Henry Cooper’s Bridge

Posted on Thursday, March 28th, 2019 by John Wood
Henry Cooper's Bridge
British Heavyweight Boxer Bert Cooper is shown here doing neck bridges during a workout in December of 1960. Less than a week later, Cooper defeated Alex Miteff on points after 10 rounds at Wembley Arena. You’ll find other boxers similarly training their necks here and here.
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Author: John Wood. All contents, including images and text, copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc. Not to be reproduced without permission. All rights reserved. We will most likely grant permission but please contact us if you would like to repost. IMPORTANT: Equipment and books, courses etc. pictured in blog posts are generally not available for sale unless specifically noted.

Paul Anderson The Boxer

Posted on Monday, October 20th, 2014 by John Wood

After retiring from weightlifting, the great Paul Anderson took up professional boxing. The above shot was from his April, 1960 debut bout against Italian boxer Atillio Tondo. Anderson was able to floor his opponent three times but didn’t have the wind to go the distance and the fight was stopped in the third round. Anderson’s boxing career only lasted a few more fights, and his with overall record ending up 2 wins (both by KO) and 2 losses.

All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Author: John Wood. All contents, including images and text, copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc. Not to be reproduced without permission. All rights reserved. We will most likely grant permission but please contact us if you would like to repost. IMPORTANT: Equipment and books, courses etc. pictured in blog posts are generally not available for sale unless specifically noted.

Leroy Colbert

Posted on Thursday, September 18th, 2014 by John Wood

Leroy Colbert, shown here on the cover of the May, 1960 issue of Mr. America magazine, was the first man to build 21 inch arms. Yeah, he did a lot of curls. Colbert won the Mr. New York City contest in 1952 and Mr. Eastern America in 1953 but a serious accident prevented him from what would surely have been tremendous success in some of the bigger contests.
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Author: John Wood. All contents, including images and text, copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc. Not to be reproduced without permission. All rights reserved. We will most likely grant permission but please contact us if you would like to repost. IMPORTANT: Equipment and books, courses etc. pictured in blog posts are generally not available for sale unless specifically noted.

Louis Martin

Posted on Thursday, August 21st, 2014 by John Wood

Louis Martin was an excellent British weightlifter who competed in the 1960 Rome and 1964 Tokyo Olympic games, winning Bronze and Silver respectively. Martin won the 90kg Middle-Heavyweight class at the 1959 World Weightlifting Championships held in Warsaw, Poland. Above you’ll see his winning Press of 303 lbs.
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Author: John Wood. All contents, including images and text, copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc. Not to be reproduced without permission. All rights reserved. We will most likely grant permission but please contact us if you would like to repost. IMPORTANT: Equipment and books, courses etc. pictured in blog posts are generally not available for sale unless specifically noted.

Strength & Bulk Training for Weight Lifters & Body Builders by Reg Park

Posted on Thursday, April 17th, 2014 by John Wood

A look at an original circa 1960 copy of Strength & Bulk Training for Weight Lifters & Body Builders by Reg Park. You’d have better luck winning the lottery AND getting struck by lightning on the same day than getting your hands on an original copy like this one. Thanks to Bill Hinbern, you CAN get a modern reprint copy though and Reg’s training advice is worth every penny.
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Author: John Wood. All contents, including images and text, copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc. Not to be reproduced without permission. All rights reserved. We will most likely grant permission but please contact us if you would like to repost. IMPORTANT: Equipment and books, courses etc. pictured in blog posts are generally not available for sale unless specifically noted.

Health & Strength, November, 1960

Posted on Tuesday, March 18th, 2014 by John Wood

A look at the cover of the November, 1960 issue of Heath & Strength magazine. The tall fellow in back, David Prowse, went on to famously play Darth Vader in the Star Wars movies. The shorter fellow, George Cox, was fresh off a 3rd place finish in the NABBA Mr. Britain contest.
All Contents, Including Images and Text, Copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc., Not to be reproduced without permission, All Rights Reserved
Author: John Wood. All contents, including images and text, copyright © 2005-2021 by John Wood and Thunderdome Media Inc. Not to be reproduced without permission. All rights reserved. We will most likely grant permission but please contact us if you would like to repost. IMPORTANT: Equipment and books, courses etc. pictured in blog posts are generally not available for sale unless specifically noted.

1960 AAU Mr. America Contest Results

Posted on Sunday, February 16th, 2014 by John Wood

1960 AAU Mr. America Contest Results, Final Placings:

1. Red Lerille
2. Ray Routledge
3. Joe Lazzaro
4. William Stathes
5. Joe Abbenda
6. Bill Golumbick
7. Frank Quinn
8. Elmo Santiago
9. Mike Ferraro
10. John Gourgott
11. Leroy Saba
12. Don Van Fleteren
13. Kenny Hall
14. Pete Ganios
15. Steve Sakoulos
16. Bill March
17. Buddy Basil
18. Harold Poole
19. Paul Mintal
20. James Piesrante
21. Raymond Huecke
22. Bill Galewood
23. Michael Majoris
24. Henry Efland
25. Nick Spano

Most Muscular Subdivision:

1. Red Lerille
2. Leroy Saba
3. Kenny Hall

The 1960 AAU Mr. America contest took place in Cleveland, Ohio, on June 11, 1960, and was won by Lloyd “Red” Lerille of Harvey, Louisiana, who is shown here on the cover of the August, 1960 issue of Ironman Magazine.

The full lineup and final placings were as follows: