloke I could name.
If you do see Joe, say hi for me.
Well, I've banged your ear too much. Best say so long.
Best wishes to you and yours,
Chas.
Posted by TheEditor @ 10:00 PM CST
12/23/05: Letter written by Peary Rader to Joe Roark October 4, 1985.
Friday, December 23, 2005
Merry Christmas and happy holidays to everyone for 2005! Here is a letter written by Peary Rader to Joe Roark October 4, 1985.

Posted by TheEditor @ 11:34 AM CST
12/16/05: A letter of Aug 9, 1985 from Peary Rader to Joe Roark.
Friday, December 16, 2005
A letter of Aug 9, 1985 from Peary Rader to Joe Roark.

Posted by TheEditor @ 05:30 PM CST
12/09/05: Letter from Peary Rader to Joe Roark, from March 27, 1985
Thursday, December 8, 2005
Here is a letter from Peary Rader to Joe Roark, from March 27, 1985.

Posted by TheEditor @ 07:31 PM CST
12/2/05: Letter from Charles A. Smith to Joe Roark June 30, 1987
Thursday, December 1, 2005
Here is a letter Charles A. Smith wrote to Joe Roark, just after David Chapman had visited Austin, Texas, The Todd-McLean, Collection, and Charles.
Dear Joe,
Thanks for your letter post dated June 23rd, which I received on the 26th.
David Chapman came into town and we spent a very pleasant evening together, chatting over this and that. He got to my home around 5pm and we went out, had a meal at a Chinese place, then came home, drank that horrible stuff called beer and nattered until around ten thirty or so.
Dave seems a nice chap and has obviously well researched his favorite subject, Sandow. But, unlike, so many others, he does not hero worship him, being well alive to all his faults and his many transgressions. It is his opinion that the great man was conducting a �menage a trois� but with a man, not a woman, This is what possibly, got Sandow�s wife most irked at such carryings on. Dave did call me on the morning of the 26th, before he left, and said how much he enjoyed the visit and would keep in touch.
The story of Hoffie�s getting into food supplements is an oft told tale. The credit, if one can call it that, is due the late Rheo H. Blair, nee Irving Johnson. Irving advertised a lot in Hoffie�s mag and kept it up, until Hoffie got the idea that he wouldn�t continue such if he wasn�t making money. So Hoffie investigated, found out what Johnson was scoring each month, got his own line of products together and then refused Johnson any further advertiseing. Nice bloke, Hoffie.
As for Weider, the subject came up one day at a round table conference twixt the Wunderkind, [Barton] Horvath, and I. Joe wondered, Bart scoffed, and I said, �Have a go Joe, yer mother won�t know.� Bart�s objection was that it was a mere fad. My input was that Johnson had been advertising in Hoffie�s mags for many many moons and no man did that unless he was making a good thing of it. Finally Joe made up his mind to �have a go�. First mailing nix. Second mailing slightly better- still nix. Next a small return with Bart hollering all day �I told you so.� Next mailing a couple of hundred or so. The next we were off and running and after that never did less than SIX THOUSAND A WEEK. That is what made Joe his money and still does. Cost so little, and gives back so much percentage wise of the cost.
But the sin of mislabeling products does not belong entirely to Hoffie or Joe as you well know. Every bloody brand of aspirin or for that matter ANY product is, according to the TV lies, better than its competitors. They are all the same.
As a nutritionist, Hoffie was a damn good chauffeur.
XXX of course fancied himself an authority on anything. There is a rather delicious story told of him re his relationship with XXX. XXX, and a companion were driving along when the pal asked him, �You�ve lived with XXX all these years, why don�t you get married?� XXX replies to the effect that it was hell now living with her and it could get worse with marriage. Pal asks for an explanation,and XXX replies, �Well, she�s always hollering I ain�t faithful to her. But I only go with her and two other women in town. Now if that ain�t faithfulness I don�t know what is.� I am told he said this with a perfectly straight face and no hint of humor or sarcasm in his voice.
[regarding�Bernarr MacFadden, the Muscular Prophet� by Clifford James Waugh] There�s a sad tale behind the writing of the book. Waugh interviewed ALL of the people, alive, who had any connection with MacFadden. He interviewed the three living wives, progeny, associates, got loads of letters, shots, memorabilia from them, then, when his dissertation was completed, he heaved the whole damn stuff into the garbage. There must be a special hell for such blokes where, like the soldier in Gunda Din, it is all double drill and no beer.
By the way, can you let me have the address of Herb Glossbrenner. I�d like to drop him a line and point out a couple of errors in his article about Paul Anderson. In one section of the offering he claims Anderson was never beaten in competition. In another paragraph he refers to the Continental CLEAN and jerk. I am a bit surprised that a man like Glossbrenner, who is such a stickler for statistics, doesn�t know there is no such lift as a Continental Cleand and jerk or that Anderson WAS beaten in a contest- the Junior Nationals, and by Doug Hepburn.
Best wishes to you and yours,
Chas.

Posted by TheEditor @ 10:23 PM CST