Oldtime Strength Blog - Page 3 of 154 - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Anders Andersson

Posted on Wednesday, November 9th, 2022 by John Wood

Anders Andersson is another example in the long line of great strongmen from Sweden. And like many other strongmen of the time, he also wrestled — and excelled in both disciplines. On the mat, at times he was known as “The Terrible Swede.”

Andersson’s most famous feats of strength were to drive an eight inch long nail through a planks of wood up to four inches thick with his bare hand as well as to bend and then straighten out horseshoes with his bare hands — both of which you can see above. It was said that in the early 20th century, Andersson set a world record in “teeth lifting” of 224.5 kg — he lifted a horse attached to a harness from a platform.

Young Samson, The British Goliath

Posted on Wednesday, November 9th, 2022 by John Wood

George Robinson performed as “Young Samson, The British Goliath” in England in the 1920’s. Unfortunately other than a postcard and a few newspaper clippings, not much else is known about him — but Young Samson clearly did have a keen sense of showmanship.

With the above picture, his show bill stated the following:

“Secured in the terrible Siberian Death Mask, and bound with 40 yards of solid steel chain, fastened with handcuffs, padlocks, and manacles, from which he escapes in full view of the audience.”

— Now THAT’S a show I want to see!

Lieutenant Ivan Maltsev

Posted on Thursday, November 3rd, 2022 by John Wood

Here’s one from the deep Iron Game archive: Lieutenant Ivan Maltsev sets a World Record with a left-arm clean and jerk of an astounding 114 kg, at a meet in Leningrad, circa November 12, 1949. After setting his first left arm clean and jerk record of 100.5 kg in Sevastopol in March, 1947, Maltsev methodically added about a half kg every few months for the next few years. Unfortunately (for many reasons), single arm lifts became officially defunct in 1961 — but they are still very worth practicing on your own.

Jack Dempsey ~ Kettlebells

Posted on Thursday, November 3rd, 2022 by John Wood

Here’s a rare shot of Jack Dempsey hitting the bag in Chicago for an exhibition match vs. “Kingfish” Levinsky, in February of 1932. There’s hundred of training shots of Jack Dempsey in various gyms all over the country during his boxing career but this one is unique — what’s that in the corner? — a pair of Milo Kettlebells! It is unclear if the champ every used them, however.

Also notable is the “wrist machine” on the right — a piece of equipment that used to be found in every boxing gym in the land but has all but disappeared today.

Strangler Lewis’ Head-Lock Machine

Posted on Thursday, November 3rd, 2022 by John Wood

Ed “Strangler” Lewis was one of the most fearsome grapplers of the early 20th century. Given his nickname, you can probably guess that his favorite hold was the headlock. The problem is, Mr. Strangler went through training partners like tissue paper. In short order, few people would set foot on the mat with the Strangler. Billy Sandow, Strangler Lewis’ manager figured out a unique solution: he fashioned a dummy “head” consisting of two wooden halves connected together with powerful railroad springs.

No longer did the Strangler need training partners to practice on — of course, now with the ability to train with added resistance, his headlock became even more powerful. Strangler Lewis and Billy Sandow eventually created a series of exercises for different muscle groups which could be performed with this unique device.

Farmer Burns Tribute Video

Posted on Tuesday, November 1st, 2022 by John Wood

A salute to the great Martin “Farmer” Burns featuring many rare images, posters, articles, newspaper clippings and other ephemera from the deep archives of wrestling history.

To check out other Oldtime Strongman videos, you can subscribe to our Youtube channel, by clicking here.

The Strongest Teeth in Belgium

Posted on Monday, October 10th, 2022 by John Wood

John Massis, who we have covered before on this blog, performed a number of impressive feats of jaw strength. Above shows one that he performed in Milan, Italy in 1968 in front of Guinness World Record Officials: holding this Beechcraft model B 50 Twin-Bonanza airplane back with his teeth! No faking this one. Massis also pulled a 126 ton train for 3.5 meters in Stockholm, Sweden in 1978 and in 1979, held back a helicopter from taking off by way of a bit clenched in his teeth similar to what is pictured here.

1948 British Amateur Weight Lifter’s Association Total Medal

Posted on Wednesday, October 5th, 2022 by John Wood

The British Amateur Weight-Lifter’s Association (BAWLA) was founded in 1910 and was the governing body of British amateur weightlifting; establishing rules and competition standards for a variety of lifts and feats for many decades to come. In the 1940’s, if you achieved the highest total in the three competitive Olympic lifts (Press, Snatch, Clean & Jerk), aside from fame and renown amongst your peers, you also got one of these nifty medals to wear on your lapel. This medal is shown here roughly three times larger than real life.

Charles MacMahon’s Bent-Press

Posted on Wednesday, October 5th, 2022 by John Wood

A classic shot of the great Charles MacMahon bent-pressing an excellent 14-inch exhibition bell at the Milo Bar Bell Company show room, circa 1916. In the original publication of this photograph, MacMahon’s tricep impressive development was highlighted — an almost unavoidable outcome of heavy bent-pressing.

The Pasquali Brothers

Posted on Wednesday, October 5th, 2022 by John Wood

A look at the Pasquali Brothers (there were actually three of them: Bibi, Harry, and Willie.). They were born in Italy, where their father and mother were both well known circus performers and the boys began their training as soon as they could walk. They took up the family business and made their debut in Russia in 1905 and eventually traveled all of the globe performing feats of acrobatics, equilibrilism, and hand-balancing.

Something else that should stand out is the quality of their physiques — talk about “functional muscle” — this is fairly typical development for those who regularly practice hand-balancing work.