Monday, February 08, 2010
John B. GagnonJohn B. Gagnon, of Caribou, Maine, is a strongman that you do not hear much about but laid claim to some very impressive feats which are as follows:
Finger Lift – 794 pounds One Hand Lift – 1,111 pounds Two Hand Lift – 1,575 pounds Two Hand and Knees Lift – 2,195 pounds Neck Lift – 1,317 pounds Harness Lift – 2,689 pounds Teeth Lift – 627 pounds One Arm Lift – 924 pounds Two Arm Lift – 1,248 pounds Back Lift – 4,170 pounds Total – 16,650 pounds lifted in only 25 minutes
Labels: Back Lift, Challenge Feats, finger lifting, Harness Lift, John B. Gagnon, Neck Lift, One Finger Lift, Performing Strongman
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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, February 07, 2010
John Robinson's $25,000 Challenge FeatureIt was during the season of 1898 that Louis Cyr traveled and performed with The John Robinson Circus. According to records, Cyr's measurements at the time were as follows:
John Robinson's challenge was whether any man could equal or better any one of Cyr's feats... needless to say, the money was very safe.Width across shoulders: 27 inches Neck: 23 inches Forearm: 19 inches Bicep: 21.5 inches Waist: 52 inches Thigh: 29-3/4 inches Calf: 24 inches Chest: 59.5 inches
Labels: Challenge Match, Circus Poster, Circus Strongman, John Robinson Circus, Louis Cyr, Performing Strongman
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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
Tullus Wright: The American Sampson Another rare look at Tullus Wright, The American Sampson and a few of his great stage weights. Note the thick handles on his equipment. He was good friends with George Zottman.
Labels: Classic Equipment, George Zottman, Globe Barbell, Globe Dumbbell, Performing Strongman, The American Sampson, Tullus Wright
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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
Stefan Siatkowski - The Man of IronStefan Siatkowski a.k.a " The Man of Iron" was a Polish Strongman who excelled in bar bending, nail bending, scrolling and anything else that involved bending metal. He was active as late as the 1960's.
Labels: Bar Bending, Performing Strongman, Polish Strongman, Steel Bending, Steel Bending Strongman, Steel Scrolling, Stefan Siatkowski
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, January 20, 2010
The Mighty Atom's PerformancesI actually know several individuals who saw The Mighty Atom perform back in the day. Here's a few bits of memorabilia from when you could still catch his live show.
Labels: Performing Strongman, Strongman Collectible, 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, December 21, 2009
Apollon PosterHere's one you don't see every day: a rare poster, circa 1895, advertising the performance of the great French strongman Apollon. In addition to feats of strength, Apollon was also a very good animal trainer. One unique feat of strength which encompassed both areas of his expertise was for Apollon to lift a full grown lion and carry the beast around on his shoulders.
Labels: Apollon, Block Weights, French Strongman, Lion, Performing Strongman, 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
Monday, November 30, 2009
James J. CarrollJames J. Carroll, of Jamaica, New York, spent most of his adult life fat and out of shape until by happenstance, he watched one of Warren Lincoln Travis' performances. Carroll could not believe that a man could become so strong. After watching Travis in action, Carroll became inspired and later that evening, went down into his basement and lifted (or at least attempted to lift) his coal bin.
Though primitive, this early bit of "training" lit a spark under Carroll, and later, under Travis' tutelage, he achieved a number of notable feats of strength. One of which is shown here, a teeth lift of 318 pounds - a record at the time.
Labels: Globe Barbell, James J. Carroll, Jaw Strength, New York Strongman, Performing 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
Tuesday, November 24, 2009
Warren Lincoln Travis Run Over by Car! "Warren Lincoln Travis Run Over by Car!" ~ don't worry folks, it's all part of the show. As part of his act, Warren Lincoln Travis did, in fact, let a car run over his body. This rare picture of WLT in action was taken in 1915 at Coney Island.
Labels: Car, Coney Island, Coney Island Strongman, Feat, Performing Strongman, 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
Saturday, November 21, 2009
Charles PhelanA look at the great Conney Island strongman Charles Phelan in mid-"anyhow" with some great stage weights. Phelan also told jokes between feats of strength, billing himself (quite uniquely, I might add) as "The World's Most Entertaining Strongman.
Labels: Charles Phelan, Coney Island, Coney Island Strongman, Globe Barbell, Kettlebell, Performing Strongman, Stage Barbell
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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 17, 2009
Edwin ZelloEdwin Zello, of Platt's Valley, Nebraska is shown here with a one-finger deadlift of well over 400 pounds. He performed many traditional strongman feats around the turn of the century, and so did his wife Alice, who was also part of the act, and quite a performer herself. Zello once wrestled George Hackenschmidt to a draw in an exhibition in Canada.
Labels: Edwin Zello, George Hackenschmidt, Performing Strongman
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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, 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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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 05, 2009
John J. Hajnos - The Navy HerculesJohn J. Hajnos, originally of California, became a professional strongman after serving in the Navy in World War I. He performed a number of traditional feats but his most well-known is pictured here, supporting a fellow office (in this case J.F. Kaska, who weighed 175 pounds) seated in a chair clenched between his jaws - an incredible test of balance as well as neck/jaw strength.
Hajnos was a student of Lionel Strongfort and actually once defeated Warren Lincoln Travis on one occasion at an impromptu contest held at Coney Island.
Labels: Jaw Strength, John J. Hajnos, Lionel Strongfort, Navy Hercules, Neck Strength, Performing Strongman, Strongfortism, Warren Lincoln Travis
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
Saturday, October 31, 2009
John ValentineJohn Valentine, shown here with some of his favorite weights, was a popular strength enthusiast from Leeds, England. He was a pupil of Thomas Inch and actually had a performing strongman act along with Leo Gaudreau. In later years, Valentine imported American muscle magazines such as Strength and Health and Iron Man over to England, being the source for such material over across the pond.
Labels: Barbell, Dumbbells, Iron Master Magazine, John Valentine, Leo Gaudreau, Performing Strongman, Strength and Health Magazine
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, October 08, 2009
Otis LambertOtis Lambert, was a staple on the Vaudeville circuit for years. He achieved his greatest fame while partnered with Adolph Nordquest. One of Lambert's greatest feats was to perform a Get-Up Lift while holding Nordquest aloft, plus a 25-pound dumbbell - a total weight of 220 pounds.
Labels: Adolph Nordquest, One Arm Getup, Otis Lambert, Performing Strongman, Vaudeville
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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, September 17, 2009
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
Monday, June 08, 2009
| Originally hailing from Ashtabula, Ohio, Adolph Nordquest began his performing strongman career in Buffalo, New York in 1901. A year later he moved to New York City to study and train under Professor Attila. Due to Nordquest's similarities to one of Attila's former students he was dubbed the "American Sandow." Teaming with another great strongman, Otis Lambert, Nordquest performed very successfully in music halls and vaudeville for the next decade and a half. When his performing career came to an end, Nordquest focused very intently on his strength training, so much so that he briefly held the world deadlift record with a lift of 638 pounds. He was also very good at finger lifting. His brother Joe Nordquest was also a famous strongman with many records to his credit. |  Adolph Nordquest |
Labels: Adolph Nordquest, American Sandow, Deadlift, Deadlift Training, Eugen Sandow, finger lifting, Joe Nordquest, Oldtime Strongman, Performing Strongman, Professor Attila, Vaudeville
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
Friday, May 29, 2009
The Human Vise in action (video has sound)
Check out this video clip for some shots of Pat "The Human Vise Povilaitis in action. If you want to see more footage of 'The Vise' do his thing, check these out: 336 Pounds of Fury and Crazy, But Powerful.
Labels: 336 Pounds of Fury, Crazy But Powerful, Pat Povilaitis, Performing Strongman, Steel Bending, Steel Bending Strongman, The Human Vise, Video
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, April 02, 2009
Sandow and the Human DumbbellA very happy birthday to Mr. Sandow who was born on this date in 1867. Sandow's greatest fame came with the legendary Florenz Ziegfeld (of Ziegfeld Follies fame) as his manager. Sandow's performance of muscle control and unique feats of strength thrilled audiences as he traveled from coast to coast. One of his most famous stunts is pictured above -- bent pressing a large "human dumbbell."
Labels: Bent Press, Bent Press Feat, Eugen Sandow, Human Lift, Performing Strongman
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, January 13, 2009
Sandow's Harness Lifting One of Sandow's favorite leg exercises was harness lifting a heavy weight. He would adjust the length of the chain to different lengths in order to train different leg muscles. Not only was this a very productive movement in itself, it also allowed him to become accustomed to heavy weights and practice some of the feats for his strength performances.
Labels: Eugen Sandow, Harness Lift, Harness Lifting, Leg Exercise, Performing Strongman, 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
Saturday, July 07, 2007
| Henri Toch was a French strongman in the late 1800's who was billed as "L'Homme Canon" or "The Cannon Man." It was with pretty good reason, his unique performance included the incredible strength feat of holding 365 Kilogram Cannon on his shoulders while it fired. |  - Henri Toch - "The Cannon Man" |
Labels: Cannon, Cannon Lifting, Cannon Man, French Strongman, Henri Toch, Odd Object Lifting, Oldtime Strongman, Oldtime Strongman Feat, Performing Strongman, Strongman 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
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