Wednesday, February 03, 2010
The Mighty Atom: The Human BridgeYes, that's "The Mighty Atom supporting that bridge on his chest (while lying on a bed of nails). I think Slim the Hammer Man has The Atom's bed of nails in his Dungeon Gym.
Labels: Bed of Nails, Dungeon Gym, Feats of Strength, Human Bridge, Slim The Hammerman, Supporting Feat, The MIghty Atom
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Monday, January 25, 2010
The Mighty Atom ~ Nail DrivingAnother classic shot ofThe Mighty Atom performing The Nail Driving Feat - a feat he did until well into his 70s. For more information about The Mighty Atom and his nail driving prowess, you'll want to sit down with the Hammer Man.
Labels: Feats of Strength, Nail Driving, Oldtime Strongman Feat, The MIghty Atom
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
The Amazing Samson: Girder Teeth Lift"The Amazing Samson" Alexander Zass was adept at many feats of strength but he had unusually strong teeth. Here, he lifts a 300 pound steel girder by that method - and makes it look easy.
Labels: Alexander Zass, Feats of Strength, Jaw Strength, Teeth Lifting
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Sunday, November 08, 2009
Tullus Wright - The American SampsonTullus Wright, from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, traveled the country in the late 1800s, performing in fairs and carnivals as "The American Sampson". He performed a number of traditional feats of strength but his specialty was The Human Link.
Labels: Carnival Strongman, Feats of Strength, Human Link, Performing Strongman, The American Sampson, Tullus Wright
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Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Karl MoerkeHere's a unique feat of strength which was often performed by the German strongman Karl Moerke in his shows. Try to hold an empty Olympic straight out overhead while laying on your back and you can appreciate just how impressive a feat this is when Moerke does it with a heavy weight.
Labels: Barbell, Feats of Strength, German Strongman, Karl Moerke, Supporting Feat
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Thursday, September 17, 2009
Hermann GoernerHermann Goerner was never too far from the weights, even when he was on vacation. Here he snatches 190 pounds with one arm, in street clothes and standing ankle deep in loose sand. - Now that's strong.
Labels: Feats of Strength, German Strongman, Globe Barbell, Hermann Goerner, One hand Snatch
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John Holtum, The Cannonball KingJohn Holtum was aptly known as "The Cannonball King" from his act where he actually did catch a cannon ball fired from a real cannon. This took a bit of practice though, he had a few fingers blown off the first few times he tried it. In addition to his cannonball catching feat, his performance also consisted of various strength feats which involved either lifting or juggling cannon balls.
Labels: Cannon, Cannonball, Cannonball King, Feats of Strength, John Holtum, Performing Strongman, Unusual Strength
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Friday, August 28, 2009
Frank "Iron-Jaw" DilksFrank "Iron-Jaw" Dilks, of Bridgeton, New Jersey was an aptly named strongman. Here he goes for a stroll, pulling a brand new fire engine purchased by the city down the block with his teeth. This particular fire engine which was manufactured by the Stutz Fire Engine Company of Indianapolis, Indiana, weighed in at seven and a half tons.
Labels: Feat, Feats of Strength, Frank Dilks, Jaw Strength, Pulling Feat, Teeth Lifting
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Clevio Massimo Strongman PosterAn old poster of the strongman Clevio Massimo during the time he appeared on the stage throughout the country, depicting some of the feats of strength he included in his act: harness lifting, the One Arm get Up, Kettlebell Crucifix, card ripping, hand balancing etc. He included quite a variety; many not illustrated here, and his ability as a showman only enhanced his fine performances. Massimo also played the violin in one portion of his act to prove he was a capable musician as well as a genuine strongman.
Labels: Card Ripping, Clevio Massimo, Feats of Strength, Hand Balancing, Harness Lifting, Neck Bridge, One Arm Getup, Poster, Strongman Poster
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Thursday, August 27, 2009
VulcanaKate "Vulcana" Williams, was a Welsh Strongwoman who toured music halls in Britain, Europe and Australia in the early 1900's. Among her many other feats were a bent press of 125 pounds and an overhead lift (i.e. press) with a 56 pound weight in each hand. She was quite popular in France where Professor Desbonnet verified her feats and was very impressed with her level of strength.
Labels: Bent Press, Feats of Strength, Kate Williams, Professor Desbonnet, Strongwoman, Vulcana
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Galen GoughBilled as "The World's Miracle Strongman," Galen Gough from Howard''s Grove Kentucky certainly lived up to his title. Gough was terribly injured while serving in World War I, but built himself back to health and strength through physical training. His results were so dramatic that a career as a performing strongman soon followed.
Gough performed feats of strength in carnivals, fairs and vaudeville houses all over the country. In addition to "traditional" strongman feats such as The Human Link, Nail Driving, and bar bending, Gough came up with many of his own including dangling from a rope tied to an airplane by his teeth, with a 50 pound weight in each hand, biting keys in half, juggling a 300-pound anvil!
One of his many adventures was to perform feats of strength as publicity stunts for the Louisville, Kentucky- based Oertel Brewing Company which is the origin of the Barrel barbell pictured above.
Labels: Anvil, Anvil Lifting, Bar Bending, Barrel, Barrel Barbell, Barrel Lifting, Feats of Strength, Galen Gough, Human Link, Jaw Strength, Kentucky Strongman, Nail Driving, Oldtime Strongman, Teeth Lifting
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Rolled Frying PansRolling up a frying pan is one of the classic feats of strength and one that always knocks 'em dead during a live performance. Dennis Rogers makes it look easy but the feat requires tremendous fingertip strength to accomplish. You can always tell the frying pans that Dennis has rolled because they are rolled so tight that they can easily fit through the straps of a wrist watch.
Labels: Bending Feat, Classic Strongman Feats, Dennis Rogers, Feats of Strength, Fingertip Strength, Frying Pan Rolling, Grip Strength
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Monday, August 10, 2009
Dennis Rogers: ShackledModern Strongman Dennis Rogers is shown here in the spotlight performing his "Shackled" feat.
Labels: Chain Breaking, Dennis Rogers, Feats of Strength
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Sunday, August 09, 2009
Chain BreakingOne of the feats that Alexander Zass performed in his strength act was to break chains with his hands. "Samson" would let an audience member choose a specific link then twist it back and forth with the strength of his hands until it weakened and broke. (In this case it was the sixth link in the chain.) This twisting caused the chain to become so hot that Samson's fingers ended up blistered afterward but the amazing feat did bring the house down every time - the price of show business!
Labels: Alexander Zass, Amazing Samson, Bending Feat, Chain Breaking, Feats of Strength, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Steel Bending
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Friday, July 24, 2009
Charles McMahonCharles MacMahon, of Camden, New Jersey, was a famous performing strongman during the early 20th century. He was a student of Alan Calvert and was regularly featured in Strength Magazine and other literature for the Milo Barbell Company.
In 1927, he wrote a tremendous book "How to Perform Feats of Strength and Dexterity," which we should have available on the site at some point.
Labels: Alan Calvert, Charles MacMahon, Feats of Strength, Strength Magazine
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Monday, July 13, 2009
A short clip featuring the amazing Canadian strongman Louis Cyr and some of his most famous strength feats. (Video has sound.)
Labels: Canadian Strongman, Feats of Strength, Louis Cyr, Video
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Steel Bending"The Amazing Samson" Alexander Zass engaging in a bit of steel bending. Though is is certainly not for everyone, steel bending can be quite a workout, one that can make you very strong in some very unusual ways.
Labels: Alexander Zass, Amazing Samson, Bending Feat, Feats of Strength, Full Body Strength, Grip Training, Steel Bending, Wrist Strength
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Chain Breaking Through Chest ExpansionThe Mighty Atom demonstrates one of the classic oldtime strongman feats: breaking chains through chest expansion. The Atom taught the secrets of this feat to Slim The Hammerman. Slim also performed this feat in his act for years thus carrying on the Atom's legacy. In case you're interested in learning too, Slim covers this feat in detail in his strength DVD.
Labels: Chain Breaking, Chest Expansion, Feats of Strength, Slim The Hammerman, The MIghty Atom
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Friday, July 10, 2009
Harry Luft, The Brooklyn SamsonShown here is Harry Luft, age 17, performing his own specialty of tearing not one but TWO 2000 page telephone directories in half. Harry, who weighs but 142 pounds, stand 5 feet 4 and does other strongman feats such as bending iron bars in his teeth, is one of the "Samson Twins" of Brooklyn New York. The other twin is his 15 year old brother Sol who also bends iron bars in his teeth and who emulates his older brother's book tearing stunt by destroying Red Books, which are about 1/3rd as thick as the directories.
Labels: Bar Bending, Brooklyn Samson, Brooklyn Strongman, Feats of Strength, Harry Luft, Oldtime Strongman, Phonebook Tearing, Samson Twins
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Monday, July 06, 2009
Warren Lincoln TravisPictures of Warren Lincoln Travis in action are extremely rare, but this just happens to be one (and you saw it here first). Here, Travis supports close to a ton of human weight on his shoulders.
Labels: Feats of Strength, Human Lift, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Supporting Feat, Warren Lincoln Travis
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Monday, June 22, 2009
Arthur DandurandAt a contest in 1908, the great Canadian strongman Arthur Dandurand pushed a wheelbarrow loaded with 4300 pounds of pig iron for a distance of 23 feet. The Montreal strongman weighed only 190 pounds at the time.
Labels: Arthur Dandurand, Canadian Strongman, Feats of Strength, Grip Strength, Wheelbarrow Lift
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Jack Walsh - Ouch!New Jersey strongman Jack Walsh had quite a few unusual talents... Here's Jack lifting 500 pounds with his head, and putting a nice groove in his skull at the same time. Don't try this one at home.
Labels: Feats of Strength, Head Lift, Jack Walsh, Neck Strength
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Sunday, May 24, 2009
The Brothers Baillargeon The Brothers Baillargeon are another entry in the long line of great Quebec Strongmen. From left to right: Charles, Paul, Adrien, Lionel, Jean and Antonio. They traveled the Continent performing tremendous strength feats and all eventually became famous professional wrestlers. Note the family crest on their uniforms. It featured the number "6" (representing all six brothers) a beaver, their name and a maple leaf logo.
Labels: Adrien Baillargeon, Antonio Baillargeon, Baillargeon Brothers, Canadian Strongman, Feats of Strength, Jean Baillargeon, Paul Baillargeon, Pro Wrestler, Quebec Charles Baillargeon, Wrestling
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Siegmund BreitbartSiegmund Breitbart was a master of many traditional strongman feats (horseshoe bending, Nail driving, steel scrolling etc) but he also came up with a number of his own unique feats. Here's a shot of Breitbart supporting a full-blown motorcycle race on his chest!
Labels: Feats of Strength, Horseshoe Bending, Nail Driving, Siegmund Breitbart, Steel Scrolling, Supporting Feat
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Goerner The MightyOne of Hermann Goerner's favorite feats was a "leg press" support of a group of folks seated on a wooden plank. His best performance of this feat was twenty four men totaling over 4100 pounds.
Labels: Feats of Strength, Goerner The Mighty, Hermann Goerner, Leg Press, Supporting Feat
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Apollon - "Le Roi des Athletes"An extremely rare posterof the great French Strongman Apollon. he was called "Le Roi des Athletes" (The King of Athletes) for good reason, even a hundred years later no one has even come close to bettering any of his feats. He is shown performing a Muscle Out with a ring weight and a small horse! Apollon's famous wheels are pictured as well.
Labels: Apollon, Apollon's Wheels, Feats of Strength, French Strongman, Muscle Out, Poster, Ring Weights
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Monday, March 23, 2009
Marijan MatijevicMarijan Matijevic was a great Croatian strongman who was popular during the turn of the century. He won his first medals for strength feats and wrestling when he was 21years old and collected more as the years passed. He had a standing offer that anyone who could defeat him in feats of strength could have his entire collection of medals. He was adept at bending steel, barrel lifting, stone breaking and lifting thick-handled globe barbells.
Labels: Barrel Lifting, Croatian Strongman, Feats of Strength, Marijan Matijevic, Steel Bending, Stone Breaking, Thick Bar Lifting, Wrestler
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Cannon Lifting!If it's heavy, you can bet some oldtime strongman has tried to lift it in a unique manner. As this Strongman demonstrates, here's one way to lift a cannon: with your teeth!
Labels: Cannon, Cannon Lifting, Feats of Strength, Jaw Lifting, Jaw Strength, Neck Strength, Odd Object Lifting, Teeth Lifting
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Tommy Kono - Nail DrivingThe number of strength stars who also practiced Nail Driving is quite extensive. Among them famous weightlifter and sometimes bodybuilder Tommy Kono, shown here performing strength feats at the 1960 Jr. Nationals Weightlifting contest held in his home town of Sacramento, California.
Labels: Feats of Strength, Jr. Nationals, Nail Driving, Tommy Kono
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All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Thursday, November 08, 2007
Teeth LiftingHere a turn of the century strongman tows a car with his teeth. -- Of all the Strength Feats I have talked about so far I definitely do not recommend trying this type of lifting at home.
Labels: Car Pulling, Feats of Strength, Jaw Strength, Strongman Feat, Teeth Lifting
www.oldtimestrongman.com
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2010 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
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