John Terpak joined the York Barbell company in 1935 and from there did pretty much everything there was to do in the world of weight lifting. Terpak won eleven Senior National Weightlifting Titles (1936-1945 & 1947) and over his career he lifted in three different weight classes (148, 165 and 181.) His best performance occurred in winning the 1947 Worlds as a light-heavyweight:
Press: 253-1/2 pounds
Snatch: 264-1/2 pounds
Clean & Jerk: 336-1/4 pounds
Total: 854-1/2 pounds
Terpak also one-hand snatched 154 pounds and one-hand jerked 170-1/2 pounds in some early weightlifting contests when those lifts were still contested.
He was a three-time Olympic Team Member (1936, 1940, & 1948), a part of nine total Olympic teams and sixty consecutive National Championships as a lifter, judge or coach. He eventually served as an executive for the York Barbell Company.
Also you can also tell this was an early shot by that style of barbell plate. There is only one known set of these 30’s-era “deep dish/larger letter” York barbell plates still in existence.