December 30th, 1958 was the date when Doug Hepburn backlifted six members of the Vancouver Canucks hockey team just for kicks. The weight was estimated at 1500 pounds which makes this a pretty easy one as far as backlifts go.
A look at the cover of the July, 1958 issue of Strength & Health magazine featuring Chuck Vinci on the cover. If you didn’t know any better, you might think Chuck was a bodybuilder. He probably would have placed pretty high in just about any physique contest he entered but Chuck was actually one of America’s greatest Olympic weightlifters and was at his peak right at this time. Chuck had just won the gold medal in the bantamweight class at the 1956 Olympics and a few years later would go on to have another gold medal winning performance at the 1960 Rome Olympics. Chuck is a pretty good example of how just focusing on multi-joint lifts and whole-body strength will certainly “do a body good.”
Phil Caira was one of Scotland’s greatest weightlifters. Here he is with a 265 lb. snatch at the 1958 Commonwealth Games, where he took first in the light-heavyweight class, coincidentally. Caira was know for his extremely “low” style. Caira also won the light-heavy class at the 1962 Commonwealth Games as well.
Hepburn Backlifts The Canucks
