John Gibson Barbell Plates
Posted on Tuesday, September 19th, 2017 by John Wood
Ever hear of John Gibson Barbell plates? Not many people have. Johnnny Gibson was a barber from Tucson, Arizona who got shot through the lung fighting in the Battle of The Bulge in WWII. As he convalesced in England, he had the good fortune of making the acquaintance of the great William Pullum who introduced him to lifting. His interest and a life-long career in physical training grew from there.
Back in the states, Gibson placed very high in many local AAU lifting meets in the southwest and west coast. He was the 148-pound Arizona champion for eight years running and at the 1955 Southwest United States AAU Weightlifting championships, he set a record that he had been pursuing for over 15 years: a clean and jerk of 250 pounds — pretty good for a light weight. Gibson also did a little bodybuilding, winning Mr. Arizona in 1950 and Mr. Tucson in 1951. At any rate, eventually, he founded “Gibson Gym Equipment Co.” which manufactured and sold gymnastic supplies and sporting goods, among them weight sets, where this plate came from.