1912 Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

The Wrestler’s Bridge 2

Posted on Thursday, July 30th, 2015 by John Wood

The wrestler’s bridge is a fantastic exercise for building neck size and strength and here’s a good look at why it is so named and practiced by grapplers. In a match, the neck can act as an extra ‘limb’ which, if strong enough, can keep the shoulders off the mat. Shown here is a Greco-Roman featherweight class match from the 1912 Stockholm Summer Olympics with Swedish wrestler Ewald Persson (bridging) vs. Norwegian champion Ragnvald Gullaksen. This match ended in a decision after 59 minutes, with Gullaksen taking the win.

Heinrich Schneidereit in 1912

Posted on Wednesday, July 15th, 2015 by John Wood

How about this shot of the great German lifter Heinrich Schneidereit and this awesome globe barbell? We believe this shot is from the 1912 German weightlifting championships where Schneidereit finished seconds to Heinrich Rondi. Karl Moerke finished third.

The Olympic Club Gymnasium

Posted on Wednesday, February 5th, 2014 by John Wood

The Olympic Club Gymnasium

The Olympic Club in San Francisco, California is the oldest athletic club in the United States (established in 1860). The original location didn’t survive the great earthquake of 1906 but they relocated to a new location on Post Street in 1912. This is what their gymnasium looked like, circa 1915.

With plenty of natural lighting, an indoor track, climbing ropes, Indian clubs, balance beams, medicine balls, wall pulleys, climbing ladders and an awesome selection of globe barbells and dumbbells, I’d say this facility is just about all you could ever ask for in a gym.

Swoboda Stamp

Posted on Monday, June 10th, 2013 by John Wood

In 1912, the Austrian government issued a 4 Heller stamp honoring the great strength champion Karl Swoboda who had just won the world weightlifting championship the year before. It’s not hard to see why, one of the lifts that won him the title was a right arm military press of 154-1/2 pounds!