Feat Archives - www.oldtimestrongman.com

Tearing a Mini-Deck of Cards

Posted on Monday, March 5th, 2018 by John Wood

Plenty of people can tear a regulation deck of cards but it’s a whole new ball game with a mini-deck. Dennis Rogers can do this feat with ease, as well he should since his fingers are about as strong as a set of pliers.

Professor Anthony Barker

Posted on Wednesday, December 27th, 2017 by John Wood

Professor Anthony Barker was a great Oldtime Strongman in the New York Area in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. He was also very proud of his fine head of hair – hair pulling or lifting was a favorite method of several oldtime strongmen for demonstrating strength and they could withstand quite a pull with no ill effects. As a side note, Barker lived to 106 years of age!

The Strength of Paul Anderson

Posted on Friday, December 15th, 2017 by John Wood

Back in the mid-1940’s, Paul Anderson started lifting weights to get bigger for football and just kept growing. He eventually became one of the strongest men of all time while establishing many strength records and winning the Gold Medal at the 1956 Olympic Games in Melbourne, Australia.

Paul Anderson was also a Senior World Champion and a 2-time Senior National Champion in Weightlifting. He set nine World Records and Eighteen American records during his career and retired undefeated.

He was also incredibly strong in what would eventually become the three Power Lifts: the squat, bench press and deadlift.

Here’s a look at some of Paul Anderson’s record lifts:

* Squat: 1185 lbs.

* Bench Press: 625 lbs.

* Deadlift Record without Straps: 780 lbs.

* Deadlift Record with “Hooks”: 820 lbs.

* Clean & Press: 485 lbs.

* Clean & Jerk: 485 lbs.

* Snatch: 375 lbs.

* Push Press: 545 lbs.

* Back Lift: 6270 lbs.

* Dumbbell Side Press: 240 lbs. x 40 / 300 lbs. x 11

Do NOT Try This!

Posted on Wednesday, November 22nd, 2017 by John Wood

Balancing Feats are always impressive but I do not recommend trying this one (or anything close to it!) Here Samuel Jenkins accomplishes something dangerous, impressive and quite possibly stupid at the same time ~ balancing precariously on two chairs atop a New York apartment building, circa 1923.

The Double Bent Wrench

Posted on Wednesday, November 8th, 2017 by John Wood

It’s hard enough to bend a wrench one time but Dennis Rogers can bend one twice and make a nifty pen holder. This is a very tough feat that takes incredible grip strength to accomplish — you have to know exactly where to start and end each bend to make it work.

Joseph Vitole’s Strong Teeth

Posted on Friday, October 20th, 2017 by John Wood

“… looming before my vision as a standout, was a feat by Joseph Vitole, a 155 lb. lad whom I trained right after World War I. Vitole had the most perfect teeth I have ever seen. Each tooth met the other in his bite. He had a square jaw, a stocky neck and a rugged all round build. He specialized in all teeth and jaw hobbies. He really liked to bite and grip with his jaws and this lead to the lifting of weights with his teeth alone. He had a leather “bit” which was attached to a strong chain. This chain had a link-clasp at the other end. Joe would simply wrap one end of this chain around the bar of a bell, then take a firm grip upon the leather mouthpiece, place his hands upon his lower thighs and pull with the back of his neck until the weight raised a few inches off the floor. He trained a lot with this sort of novelty lifting. gradually his poundages increased until he was absolutely sure of doing the unheard of (then) total of 550 pounds! I have seen him do this lift many times in practice. Finally, Bernarr McFadden promoted a physique contest for both men and women in 1921.

At this affair which ran for one week at the old Madison Square Garden, NYC, there were staged various unique events and one of these was a contest in teeth-lifts. I was a judge in this particular affair. Joseph Vitole then and there made an official record of 550 lbs. in the teeth-lift which, to the best of my knowledge, has never been broken. Now please check up on what I have written: Vitole weighed only 155 lbs. himself, yet with the power of his back, neck, jaws and teeth, he lifted this weighted barbell, which was officially tested and checked by many assigned for that particular purpose, and found to weigh 550 lbs. Vitole often told me afterwards that he could easily lift much more than that poundage…”

~ Earle E. Liederman

Joe Ragusa BackLifts an Elephant

Posted on Thursday, October 19th, 2017 by John Wood

Strongman Joe Ragusa shows one way to lift an elephant: via back lift. Ragusa regularly performed this feat in nightclubs and television shows. You can see another elephant being lifted here.