Cyclops and Sampson

Cyclops and Sampson
A rare poster advertising the strongman duo of Franz "Cyclops" Bienkowski and Charles A. Sampson. Sampson's Harness Lift is highlighted.

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Cyclops The Coin Breaker

Cyclops The Coin Breaker
Another look at Franz Bienkowski, aka Cyclops, whose fingers were so powerful that he could bend and break coins with his bare hands. On the right is one of the 10 centimes coin that Cyclops broke, a feat witnessed and authenticated by several other notable strongmen.

Cyclops possessed considerable strength and possessed a 14-1/2-inch forearm, 18-inch upper arm and 52-inch chest. He often partnered with Charles Sampson.

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Charles Sampson

Charles Sampson
Charles Sampson was a turn-of-the-century strongman who, unlike any of his contemporaries, claimed his great strength was not from physical training but a result of having been struck by lightning as a small child!

As noted in Physical Training Simplified by Mark Berry, Sampson did perform a Harness Lift with 4008 pounds and frequently collaborated with the famous coin breaker Franz "Cyclops" Bienkowski.

Sampson and Cyclops were both handily defeated by Eugen Sandow in a famous challenge match in 1889.

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Circus Strongman Pierre Gasnier, The French Hercules

Pierre Gasnier
Pierre Gasnier was the quintessential Oldtime Strongman: BIlled as the "French Hercules," He performed feats of strength for the Barnum and Bailey circus in the late 1890's: tearing decks of cards, bending horseshoes, breaking chains, and lifting his special "challenge weight" globe dumbbell shown here.

The dumbbell had a handle of 2" in diameter and weighs 236 French Livres (which equals 260 pounds) Gasnier weighed only 138 pounds at a height of 5'3" yet was able to lift the weight with ease, a feat that such other noted strongmen such as Sebastian Miller, Hans Beck, and Franz "Cyclops" Bienkowski could not duplicate.

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Franz Bienkowski - "Cyclops" - The Coin Breaker

Franz Bienkowski - "Cyclops" - The Coin Breaker
Franz Bienkowski was a Polish wrestler and strongman who performed in the late 1800's. It was reported that his grip and finger strength was so powerful that he could bend and break coins.

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Charles Vansittart: The Man With The Iron Grip

Charles Vansittart

In the late 1800s, Charles Vansittart ventured to the Klondike to dig for gold, but instead found his calling as a performing strongman. His prospecting skills were a bit lacking but fortunately his strength skills were not. In exchange for food, he began giving strength demonstrations in the Yukon saloons. His act caught on and eventually took him around the world where he was known as the "Man with The Iron Grip."

Vansittart had a pair of 18-inch biceps, 14 inch forearms and 7-5/8ths inch wrists. He could tear three decks of playing cards at once, and pinch grip a 56 pound blockweight with ease. Vansittart once won a closely contested challenge match when the great strongman "Cyclops" could not duplicate his feat of ripping a tennis ball apart with his bare hands.

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