So much has been written of the great old timers, that I will barely touch upon their deeds and confine most of this article to the strongest men of the present. If all the great strong men of the past, many of whom have gone from this earth, could meet in a contest, what a battle it would be. It is very difficult to establish a fair basis of lifts and strength feats which would really determine who was the strongest man of all time. The men in competition, if they could be brought together would be of two types: the huge, massive and powerful natural strong men and the made strong men. The natural strong men, best exemplified by Louis Cyr, the French Canadian, would prefer lifts of a slow nature. The made strong man, of whom Rigoulet, the Frenchman, is the outstanding example, would depend upon speed, timing, coordination, will power, nervous energy, and superlative skill.
The natural strong man rarely learns the technique of skillful lifting. That’s why the strongest men of today are little known as lifters. They lack the speed and skill to lift the highest poundages handled in the quick lifts now used in competition. It seems that they can’t be persuaded to learn either. They are satisfied to rely on their power. They say, “Why should I split, or dip? I can put it up without that. I’ve got power.” But they fail when really heavy poundages are reached. The champion in such an imaginary contest as we are about to consider would have to combine real power, with all the athletic qualities necessary to get the greatest weight over head.
Competitions of today are decided upon the three Olympic lifts: two hands press, two hands snatch and two hands clean and jerk. To these the old timers would in most cases like to add the bent press, the dead weight lift and the continental jerk. Six lifts should be the limit in such a contest or it would go on for days, and the final winner would be the man who could stay at the peak for the longest possible period.
The old time strong men would have a real chance in this competition. What they might lose in the quick lifts, the two hands snatch and the two hands clean and jerk, they could easily make up in the dead lift and the continental jerk. So many of the old timers were huge men, with more than generous waist lines, who would be badly handicapped in the quick lifts. At the Olympics of 1932, Strassberger of Germany, Olympic champion in 1928, had to make a two hands swing of his 247 snatch to get it around his abdomen. Louis Cyr was unable to bend to the side in performing his so called bent press of 273 pounds. It was really a side press.
The purpose of a contest of this sort, of any form of national or international competition, is to present a series of lifts which will give all types of men a fair chance, the naturally strong, the made strong men, the tall, the short, the athletic, the fat etc. Obviously a man must be good on all the lifts if he hopes to win. Tony Terlazzo won in his class at the Olympics because he was a world’s record man in each of the three lifts. Liebsch of Germany could press and snatch well. Walter held the world’s record in the snatch but he couldn’t press. The Egyptians were extraordinary in the snatch and clean and jerk but their poor pressing ability placed them in third and second positions. Richter of Austria, along with Terlazzo, lifted a world’s record poundage in the snatch, officially holds the world’s record in the clean and jerk, and he is yet a poor presser. A man, therefore, to win in a contest such as we are suggesting in this article would have to be a real star in every style of lifting.
A poor performance in one could easily be the means of losing the contest. All the Olympic champions of last year were men who were good at all the lifts.
We have the following old timers to consider in thinking of the strongest man of the past: Cyr, Barre and Giroux of Canada; Inch and Aston of England; Gorner, Saxon, Gaesler, Steinborn, and Strassberger of Germany; Swoboda, Turck, and Steinbach of Austria; Tofolas of Greece; Travis and J. Nordquest of America; and Vasseur and Cadine of France. Some will be surprised that Eugene Sandow is not included among this list. With many the name Sandow is synonymous with the world’s strongest man. Sandow made a bent press of 251 pounds; 170 in the one hand clean and jerk was difficult for him in the McCann contest. He could clean and jerk 250. Most of his feats were of a tricky, exhibitional nature. His posing and matchless symmetry of form have made him one of the immortals of weight lifting.
The records are inadequate. For instance there is no record of a military press or a two hands snatch by Swoboda. There were some clubs in Germany who would not recognize the bent press as a real lift, for they considered it as more of a gymnastic feat. Steinborn, and Strassberger would not do a bent press, yet Saxon who came from the same district in Germany was the best bent presser in the history of the world. The men from Britain, Inch and Aston, have left little record of lifts other than the bent press, the side press and the two hands anyhow. Both Inch and Aston are numbered among the very few men in the history of the world who have officially bent pressed over three hundred pounds.
For sheer strength, Cyr undoubtedly was the strongest man of all time. With a frame more like a gorilla than that of any strong man of which we have a record, he weighed over 300 pounds at the height of 5 feet 8 when he was at his best. His side press of 273, dead lift of seven hundred, two hands press of 311 and clean and jerk of 347 place him well up on the list of strongest men when these six lifts are used as the basis of comparison. His large waist line would handicap him in the two hands snatch but he should have been able to come within a hundred pounds of his clean and jerk record (many of the leaders of today come within 75 pounds) so we can safely credit him with a 250 pound snatch. We can’t find a record of what he could jerk, but considering his great pressing ability, he should have been able to continental and jerk at least 375.
For sheer strength, Cyr undoubtedly was the strongest man of all time. With a frame more like a gorilla than that of any strong man of which we have a record, he weighed over 300 pounds at the height of 5 feet 8 when he was at his best. His side press of 273, dead lift of seven hundred, two hands press of 311 and clean and jerk of 347 place him well up on the list of strongest men when these six lifts are used as the basis of comparison. His large waist line would handicap him in the two hands snatch but he should have been able to come within a hundred pounds of his clean and jerk record (many of the leaders of today come within 75 pounds) so we can safely credit him with a 250 pound snatch. We can’t find a record of what he could jerk, but considering his great pressing ability, he should have been able to continental and jerk at least 375.
Rigoulot and Gorner were made strong men. Gorner has been picked by many as the world’s strongest man, as has Rigoulot. Arthur Saxon said of Gorner, that “he is much stronger than I and if he would train on the bent press he could surpass all of my records.” Gorner made a two hands anyhow lift of 440 pounds, which was within eight pounds of Saxon’s own, the greatest on record, of 448. Gorner was credited with the world’s record in the dead weight lift, 793 pounds. It was said that he did not use a cambered bar (a bent type of bar commonly used in England), that he used instead weights in which a slit had been cored to prevent the bar from turning in his hand. There is no record of how high the plates were and how long the slit was, so the lift could not be official. Perhaps he only lifted it a bit from the floor. Nevertheless it was a great lift. We have credited him with 700 pounds, owing to his proficiency in other lifts. Officially Gorner pressed 264, snatched 264 and clean and jerked 352. Considering that he did not practice on these quick lifts or have the fine revolving Olympic type of bar bells of today, the lifts are especially commendable.
We can find no record of a bent press by Rigoulot, the great French lifter. But he made a one hand snatch with 264 pounds, a record so amazing that it is hardly conceivable; the same lift with one hand that Gorner, certainly one of the world’s strongest in history, made with two hands. Saxon, credited with a 371 bent press, made a 250 two hands snatch, so I don’t believe we are wrong in marking Rigoulot down for a 275 bent press. With practice he could have greatly exceeded this poundage.
In the French style of dead lifting, with both knuckles front and lifting the bar without touching the legs, his record is not so high. But with palms facing each other, as is done in other countries, and pulling the weight up over the legs, a man who could clean and did clean 402, certainly could perform a dead lift of at least 650. The former French soldier was a comparatively poor presser when we think of his other lifts, being credited with only 230 in this style. In spite of this press, which doesn’t compare with the world’s greatest records made by himself in the snatch and clean and jerk, of 314 and 402 respectively, he would still have a three lift total of 946. This is somewhat more than the winning amateur total at the last Olympics of 902. These three great strong men would line up as follows, with the official lifts they have made and with our estimates of the poundages they should have made in lifts that they did not practice.
Pretty close, we believe, for a contest that would be undecided until the last lift if these three men could be together. Cyr is long dead. Both Rigoulot and Gorner are active at present; Rigoulot most recently, as a wrestler; Gorner, in vaudeville wrestling an elephant and performing other feats. Gorner and Rigoulot through their managers both claim to be able to break their best records of the past.
There are other men who through some feat they have performed have a good claim to the strongest man of all time. Swoboda of Austria made the world’s highest continental jerk with 408% pounds and a jerk of 422 pounds after it had been placed on his shoulders by assistants. Saxon, with the world’s highest official bent press of 371 and an unofficial record of 386, and a two hands anyhow record of 448, attained the honor of lifting overhead, unassisted and holding it there for the count, the greatest weight ever hoisted by a human being.
Many have thought that Horace Barre of Canada, a training mate of the great Cyr was as strong as the powerful Louis. At least he made the same successful lift in the two hands clean and jerk, a world’s record at the time, of 347 pounds. But he lacked competitive spirit and was satisfied to be one of those who “Also lifted.” It is reported that he shouldered a 1200 pound bar bell and walked across the gymnasium with it on one shoulder.
Arthur Giroux, at present Chief of detectives in Montreal, was at one time acclaimed as the world’s strongest man. He was one of the “greats” that we have had the privilege of seeing in person and in action. He made a dead lift of 650 pounds at one of the Philadelphia shows and a two hands continental jerk of 328 pounds. He has pressed 260 and snatched 256 in spite of his great bulk and big waist line. He was a natural strong man who gained fame for his strength while he drove a brewery wagon in his native city. Decarrie, another great Canadian strong man, was credited with a bent press of 317 pounds. Gaesler, a German, held the one arm clean and jerk record at 251 pounds. He was good on all the lifts and ranks well toward the top.
Henry Steinborn, still active and one of the world’s best wrestlers, was phenomenal on the quick lifts right after the war. He cleaned and jerked 350 pounds officially, and the story is told that he made 375 by mistake one day in training. He was informed that the weight was 350, but he failed to clean it. Knowing in his heart and soul that he could lift 350, he tried again and again until finally he was successful. It was then discovered that a mistake had been made in loading and that the bar really weighed 375. I can well believe this story for I saw him fail repeatedly with a 250 snatch and finally succeed. He put a terrific, superhuman effort back of a lift, and he had great strength, for he performed a deep knee bend, a world’s record of 552. Steinborn could have been the world’s greatest lifter had he continued as a lifter. But there’s no money in lifting; a man must live, and so wrestling became Henry’s vocation.
Strassberger of Germany, an old timer in age is still active. Within the last year he pushed the world’s amateur record in the two hands military press to 298 pounds. Hindered by his big waist, he has difficulty with cleaning and snatching, but he has officially made 253 and 313. His best effort in the continental jerk is 375.
Years ago in Vienna, the strongest man was he who put the most weight overhead in the continental jerk style. Turck first held the world’s record at 386. Steinbach hoisted it to 392. And from there Swoboda made it 408J4. These old timers excelled at other forms of lifting too, notably heavy dumbell lifting and continental pressing. Steinbach made a press with 311 and a snatch with 264 which was an unheard of poundage in those distant days. Tofalas, the Greek strong man, must be considered. A story will appear about his lifting career in a coming issue. He is credited with 347 in the bent press and many other great lifts.
Aside from Rigoulot, France has had many great lifters, such as the giant Apollon, who excelled at real strength feats; Vasseur, who held the world’s record in the one-hand snatch, also making 260 in the two hands snatch, and Cadine, a former Olympic light-heavy champion, who, as a star within the last ten years, made 600 in the dead lift, 240 in the press, 258 in the snatch and 310 in the clean and jerk. There was Moerke, the tremendously powerful German lifter, only five feet four inches tall, and 230 pounds in bodyweight, who looked like a fat man but had power. He negotiated over 550 in the deep knee bend, 375 in the continental jerk and 264 in the press.
Nosseir, the Egyptian champion, will never be forgotten. He was the light-heavy Olympic champion in 1928, and the world’s heavyweight champion the following year. None of the world’s lifters have been able to surpass his world’s record in the clean and jerk at 368, although Walker, at Berlin, had 369 overhead, only to drop it before the count was made. Nosseir also made 281J4 in the two-hands snatch which for a time was the world’s record. Our own Joe Nordquest, although handicapped by a missing lower limb, made a two-hands press of 245, a bent press of over 300, and a press on back of 388 pounds to surpass Hackenschmidt’s record. Warren Lincoln Travis is considered by many to be the world’s strongest man, his claim for supremacy being in the heavy lifts. A few years ago he lifted a thousand pounds a thousand times in nine minutes. That’s a million pounds in nine minutes if you use your arithmetic. You can tell from his challenge to Harry Good which appeared in the last issue, and from his posting of ten thousand dollars reward to the man who can follow him through his act, that he is as I believe you’ll have to make your own choice of who is the strongest man in the past. It’s too difficult a problem for me to figure out. What do you think?
There are few in the present, unlike in the past, really strong men to consider for the title of world’s strongest man. Ronald Walker of England, Manger of Germany and Psenicka Vaclav of Czecho Slovakia are the three leading contenders. Luhaar of Esthonia who made the highest clean and jerk at the Olympics, 363, is a very powerful man. He is very deceiving in his looks. Someone asked me how old I thought he was. I replied about fifty. I was startled when told that he was twenty-eight. Apparently he had done all of his training indoors and was very pale. This continental type of physique, smooth and rather fatty, hid the great strength his muscles possessed. He jerked the 363 with such absurd ease that he dipped but little and didn’t move his feet. He’s one of the best.
Before going on with the leading three contenders we must mention Hussein of Egypt, former light heavy world’s champion, who although not a really big man, yet is such a skilled lifter that his official lifts at the Olympics were 247, 269)4 and 352 in the usual order. Dave Mayor of the York team is rapidly becoming one of the world’s strongest men but he can’t quite rank with the very best as yet. He has jerked 375 from the shoulder, has clean and jerked 335 and has officially snatched 255. He is capable of much more. His official press record is 250 but he has made more recently. Yet this year he is due to rank among the first three or four in the world. Only twenty years of age, his great size, and strength, is sure to bring him to the top. He has greater physical possibilities than any of the other leading lifters in the world. He’s a made strong man. For sheer strength Carl Pakpe of the Michigan Alkali dub has some splendid lifts to his credit. He doesn’t bent press, he can’t put weights over head, his snatch isn’t so good, but his dead lift of 675 and his two hands curl of 185 give more than a hint of his great strength. Walter Podolak formerly held the world’s record in the two hands dead lift with 652 pounds. A wrestler at present, he is still fond of lifting and improves with the years. Certainly he is one of the world’s strongest.
At the present, according to official reports, Ronald Walker is the world’s best heavyweight lifter which, in a contest such as we are discussing, would make him the world’s strongest man. He hasn’t made these lifts in official competition with other leading lifters but he will probably do this later to earn for himself the title of the world’s strongest man. He is another made strong man, weighing hardly two hundred pounds at his height of six feet. Manger of Germany is the Olympic champion and Psenicka was runner up both in 1932 and 1936. We must not forget Chief Moquin of Drummondville, Quebec who excels at lifts of pure strength. He lifted right here in our building to show us what he could do and Gord Venables contested with him in an official contest at Drummondville, all of which gives us a sure estimate of his ability. We don’t know the records of Manger, Luhaar and Vaclav on the first three lifts so can not include these in the following chart of their lifts in an important competition.
You will note that Ronald Walker does not excel on the dead weight lift. Considering his power on other lifts—he is reported to have cleaned 400 in training—he should be able to do at least 650 in the dead lift. But a single attempt with 550 is all we have received a report of. Another hundred pounds on this lift and some practice on the bent press would put him in first place with the champions of all time. Still a young man, he continues to improve and, barring unforseen occurrences, should become the greatest lifter of all time, even surpassing the amazing Rigoulot whose records seemed unapproachable.
Moquin has real power, is a natural strong man, and can deep knee bend with very close to 600 pounds. He is not so fast on the quick lifts nor can he get so low in the splits. Walker moves like a flash and his tall body permits him to place himself in the best position for each lift. As we said in making our comparison of the strongest old timer, we’ll have to leave the matter to time, and the opinion of our readers. I’m sure many of us would give a finger to see all the men listed here in such a contest at one time.
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