Tag: John Davis

Ed Yarick

Posted on Monday, April 18th, 2016 by John Wood

In addition to running one of the most popular gyms in the land, the 6’4″ Yarick won the tall class in the “Mr. Pacific Coast” bodybuilding contest and was also the coach of the 1952 National Jr. Weightlifting Team.

Yarick’s Gym was located at 3355 Foothill Blvd. in Oakland, California and was one of the centers of the strength world on the West coast. It was also where Steve reeves got his start and the training headquarters at various times of Roy Hilligenn, John Davis, Clancy Ross, Jack Delinger, Tommy Kono and Doug Hepburn (among others).

Tags: , , , , ,
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.

John Davis and BAWLA Plates

Posted on Friday, August 14th, 2015 by John Wood
Here’s a rare look at the great John Davis. Hard to tell were this shot is from though. This image was actually from a German tobacco card from 1952. If you take a close look, those are BAWLA (British Amateur Weight Lifting Association) Plates so it may be from the 1948 Olympics, held in London, where Davis took home the gold medal. Problem is, it doesn’t match up to any other shots we have seen from that time period. Either way, another look at Mr. Davis in action is always a good thing.
Tags: , , , , ,
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.

John Davis Squatting at Yarick’s Gym

Posted on Monday, January 19th, 2015 by John Wood

Here’s a look at the great John Davis squatting at Ed Yarick’s Gym in Oakland, California in the 50’s. That’s 400 lbs. and he makes it look easy. No monkey business there, just pure power development. You sure don’t see squatting like this much these days.
Tags: ,
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.

1948 Olympic Heavyweights

Posted on Friday, September 26th, 2014 by John Wood

A look at the medal stand for the heavyweight class at the 1948 London Olympic Games: John Davis of the USA took the Gold Medal with a 452.5 kg. total while his team mate, Norb Schemansky won the Silver medal with a 425 kg. total. The Bronze Medal winner was Abraham Charité of the Netherlands, who totaled 412.5 kg.
Tags: , , , ,
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.

What is Dinosaur Training?

Posted on Friday, August 15th, 2014 by John Wood
A short video clip (with sound) of several of the people, places and training topics that you’ll find in the pages of “Dinosaur Training” by Brooks Kubik.

John Davis at Muscle Beach

Posted on Thursday, December 19th, 2013 by John Wood

John Davis was among the many famous visitors to Muscle Beach during its heyday. This picture was probably taken during the period of time when Davis spent some time out on the West Coast training at Yarick’s Gym. Looks like around 300 pounds on the bar. Notice there aren’t any collars on the bar~ you can’t miss a lift if you’re a world champ. Davis is also still wearing his wrist watch, you sure won’t see THAT today.
Tags: , , ,
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.

John Davis: Pinch Gripping

Posted on Tuesday, July 2nd, 2013 by John Wood

John Davis Pinch Grip

One of the classic tests of grip strength is to pinch two heavy weight plates together – something that legendary John Davis could do with ease with these York Deep-Dish 35-pound plates. Davis could perform three one-arm chins as well as lift the famed Apollon wheels which also had a very thick handle — needless to say, if you want to be a strongman, it pays to have strong hands…

John Davis

Posted on Wednesday, December 19th, 2012 by John Wood

John Davis

Ironically, American weightlifting champions often got more recognition from the international media than they did back home. Here”s John Davis, pictured on the cover of a French Sporting magazine in 1950 on his way to winning the heavyweight class the 1950 World Championship in Paris, France. By the weight on the bar, this appears to be Davis’ winning snatch lift of 147.5 kg.

1947 World’s Weight Lifting Championships Official Program

Posted on Tuesday, July 17th, 2012 by John Wood
A look at the Official Program for the 1947 World’s Weight Lifting Championships held at the Municipal Auditorium in Philadelphia, PA.  Pictured are members of the 1946 US team consisting of Stanley Stanczyk, Frank Spellman, John Terpak, Emerick Ishikawa, Bob Hoffman and Frank Kay (Not pictured: John Davis).

At the Championships, which were held on September 26 and 27th, 1947, the US team ran the table, taking the Gold Medal in every single weight class and winning 10 medals overall.

John Davis and the Apollon Wheels

Posted on Wednesday, July 20th, 2011 by John Wood
On September 13th, 1949 the American Olympic Weightlifting Champion John Davis succeeded in cleaning and jerking the famous Apollon Wheels.  In doing so, he became just the third man to put them overhead, joining the French Champion Charles Rigoulot and Apollon himself. Davis’ accomplishment did not come easy, on his first attempt he passed out in mid-lift!
Tags: , , , , , , , ,
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.