Iron Game History Volume 12 Number 1

l(AS THE TWIG IS BENT"

BoB HOFFMAN AND YOUTH TRAINING IN
THE PRE-STEROID ERAl
BOOKER C. O'BRIEN
GEORGIA COLLEGE AND STATE UNIVERSITY

JOHN D. FAIR
THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT AUSTIN

It is therefore agreed that we should employ gymnastic training, and how we should employ
it. For until puberty we should apply lighter exercises, forbidding hard diet and severe
exetiions, in order that nothing may hinder the growth; for there is no small proof that too
severe training can produce this result.2
-Aristotle

Pandarus: Why, he is ve1y young; and yet will he, within three pound, lift as much as his
brother Hector. 3
-William Shakespeare

For most of the twentieth century the American healthier and more athletic development. Its impact was
sporting community and general public doubted the effi- enhanced by a focus on youth activities and achieve-
cacy of weight training as a means to develop health, fit- ments in other sections of the magazine and contribu-
ness, and athletic performance. In fact, it was widely tions of other members of Hoffman's staff, some of
believed to cause such physical irregularities as muscle- whom enlisted their own children to promote weight
binding, heart strain, or rupture. Even more controver- training for youth. Readers who joined the "Boys Club"
sial was the proposition that children should train with were offered the opportunity to purchase a line of "Little
weights. While Bob Hoffman, proprietor of the York Samson" products, including training shirts and barbell
Barbell Company and editor of Strength & Health mag- and dumbbell sets.
azine, was a strong proponent of weight training since Eventually some of Bob's Strength and Health
the 1930s, it was only after World War II that he Boys grew up to become successful weightlifters and
embarked on a sustained campaign to incorporate pre- bodybuilders or accomplished athletes in other sports.
teens and adolescents into his programs. It was a bold Increasingly the magazine's emphasis shifted to the
promotional strategy designed not only to capitalize on achievements of these young adults, and as American
the growing desire of consumers for his strength and fit- physical culture changed, athletes became aware of oth-
ness apparatus and food supplements but to provide a er training aids and opportunities to enhance their devel-
youthful base for nurturing American athletes. What opment. The waning popularity of "Boys Club" by the
began with a monthly magazine series, "Especially for S mid-1960s was partly a product of its success. Training
& H Boys," culminated in a popular "Boys Club" col- with weights was becoming more acceptable generally
umn launched by Hoffman in a 1956 editorial entitled and more accepted by youth hoping to be bigger and
"As the Twig is Bent." This feature was devoted to stronger. But they were soon supplementing their weight
youth training and included articles, success stories, and exercises with another training aid that was more con-
advice to parents on ways to guide their children to a troversial than previous itmovations to induce more mus-
28
August 2012 Iron Game History

cular strength and size.

However, York could not
market or openly endorse
steroids and, much to Hoff-
man 's chagrin, the twig was
being bent in a different
direction.
Hoffman did not
start lifting weights until
1925 when he reached the
age of 27, and even then
most of his iron game asso-
ciates, including members
of his own York Oil Burner
Weightlifting Club, were
young adults. The idea of
youth training likely came
from George Jowett, who
was publisher of the first
fomteen issues of Strength
& Health with Hoffman
serving as editor. Jowett, an
Englishman who migrated
to North America during
World War I, borrowed
much ofthe magazine's for-
mat from Health &
Strength, founded in Lon-
don in 1898 by Hopton
Hadley. One of its most
popular and ongoing fea-
tures was the Health &
Bob Hoffman believed-well before most "experts"-that weight training would be beneficial for chii-
Strength League, conceived
dren. In the 1950s he began marketing a "Little Samson" barbell set that fit the smaller stature of chil-
in 1906 to establish a dren and he also devoted a considerable portion of Strength & Health magazine to stories about boys
"robust brotherhood" of who trained with barbells. This photo, taken at Hoffman's home in the mid-1950s, shows Hoffman
physical culturists through- helping an unidentified boy learn the basics of weight training. Photo courtesy John Fair
out the world to disseminate
the principles of health and strength. Leaguers were find your pals. We keep on file here the
entitled to purchase badges, pendants, and brooches as names, ages, size, interest in sports,
well as a Leaguers Guide and Pocket Companion and measurements, lifting ability and other
were invited to share news and experiences with others. athletic information about all sub-
By 1946 it boasted over 202,000 members.4 The scribers to STRENGTH & HEALTH,
announcement of an American Strength & Health all members oftheA.S.H .L. We can tell
League that appeared in the fu·st issue of Strength & you of athletic clubs in your territory, of
Health in December 1932 bore a close resemblance to those in your section interested in your
the English version, offering an array of medals, belts, sport. You can meet them personally or
shields, diplomas, and certificates to anyone interested correspond with them. You can write to
in sport, exercise, bodybuilding, and strength. It was S. & H. Leaguers in this and other coun-
tries and never need be lonesome again
the place to bring your problems and in the happiness and good fellowship
29
Iron Game History Volume 12 Number 1

you will obtain from these enthusiasts Miller of Brooklyn, New York, had "made an offer of
the world over.s three prizes for photos sent to me. I only received
twelve replies and most of these were from fellows who
It was not until the second issue, however, that special wanted to trade pictures of a questionable nature. You
attention was placed on youth, it being noted that the know what I mean, unadorned." Bob replied:
object of the organization was to promote right living
and proper physical training "to improve the health of It takes all sorts of people to make a
the youth of our nation in particular, but persons of all world they say, but too many of the
ages as well." Jowett and Hoffman also put in place a wrong kind, those with queer tendencies
system of military style ranks-sergeant, lieutenant, and took advantage of the league notes and
captain-for those who organized local clubs, and a it came vety close to putting us out of
summer camp in Ocean City, New Jersey, for League business. It cost us $10,000 in direct
members. It was a curious amalgam of the Boy Scouts legal fees, and the case originated with
and a pen pal club with a pronounced moral and nation- post office inspectors who traced the
alistic tone. While the organizers were no doubt sincere writers of letters and the senders of the
in their desire to "keep American citizens up with the unadorned photos, who stated that they
rest of the world, mentally and physically," the Strength had found the names in the league
& Health League was also a clever strategy to market notes. Although we were perfectly
magazines.6 innocent .. . there was a serious attempt,
As the circulation of Strength & Health grew to withdraw the mailing privileges from
dramatically during the most difficult years of the Strength & Health which would have
Depression-from monthly sales of 4,800 in June 1934 put us out of business, and strange as it
to 51,333 copies in October 1936-the Strength & may seem to those who don't know the
Health League played an integral role in delivering procedure in Federal court, it would
Hoffinan 's fitness message; and teenage weight trainees have put Ye Olde Editor in jail for an
made up a substantial p01tion of its membership.? Hence indeterminate period. I can still hear the
when Bob prepared his primary statement on health, fit- U.S. district attomey shouting and rant-
ness, and well-being, How to be Strong, Healthy and ing about that 'Slimy Salacious Strength
Happy, in 1938, he dedicated it to "The Youth of Amer- and Health magazine, that spawning
ica" and included a special chapter on the "Physical ground, that breeding ground for unnat-
Condition of American Youth." Although he applauded ural sex practices. Why they even oper-
the effotts of the YMCA for the physical improvement ate a department, in which they encour-
of young Americans, he feared the nation was falling age readers to write to each other and
behind dictatorships that were "building a superior brand exchange unnatural sex letters and pic-
of mankind." He estimated that "seventy-five per cent tures.' ... So the league notes are out of
of the children in our schools have defects" and unless the magazine for some time at least,
drastic changes were made it was possible to "lose our possibly [until] we can figure out some
freedom and things worth more than life itself." Physi- way to continue them without the ·
cal activity, he argued, was "good for the youngsters. It wrong sort of people taking advantage
will make them grow larger and stronger."s This mes- of it.9
sage was strongly reinforced by printed testimonies from
Strength & Health Leaguers throughout the war. Indeed such a lucrative component of Hoffman's grow-
Then suddenly this section of the magazine that ing business enterprise could not be allowed to lapse for
seemed so mutually beneficial to publisher and reader long since the company was benefitting from a postwar
alike was abruptly terminated with the January 1945 boom in sales of barbells and other exercise apparatus to
issue. A rationale for "No More S & H League" fol- a heretofore untapped youth market. Company records
lowed in response to an appeal for its reinstatement from indicate that gross sales increased from $282,900 in
a reader who shared a tale of betrayed innocence. Philip 1945 to $558,419 in 1946.ro Following fast on the
30
August 2012 Iron Game History

removal of"League Notes" there appeared a new section

of the magazine called "Especially for S & H Boys"
which carefully avoided any hint of sexual impropriety
or facilitation of interaction among young readers.
"Especially for S & H Boys" did, however, tar-
get youthful trainees. It was to be "a meeting place for
young men who have made the right stmt on the road to
health and happiness." Bob recognized that "the most
critical stage of life is the period of puberty" which
occurs for about two years between the ages of thirteen
and seventeen. "During this period the young man is
made over physically and spiritually. He comes into
possession of all his bodily functions." Repeating a
theme from his book, he believed that post-war Ameri-
cans, though taller and heavier than their fathers, were
"not active enough physically." Yet it was this new gen-
eration "on whom the future of our country depends."! I
Hoffman proudly illustrated the egalitarian nature of
muscular manhood by displaying photographs and testi-
monials from all races, nationalities and regions, includ-
ing such S & H Boys as Geddes Phillips (Trinidad);
Richard Kajiyama (Hawaii); Steve Papadopoulos
(Bronx); Irv Rutberg (Philadelphia); Reynaldo Raposo
dos Santos (Rio de Janiero); David Collier (Tennessee);
Alex Matika (New Jersey); Joseph di Nota (Brooklyn);
John Iaccino (New York City): Bill Hill (Montreal): John
Patrico (Detroit); and V. Krishna (Fiji).I2 Virtually none
of them were older than 17, and one "young superman,"
Thomas Lincoln Smith of Hopewell, Virginia, was only
five months old, having built himself up in two months
"from a scrawny eight pound baby to eighteen pounds of
healthy solid flesh."I3 Above all, Bob sought to dispel
existing myths about weight training, often held by par- Paul Waldman of Erie, Pennsylvania, was a serious weight trainer
ents and other well-meaning adults. They will who won the Mr. High School physique contest in 1953. Because
of his proximity to York, Waldman became friends with Jim Mur-
try to discourage you. They will try to ray, John Grimek, and Bob Hoffman and began writing articles for
frighten you with the common but the magazine. Waldman, now 76, continues to train regularly and
untrue beliefs of those who do not has become an artist of considerable note who makes his home in
know, that you will become muscle- New York City. In a recent interview, Waldman told Jan Todd that
on the matter of youth training Bob Hoffman was a visionary. He
bound, that you will injure or rupture
also recounted a discussion he once had with Mr. America Jim Park
yourself, that you will stunt your
who told him, "It won't be long before everyone will understand
growth, shorten your life, have to exer-
that athletes need to lift weights, and that they should start while
cise all your life or you will get fat or they're still teenagers."
the muscles will waste away, you'll Quite to the contrary, Hoffman argued that it was not
strain your hemt, lose your vitality, so possible to strain the heart through exercise. "It is a
that you will not be the father of strong, muscle, and like all other muscles it strengthens and
healthy children when you have improves with use." Likewise from stretching his liga-
embarked on a life of marital bliss. ments, tendons, and joints, any advanced barbell man
31
Iron Game History Volume 12 Number 1

pionships.'s
Also notable were some physique stars who
started lifting at an early age. They included Armand
Tanny of Rochester, New York, who was inspired to train
at age 13 by his brother Vic and by reading Strength &
Health. As a major bodybuilder, he won the Pro Mr.
America (1949) and Mr. USA (1950) and later joined
Mae West's famous troupe of musclemen. Another
young talent, 17-year-old Marvin Eder of the East Side
Barbell Club of New York City was a "superman" in
both physique and strength. He later petfonned one of
the most amazing feats in iron game history by doing
parallel bar dips with 435 pounds. Little did Bob know
that 17-year-old Eric Pedersen of Waterman, California,
whose picture appeared in the August 1946 issue of
Strength & Health would tie Steve Reeves for the Mr.
America title the following year. Finally there was Gene
Myers, a pupil of Vic Tanny in Santa Monica, California,
This photo of, Paui"Butch" Ouidnot, at age eight, marked his first
who, by age 18 won the Mr. Los Angeles Contest. His
appearance in Strength & Health. He is shown here performing a fme physique merited him a cover shot and story in the
wrestler's bridge with what's reportedly 150 pounds of additional July 1948 issue of Strength & Health.i6 Hoffman was
weight via his sister and the old globe barbell he's holding at arms' emphatic that there was "no harmful stress or strain upon
length. the immature body." To assuage parental concerns that
was "far more flexible than other athletes or ordinary even a hundred pounds might be too much weight, Hoff-
people." Some could not only petfonn a full split but man made it "possible for the young fellows to get the
could even touch the floor with their elbows without weight they want, without their parents fearing they will
bending their knees! More questionable was Hoffman's injure themselves" by offering "a 70 pound set which
assertion that weight training would not only not stunt will be enough to begin."!?
growth but could even enable youths to grow taller.'4 Hoffman's "poster child," however, was Paul
As to when a child should start lifting weights, "Butch" Oudinot, Jr. of nearby Reading, Petmsylvania,
Hoffman believed the earlier the better. "Gains are much who ftrst appeared in the April 1950 issue of Strength &
easier to make very early in life, when the boy enters his Health at age eight executing a wrestler's bridge of 150
teens or even before," he advised. To illustrate his argu- pounds (with his sister Susanne and a barbell) and dead-
ment, he pointed out numerous strength stars who had lifting 130 pounds. IS By ten he was petfonning at annu-
statted early, the most spectacular being John Davis, al Strength & Health picnics and Bob's birthday shows
who won the world light-heavyweight championship in dressed in Sandow style breech clouts or a York Barbell
1938 at age 17 and went on to dominate the heavyweight Club t-shirt. His fame quickly spread with eight televi-
class until the early 1950s. Then there was Frank Orant sion engagements, including a prize-winning appearance
of Philadelphia, who became the youngest and lightest on Paul Whiteman's Goodyear Review, the original
lifter (at 179 pounds) to jerk 400 pounds overhead. "am~teur hour," and a full-page feature in Life magazine.
Arguably the most remarkable illustration of Bob's Weighing only 82~ pounds, Butch could press 105,
point, however, was Pete George, a product of Larry snatch 105, clean and jerk 140, and squat 210, noted
Barnholdt's American College of Modem Weightlifting Strength & Health editor Jim Murray, as well as tear a
in Akron. Dubbed a "Boy Wonder," George became a Reading phone directory into quarters.l9
national champion at age 16 and at 17 became world
champion and set a lightweight world clean and jerk Another of Butch's stunts is reminiscent
record of 354~ pounds. He went on to claim a gold and of the way Arthur Saxon used to toss
two silver Olympic medals and four more world cham- barbells around. He lifts his 85-pound
32
August 2012 Iron Game History

of it, to the small of his back, leans for-

ward to allow it to roll up his back
where he catches it at the shoulders and
then jerks the 85 pounds fi·om behind
the neck. He then drops the bar, catch-
ing it in the crook of his arms before set-
ting it down.2o

Another strength prodigy that impressed Murray was

Paul Waldman of Erie, Petmsylvania, who at age 14 did
squats with 325 pounds.21 By the time he was 16, he was
bench pressing 325 and winning physique titles, includ-
ing national Mr. High School in Chicago in 1953.22
Waldman was not only good enough to merit a cover and
feature stories, he statted writing atticles for Strength &
Health. In the January 1952 issue he advised young
readers that "one is never too young to lift weights."23
Coverman for February 1955 was 19-year-old Glenn
Bishop of Chicago, who finished second to Waldman in
the Mr. High School contest. Bishop had been training
since 1949 to strengthen his abdominal muscles after a
hernia operation and could squat 300 pounds for ten rep-
etitions.24
What confirmed Hoffman's belief that "one is
never too young" was the victory of the American team
under his tutelage at the 1950 world championships in
Paris. All of his medalists-Joe Pitman, Pete George,
Stan Stanczyk, and John Davis-had statted training in
their early teens and were now "Strength & Health Boys
Grown Up," an expression Hoffman would use repeat-
edly over the next couple decades to express pride in his
proteges, validate his recommendations for youth train-
ing, and strengthen the York/Hoffman brand. "Super-
men, like Topsy, do not just grow. They are built, and the
sooner they start, the more chance they have for out-
standing success," he advised.25 Soon support for this
notion was being exemplified by members of the York
Child sensation Paul "Butch" Ouidnot of Reading, PA, became staff who were raising children. Foremost attention
known as the "strongest boy in America" and put together a focused on the "small fty" of John Grimek, who some
strength act that he did in television appearances and at the annu- regard as the greatest bodybuilder of all time. In an atti-
al York Barbell picnic. Ouidnot is approximatley ten in this photo cle entitled "How Young Should You Statt 'Em?"
and weighs about 80 pounds. Photo Courtesy John Foir
Grimek advised that "if the child is carefully coached
weight overhead and then lowers it to and a limited training schedule is given him, there
his shoulders. From there, he allows the shouldn 't be anything but beneficial results." According
weight to roll down his back where he to Grimek, the right age should depend on the child's
again catches it before lowering it to the desire and ability to do the exercises correctly.
floor. But that isn't all! Butch then
deadlifts the weight, without letting go Our first born, a girl, was provided with
33
Iron Game History Volume 12 Number 1

light dumbbells to play with, carrying letic events."28 By the late 1950s Jim Murray had ori-
them around the house and making ented the fonnat of Strength & Health towards weight
attempts to lift them. It wasn't until she training for athletics and even published a book on it
was a year old that she could lift one with Peter Karpovich, a leading kinesiologist. The book
overhead, which weighed five pounds, had obvious youth appeaJ.29
and later after seeing several lifting con- However gratifYing it must have been for Hoff-
tests, she did a perfect two hands swing man to see the children of his staff and keen supporters
with both dumbbells, splitting under the taking to weights and for others to reveal a correlation
weight. I had never coached or demon- between resistance training and athletic petformance;
strated the lift to her but seeing the con- the winning seasons of high school sports teams that
tests gave her the idea of how it must be adopted York-inspired programs proved this point even
done . ... The 'small fry' is a great mim- more convincingly. The first occutTed at York High
ic, a kind of 'monkey see, monkey do' School in 1953 when it won its first Central Pennsylva-
affair, and when he sees his dad training nia championship after not winning a conference game
it is only natural for him to ask when for five seasons. For some years Hoffman had offered
will he be able to train with weights ... weights to York High coaches, but to no avail. When
One thing you must never do; force your Eddie Waleski took over the helm, however, he accepted
child to train. Hoffman's offer of three barbell sets along with Hi-Pro-
teen nutritional supplements.
Pat Grimek Stover confirms that her father practiced
what he preached and "never forced" her or her siblings The boys on the football team made use
to train. But it is Grimek's boys, Stevie and Bobby, ages of them during their spare time through-
six and five, who are primarily featured in the article out the year, as a club activity. They had
with Bobby demonstrating five barbell movements and the advantage that one of the squad
Jolm "Mr. Everything" holding both boys aloft, one in members is an 'old-time' weightlifter.
each hand.26 Johnny Terpak Jr., while only a substi-
Other members of the York gang followed suit. tute halfback as a sophomore, has had
John Terpak was general manager of York Barbell and a the advantage of the best possible
former world champion. His son John Jr. was 14 years coaching in weight training and lifting,
old and athletically inclined, lettering in football and so was able to pass his knowledge along
track. John told Pudgy Stockton in California that his to his buddies. . . . They were the
son had surpassed him in height and was lifting weights. strongest team physically in the league.
As a "squatter," he had "cleaned 170 quite easily at 140
bodywt."27 The namesake son of Jim Murray, Hoff- In addition to its undefeated record, two team members,
man's managing editor since 1951, first appeared in the Wilmot Banks and John Watkins, won all-state honors,
July 1952 issue with 3'li-ounce dumbbells, and later his being selected to the Associated Press first and second
younger son, Jay, was shown in the September 1953 of teams.3o
Strength & Health with the same weights along with the Soon other stories began emerging of the suc-
elder son, Jim, who had graduated to an eight-pound bar- cessful application of weight training to other sports,
bell. No less notable was Rickey Terlazzo, pre-teen son especially track and field. Such was the message con-
of York loyalist John Terlazzo, shown with miniscule veyed by Jim Murray repeatedly in his Strength &
dumbbells, and pre-teen Donne Hale, Jr. whose father, at Health articles. He relates the story of how he helped
15, had been an entrant in the first Mr. America Contest Pete Haupt, a football player from Hasbrouck Heights
in 1939. A January 1956 article by the senior Hale close- High School, New Jersey, set up a summer conditioning
ly mirrors Hoffman's approach to youth training, program in 1954. After the season Haupt explained that
explaining how his ten-year-old son ("with a decade of weight training enabled his team to win all nine games,
training behind him!") was a "star performer" who "reg- compile the best defensive record in the state, and
ularly defeats lads of twelve or thirteen in individual ath- outscore its opponents, 330 to 6. In his book with Dr.
34
August 2012 Iron Game History

Karpovich, Murray provided examples of collegiate and must have been music to the ears of Hoffman and Mur-
professional players who benefited from weight training, ray.JJ
including: The most convincing testimony for their cause .
came from Louisiana, which became a hotbed of lifting
Fullback Alan Ameche (Wisconsin, Bal- and football owing largely to the effmts of one man,
timore Colts): tackle Stan Jones (Mary- Alvin Roy. A native of Baton Rouge, Roy graduated
land, Chicago Bears): guard Alex Aro- from Istrouma High School before going on to Louisiana
nis (Navy): tackle-guard Walter Barnes State University (LSU) and joining the U.S. Almy at the
(Louisiana State University, Philadel- outset of World War II. Although he had stmted weight
phia Eagles): and half back Steve Van training prior to the war, his passion for it was aroused
Buren (L.S.U., Eagles). Ameche, Jones, by his post-war assignment as an aide-de-camp for the
and Aronis all began using the weights American weightlifting team that was competing in the
as high school boys, while Barnes first 1946 World Championships in Paris. As Terry Todd
lifted as an already powerful collegian.JI explains in a 1992 atticle, Hoffman's lifters made a deep
impression on Roy during their five-week visit to
Jones, who was an All-American lineman and played in France, and their association continued after Alvin
seven straight Pro Bowls, attributes his success to opened his gym in Baton Rouge in 1948 and extended to
weights. "I started lifting weights in high school in the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki where Roy served as
1945," he explained in a 2003 interview, "I worked out trainer for the American weightlifting team.3 4 It was
pretty heavily. I gained 20 pounds a year for six straight only after his alma mater's bitter loss to cross-town rival
years. If I hadn't lifted weights, I doubt ifl could have Baton Rouge High, however, that Roy was able to con-
played."J2 Foremost among the few educators who were vince Coach James "Big Fuzzy" Brown and Principal
subscribing to weight training by the mid-fifties was C. Ellis "Little Fuzzy"
H. McCloy of the State University of Iowa. McCloy Brown to let him install
summarized the results of his studies, published mainly and supervise a weight
in scholarly journals, for Strength & Health readers. training program at
"Suffice it to say that in every case the trainees improved Istrouma. Little Fuzzy
in speed and in muscular endurance." That there was recalls that
"no evidence that they became any less flexible (more
'muscle bound') than they were before weight training"

John Grimek's husky young son, Bobby, was featured in the advertising for Hoffman's Little Samson set. The short bar, when fully loaded,
weighed eight pounds. The two-pound dumbbells, painted red, were described in the ad copy as "so cute your wife will want to put them
on the living room mantle."

35
Iron Game History Volume 12 Number 1

salesman and he believed so much in

what he was doing that we decided to We are often asked this question: 'At
take a chance. He was relentless. But what age should I stati my child on bar-
let me tell you, we were worried. We bell exercise?' Many are of the belief
knew what it could mean if we got a that no formal exercise should be done
bunch of boys hurt or if we had a real until a child reaches the teens. This is a
bad season. It could mean our jobs. dangerous attitude, because the time to
Some of our friends in the business told guide your child into proper living
us we were crazy. But the way AI told habits is as soon as he can walk. ... We
it, it sounded good and once we decided are also completely sold on the thesis
to do it, we went all the way.Js that the stronger you are, the healthier
you are apt to be. And it goes without
The results, as reported by Bill Williams in the saying that we believe that progressive
Baton Rouge State-Times and later published in Strength barbell training is the best means known
& Health, were spectacular. Istrouma went undefeated to strength and health. So it naturally
through 13 games to win the state championship and follows that when parents ask us about
"scored more points (432) than any team in state history. exercise for their children, we say start
Four players were named to the all-state team. Only one them as young as possible. . .. The most
boy on the squad of 40 failed to gain at least nine pounds important people in America today are
before the season opener. Three of the standouts gained our children. Let us bring them up in
more. End Billy Castilaw gained 32 pounds of muscle, the way they should go. Good habits
fullback Billy Cannon gained 28, and tackle Luther once formed are hard to break. As the
Fortenberry gained 15. Castilaw could deadlift 420 fijiig is bent, the tree's inclined.JB
pounds, Cannon 410, and end Oscar Lofton 325." Later
Cannon, who went on to become an All-American and Lest readers overlook the best way to become strong and
Heisman trophy winner at Louisiana State "tied the state happy, most pages of the magazine were littered with
100-yard dash record in 9.7 which had stood for 14 advertisements of Hoffman products to lift, eat, and
years," won the state meet in the 200 in 21.1 seconds, wear. Specially designed for pre-teens was a York "Lit-
and also won the shot put. For Williams, such evidence tle Samson" set, made to "fit tiny hands" that parents
put to rest the old canard that weight training would could purchase for $6.95.39
make athletes slow and muscle-bound.36 In the meantime, "Especially for S & H Boys"
These revelations coincided with "The Fort had disappeared from Strength & Health and was
Lauderdale Story" by Joe Kolb of the Fort Lauderdale replaced by a new monthly feature in Janumy 1956
Daily News in the same issue. Like Roy, local gym oper- called "Boys Club." Exactly what inspired this latest
ator AI Christensen supervised a pre-season weight pro- surge of interest in youth training is unclear, but it close-
gram in 1955 for the Fort Lauderdale High School foot- ly coincided with the magazine's coverage of weight-
ball team which resulted in a 9-1 record, the best in trained high school football teams, and the title echoes a
school history. It was obvious to Coach Bill Armstrong 1951 article by George Bruce, co-owner of a gym in Van
that his players were stronger and had "more confi- Nuys, California, "Let's Start a Boy's Club. "40 No doubt
dence." So popular was Christensen's program that the idea had been percolating in Hoffman's mind over
another school employed him twice weekly to teach the preceding five years, encouraged by the youthful
weightlifting, and two others were introducing it to their achievements of his Strength and Health Boys Grown
athletes.37 The message was clear. Not only was weight Up and the exuberance shown by the children of his own
training producing better athletes but it was teenagers staff for weight training. ''Never have we seen such a
who seemed most responsive to it. It was hardly a coin- crop of prospective barbell men, and if this keeps up, we
cidence that a landmark editorial by Hoffman on youth need have no serious fears about any of our S & H boys
training, "As the Twig is Bent," accompanied the failing to chin themselves or being able to do push-ups."
Louisiana and Florida football stories. Many of the plans resembled features of the old Ameri-
36
August 2012 Iron Game History

can Strength & Health League, including

awards, certificates, pictures, and inspiring
stories of youthful accomplishments-but
no reader interaction.4t
Failing any possibility of resur-
recting this risky stratagem, Hoffman
latched on to the concept of reader identi-
fication. Boys Club would provide exam-
ples of teen and pre-teen boys for their
peers to admire and emulate. Their impact
would be enhanced by writings and illus-
trations of Hoffman's editor, Harry
Paschall, who wielded the most powerful
pen in iron game journalism. The most
notable teenage role model was Roger
"Rod" Allen, who trained at Vic Tanny's
Santa Monica gym. At 4' 11" and 117
pounds, Allen could bench press 200
pounds and, according to Paschall, "has
more shape than Steve Reeves. . .. This
lad is a 'Wonder of Nature,"' he declared
in the February issue of 1956.42 Five
months later, at age 14, Allen had grown
412 inches, gained 17 pounds, and was the
subject of a four-page article by Paschall.

Once in a long time a youngster

appears on the sport horizon who
seems to have everything. In the
world of weights we have had
such figures as John Grimek,
Steve Reeves, and a sparse handful
of others. When the first photo of
young Roger Allen passed over my Eugene "Gene" Meyer was one of the first teenagers to appear on the cover of
Strength & Health. Gene was trained by Vic lanny at his gym in Santa Monica and
desk, I knew we had in this lad a
won the Mr. los Angeles Contest when he was only 18.
muscular phenomenon of unusual
possibilities. down and sideways at an almost unbe-
So . . . in the February Boys lievable pace.
Club page we printed our first picture of
Rod. What hoppen? The kids all over Allen could now bench press 230, do 34 chins, 135 push-
America took him to their collective ups, and repetition squats with 255 pounds. Otherwise
hearts with all the juvenile enthusiasm he was a normal ninth grader who was popular in
of a school girl for Frank Sinatra. We school.43 Although updates on Allen followed his inter-
got letter after letter wanting to see more est and development in Olympic lifting, it was his
pictures of the miniature superman and physique that most captivated and inspired readers over
asking 'how he got that way?' . .. Does- the next two years. 44
n't look like weight training had stunted Physique was also implicit in the promotion of
this lad, eh? Instead, he is growing up, Stevie and Bobby Grimek, pre-teen children of the great-
37
Iron Game History Volume 12 Number 1

to get down to business-the business

of doing some training like their famous
Pop. So, out into the Spring sunshine
and with JCG shooting the pictures, we
record for posterity the first official
workout by the first authentic Little
Samsons!
When is the proper age to start
your youngster at weight training? We
hope to answer that question right now
for all time. Just as soon as he feels like
imitating his old man, he should be giv-
en his own little outfit and encouraged
to do some simple exercises. You can-
not start too young ... but you may start
too late!

By training together, father and sons will "have a closer

family relationship, and you'll all profit in better
strength and health." "Like father, like sons" became
one ofHoffinan's favorite aphorisms. Although pictures
of both boys appeared demonstrating exercises with their
Louisiana native Alvin Roy was one of the most influential figures barbell on the lawn of the Grimek home, it was Bobby's
in the movement toward weight training for sport at mid century. likeness that appeared on monthly magazine ads into the
In Baton Rouge, Roy established a gym in which he trained dozens early 1960s. A "Big Deal for Little Wheels" is how York
of teenage boys on an individual basis, and he also organized pitched its Little Samson sets.
weight training for the football teams of locallstrouma High School
and Louisiana State University. After working with Roy, both teams
Just like Daddy 'sf Why cut down your
had exceptional seasons and won their respective championships.
big York set to make up a barbell for
Because of his long-time friendship with Hoffman, Roy's successes
in training these young teams were reported in Strength & Health
your youngster? That is like cutting
and inspired other coaches and young athletes to begin using down Pop's pants to make hand-me-
weight training. Photo courtesy John Fair downs for your child, and is quite apt
(say psychologists) to give the Iii fella a
est star in York's firmament of champions. In a June terrific inferiority complex. You would-
1956 article entitled "Boys ... Meet Little Samson," n't want that, wouldja, Pop? Give him a
Hoffman portrays the Grimeks as a model family and barbell ofhis own!45
applauds John for getting his boys involved in physical
culture at a young age. This focus on family was later reinforced with a cover
shot and article of a Labor Day gathering of all seven
Bobby Grimek got a present on his Grimeks (males lifting weights) entitled "Fun in Your
eighth birthday-the very first Little Backyard."46
Samson Barbell and Dumbell Shirt, plus Hoffman, though once married, had no children
a Little Samson Barbell and Dumbell of his own to showcase, but he must have gained a vicar-
Set, and Member Card Number one in ious delight from seeing so many little Samsons emerg-
the Strength & Health Boys Club. His ing who seemed to be using his products and putting his
younger brother Stevie got the Number ideas of youth training into practice. Some of their
Two Layout. fathers were York loyalists, such as Joe Pitman whose
Naturally the boys were eager 21-month-old son, Joe III, is shown pressing an eight-
38
August 2012 Iron Game History

pound Little Samson barbell with

"form that looks better than his
dad's!" Three-year-old Bmt Yarick,
son of Ed and Alyce Yarick demon-
strates the use of a Little Samson bar-
bell in the show window of his par-
ents' gym in Oakland, and two-year-
ALTH
old David Paul Bendel, whose father
Bob was a veteran AAU official in
Riverside, New Jersey, is pictured
with a pair of Little Samson two-
pound dumbbells and breaking into a
box of Hoffman cookies "to get his
protein the easy way."47 And Hoff-
man showed no compunction to intro-
ducing his Little Samson sets to the
grandchildren of his common-law
wife Aida Ketterman for a little light
exercise at family gatherings.48 To
what extent "Boys Club" figured into
the profit margins of York Barbell in
the mid-fifties is uncertain, but sales
increased dramatically from $521,703
in 1954 to $1,280,056 in 1958.49 And
there was no reason for Hoffman not
to think that his emphasis on youth
training was part of this boom.
It is hardly surprising that
other muscle marketers, given the
popularity of York's emphasis on
youth, sought to capitalize on it, but
none did it so systematically. Not
unlike Hoffman, Pea1y Rader, editor
of Iron Man , was an Olympic lifting Teen-age shot put champion Gary Gubner was was one of the first track athletes to train
enthusiast and "fathered" the first with weights to enhance his performance. By the time he was 19, Gubner's best with the
high school national weightlifting 16-pound shot was 65' lOY.," a phenomenal throw for one so young. Gubner's coach,
championships at the Duncan YMCA George Cohen, and Bob Hoffman in Strength & Health, attributed this success to barbell
in Chicago in April 1956. Convinced training.
that "by interesting the younger fellows in lifting that we Paul Lange in the mid-fifties, featured a lot of teenage
can do more for the progress of the spmt ... than in any bodybuilders, but its singular focus was the male
other way," he intended to dedicate "much space in Lift- physique with no special emphasis on youth training.
ing News magazine to this phase of the sport." But Rad- However, the September 1955 issue featured Paul
er did little more than report the results of annual teenage Oudinot, Jr. as an age-group finalist in the magazine's
weightlifting nationals and the Teenage Mr. America, annual physique photo contest.5I
also started in 1956. Rader's interest was also stimulat- Joe Weider 's publications were defmitely orient-
ed by his teenage son Gene, who won the feathetweight ed towards self-improvement, and ongoing columns
class at the 1957 teen nationals in Berkeley.so Tomar- entitled "Future Greats" in Muscle Power and "They
rows Man, edited by Irvin Johnson (Rheo Blair) and Were All Weaklings" in Muscle Builder catered to this
39
Iron Game History Volume 12 Number 1

He-Man" the answer was simple. "Order one of my sets

and courses right away. You have nothing to lose but
your skinny, weakling body."53 Despite its youthful title,
the magazine carried the same kinds of transfonnative
stories as Joe's other publications, and there was no par-
ticular emphasis on youth. Junior Mr. America lasted
only four issues, from December 1955 to August 1956.
For Hoffman alone was youth training a crusade.
Meanwhile the Istrouma High football team
continued its witming ways. In the 1956 season it again
went undefeated on its way to a second state AAA cham-
pionship. Once Alvin Roy instituted a rigorous program
of weight training, Istrouma had not lost a game. 54 Roy
then took his message across town to LSU whose new
coach, Paul Dietzel, harbored the same doubts the
Brown brothers had two years earlier. But Dietzel was
aware of Billy Cannon's transformation and, as he relat-
ed to Terry Todd,

you have to remember that Jimmy Tay-

lor had been a senior for us that year and
I knew he'd been going to Al's Gym for
Hey, Pop! Where should I put this pile of
a year or two, and he was as good a tes-
junk? I wanna train with my Little Samson timonial for the weights as you'd ever
Barbell.
care to see. Not only was Taylor bull-
strong and hard as a rock, but he had
Artist and Strength & Health editor, Harry Paschall, famous for his great hands, soft hands. He could catcll.
Bosco cartoons, also penned a series of Little Samson cartoons that
anything. . . . All I can say is that after
appeared in the magazine in the 1950s.
seeing what Taylor and Cannon could
concern. But ages of the subjects appearing in the many do and after listening to AI, I was sold.55
"before" and "after" pictures are not always clear, and
there is little distinction for youth. Many appear to be Roy's pitch was simple. "All you need is a barbell and a
young adults or older. For instance the "before" photo of man to lift it." Weightlifters, he contended, were "the
Roger Rizzo in the June 1956 issue of Muscle Power strongest men in the world," adding, "you must train
depicts him as a child of no more than ten whereas he your football players the same way."56 While his pre-
could easily pass for twenty in his "after" picture. Yet scribed routine included a wide variety of exercises, he
the caption reads that he "gained 41 pounds of He Man did not, according to his brother and fellow trainer Ray
Muscle following The Weider System" in just one year. Roy, shy away from squats-"full squats" and "front
Even more unbelievable is a cover gambit, "How I squats. We made them do both."57 In 1958 LSU went
Gained 85 Pounds of Solid Muscles in Two Months."52 undefeated, beat Clemson in the Sugar Bowl, and won
What is most evident in these before/after depictions is its first national championship. Dietzel was named
commercialization, far less subtle than Hoffman's-that Coach of the Year and Cannon won the Heisman Trophy
all of these gains resulted from Weider training princi- the next year. As Ace Higgins pointed out in Strength &
ples and products. In December 1955 Weider launched Health, Louisiana State's line "averaged only 197
a publication called Junior Mr. America that appeared to pounds. But from end to end, each player could dead lift
be more focused on youth training. It was designed "for at least 400 pounds." And Cannon-who could deadlift
weaklings who want to build big muscles fast." In order 600 by then-was, Alvin boasted, "the strongest football
to build a "sensational body" and be an "All-American player in America." It is not insignificant that accompa-
40
August 2012 Iron Game History

nying photographs show a pre-teen youngster in a Little Manship used to come eat crabs and
Samson t-shirt watching Ca1mon curl 150 pounds and crawfish with us, and he'd work out in
Roy coaching him on a heavy deadlift.5S The following the health club, and so, over the years
spring Cannon ran a 9.4 hundred-yard dash on his way we became real close friends.61
to wiiming the SEC title in the 100, 200, and the shot put
at 54' 4lf2."59 It was an extraordinary record that was It was Ray who discovered bodybuilding champion Boy-
rooted in ideas implanted in the mind of the young GI er Coe when he was operating one of Alvin's gyms in
assigned to assist American weightlifters at the 1946 Lake Charles. "I got him started and brought him to a
world championships. certain point," he recalls, "but he was gaining weight and
Having developed a successful formula for ath- getting stronger, so I took him over to Red Lerille's gym
letic success, Alvin Roy went on to become the first in LaFayette .... First thing I knew he was winning Mr.
strength coach in professional football with the San New Orleans contests. . .. I was so proud of him."62
Diego Chargers in 1963, which was a critical factor in Eventually, Alvin spent time as the strength coach for the
their winning the American Football League champi- Kansas City Chiefs, Dallas Cowboys, New Orleans
onship for that year. But his legacy lived on in Louisiana Saints, and Oakland Raiders, but he never moved from
where lstrouma won five state championships from 1955 Baton Rouge where he continued to train youth until his
to 1961, and LSU had four winning seasons for a 35-7-1 death in 1979.63
record until Dietzel departed for West Point in 1961.60 By the late 1950s a new coh01t of youthful stars
Alvin also displayed his entrepreneurial skills by estab- was emerging in Boys Club. Tony Garey ofEl Paso was
lishing 38 fitness franchises (ala Vic Tanny), called Roy only 16 and weighed 146 pounds, but he could already
Studios, throughout the country. But his interest in press 195, snatch 195, and clean and jerk 250. His
youth training did not wane. "That's all we did," recalls favorite exercises were the push press off the squat-rack
his brother Ray. "That's basically all we worked with where he could do two repetitions with 250 and squats
until we started working with the Chargers. Oh yeah, we where he did five with 300.64 No Jess promising was
had adult clients, but as far as training for athletes, we Gary Cleveland of St. Louis, the 1958 winner of the
loved to start them as young as they came." The Roys' Boys Club Self Improvement Contest. In the course of
star pupil was Mark Lumpkin, who "was 11 years old three months he had added 130 pounds to his three-lift
when he started, and he ended up throwing the discus total and 90 to his squat at a bodyweight of 190, which
fmther than anybody's ever thrown it before or since in earned him an engraved trophy and a York Olympic
high school here." At the Golden West Relays Lumpkin Standard barbell. He was no Little Samson, but Cleve-
threw 184'4" feet which "shocked" his competitors. land claimed, according to Hoffman, that he "followed
Notwithstanding all the stories about the hazards of York methods exclusively and that he used Hoffman's
youth training at the time, Hi-Proteen daily during this contest."6s The most spec-
tacular child prodigy, however, was Gary Gubner, who
Alvin had a Saturday moming TV show broke into the lifting world in 1959 as a 16-year-oldjun-
called Alvin Roy's Future Champions. ior at DeWitt Clinton High School in New York City. He
Ifl remember correctly, it started some- was not a weightlifter per se but used lifting to improve
time in the fifties and was still going on his shot put, which stood at 61' 3%", and he was squat-
in the sixties, and lasted about 30 min- ting 400 pounds for repetitions. By the time he was 19,
utes. It was on WBRZ in Baton Rouge Gubner's best with the 16-pound shot was 65' lOW',
which is ABC now. We became good second only to the great Dallas Long, gold medalist at
friends with the guy that owned the sta- the 1960 Olympics. Gubner 's coach, George Cohen,
tion, Richard Manship. I don't know if attributed this success to weightlifting.
it was Manship that brought up the idea,
but we had a little house behind the It would be impossible to say just how
health club where Alvin cooked boiled many feet less he would be throwing
crawfish and crabs, and the TV studio had he never lifted but surely the fact
was just right around the corner, and that he is the strongest and yet the
41
Iron Game History Volume 12 Number 1

youngest and least experienced of cles ... and weight training will do just
America's top tossers answers that that. Besides, your muscles will acquire
question adequately. Obviously it is his greater speed and timing and better
great barbell-developed strength which coordination that will make any cham-
has put him up with men who have pion even a greater champion.
thrown twice as long as he, so quickly.
Along with illustrations of Stevie and Bobby doing their
It even seemed possible for the young New Yorker, at favorite exercises, they were joined by their two-year-
that time a sophomore at New York University, to old neighbor, "strongman" Ronnie Rosen in a Little
become champion in two Olympic spotts. He had Samson shirt. He was rumored to "eat more Hi-Proteen
recently totaled 1,075, via lifts of 360-315-400, squatted cookies than any other kid in the neighborhood."69 In
630, and won three medals at the Maccabean Games in the fall of 1960 both Grimek boys were "first stringers"
1959. For Hoffinan, Gubner was "our best bet to return for their basketball team, and Bobby shows up in "Boys
heavyweight supremacy to the United States."66 It no Club" wearing an attractive York Barbell Club wind-
doubt disappointed Hoffman that neither Garey, nor breaker that is available for members at $6.50. By this
Cleveland, nor Gubner were medalists at the 1964 time they were joined by a baby brother, John D.
Olympics in Tokyo. Grimek, who was predicted to be "the frrst son of a Mr.
Meanwhile other promising Boys Clubbers from America to succeed in his father's footsteps."7o
the fifties were maturing and leaving the iron game. Perhaps it was a premonition of the training
Most notable were Rod Allen and Paul Oudinot, Jr., both changes on the horizon that there appeared in the Janu-
of whom had taken up Olympic lifting for a while and ary 1959 "Boys Club" column a picture of William
then disappeared, never to reemerge as "S & H Boys Ziegler, "known around the neighborhood as 'Knee
Grown Up." The latter instance coincided with the trag- Deep' Ziegler," son of Dr. John Ziegler of Olney, Mary-
ic death of Paul Oudinot, Sr., who as a gym owner had land, in a Little Samson shirt with two-pound dumb-
fostered and carefully monitored the development of his bells.71 Dr. Ziegler regularly visited nearby York Barbell
children. That the elder Oudinot died of a heart attack at to administer functional isometric contraction, anabolic
age 39 was not a ringing endorsement of the healthy steroids, and other ergogenic aids to York lifters to
family image Hoffman projected.67 John Terpak, Jr. enhance their performance. While the effects of steroids
chose football rather than weightlifting as his sport and remained unclear, Hoffman identified isometrics as an
was a mainstay in the backfield of the University of innovation that could revolutionize training in the
Pennsylvania Quakers.68 The Grimek children, on the November 1961 issue of Strength & Health.12 It
other hand, at 11 and 12 were still at home and training required maximum exertion against an immovable
with barbells. Papa John's 1959 article "They're Never object to obtain maximum strength. A Louisiana con-
Too Young," echoed the sentiments he expressed six nection in its development was made possible for Hoff-
years earlier on youth training, noting that "any age is man and Ziegler through Alvin Roy and his association
alright" as long as the exercises are taught cotTectly. with Martin Bmoussard, trainer for the athletic depart-
"Once a youngster is taught the right method of training ment at LSU since 1943, and Dr. Francis Dmry, an asso-
he seldom deviates from it." But Grimek was more ciate professor of physical education who had been
aware of the impottance oftraining for other spotts than doing research on isometrics since 1952. Hoffman, call-
in 1953. ing it "the greatest training system the world has ever
seen," was soon marketing a "power rack" for individu-
Whenever I want to encourage any one als, schools, and colleges to use in training, and the idea
of the 'small fry' I usually ask him what was "sweeping the countty like wild fire." Again, as
his favorite sport is. Invariably his reply with weight training in the fifties, York High and
includes baseball or football, usually Istrouma High were major beneficiaries, as were the col-
both. I then tell him: If you expect to lege and professional programs at LSU and San Diego
become a champion in your spmt you with which Roy was associated.73 Norm Olson, football
must develop and strengthen your mus- and track coach at Florida State University, reported
42
August 2012 Iron Game History

"splendid results" from func- ful trainees in particular is diffi-

tional isometric contraction. In cult to determine. It is well
the 1961-62 season 0 !son's known that he introduced them
team had a 10-0 record, includ- to professional football as
ing nine shutouts. His track strength coach of the San Diego
team was state runner-up. Jim Chargers, and his brother, Ray
Goosetree, trainer at the Univer- Roy, confirms that Alvin's
sity of Alabama, was so pleased approach was defined in pa1t by
with the weight program Roy experimental use by the brothers
had helped him implement five and their nephew Norbert, one of
years earlier that he eagerly Ziegler's original subjects who
embraced the idea of isometrics utilized both steroids and iso-
after meeting with Broussard.74 metrics as captain of the Notre
Likewise Coach John Adcock of Dame football team. I got "big-
Tampa's Chamberlain High ger and stronger," Ray recalls,
Chiefs that won the 1961 state but he only stayed on them for a
championship believed this short time and was under a doc-
form of training could make his tor's prescription. It was this
team even better. Tom Pruett, protocol that Alvin followed at
coach at Victoria (Texas) High San Diego. "The Charger thing
School, was impressed with its was done under a doctor. It was
convenience and availability. It always done that way, but you
was "the irresistible force meet- can't help it when those other
ing the immovable object. "75 people find out about 'em, think-
Company records indicate Hoff- ing if one's going to do so good,
man sold power racks to 20 high then 50's going to do better." As
schools and colleges in 1962, to whether Alvin also introduced
but many others undoubtedly them to LSU players, "I don't
made contraptions of their think so" was Ray 's response,
own. 76 "at least not at first. That he
Whatever effect func- would have corrupted the youth-
tiona! isometric contraction ful innocence of the Istrouma
might have had on the increased High School boys was simply
strength and performance ath- out of the question."78 Boyer
letes were displaying in the ear- Coe, however, is not so sure. He
ly sixties was soon disregarded suspects that Dianabol, along
and attributed to anabolic with its weight training regimen,
steroids, which also increased Roger "Rod" Allen, described by Harry Paschall as a might have contributed to LSU's
muscle mass. Again there was a "wonder of nature," could reportedly bench press 230 success on the gridiron. [Edi-
York-Baton Rouge cmmection. pounds and do repetition squats with 255 pounds. tors' note: Coe is mistaken,
Not only was Ziegler adminis- Trained by Vic Tanny, Allen was featured in Strength & unless he is referring to LSU
tering steroids, along with iso- Health several times in the 1950s but then disappeared players during the last year of
metrics, to York lifters but he from the weight scene. Paul Dietzel's tenure as head
found a willing subject for both in Louis Riecke, a grad- coach, which was 1961, or later, because
uate ofLSU and an acquaintance of the Roy brothers and methandrostenelone (trade name Dianabol) was not
Dr. Drury.7 7 The extent to which Alvin Roy was culpa- developed by Ciba until 1958 and both Tony Garey and
ble for the proliferation of performance enhancing drugs Lou Riecke have said they did not even learn of it until
in the 1960s to American athletes in general and youth- John Ziegler introduced it to them in 1960.] As for
43
Iron Game History Volume 12 Number 1

Istrouma, Coe perceived Alvin as "the kind of guy last men's world champion.84 Another remarkable youth
whose passion was so great for football, if he could have of this period was bodybuilder Harold Poole, who not
come back as anything, he'd want to come back as a pro- only placed second in the 1962 Mr. America Contest at
fessional football coach. But I don't think he would age 18 but directly confronted the iron game with the
knowingly give anybody something that he thought civil rights issue the following year.ss But Hoffman also
might be dangerous."79 tried to reach the grass roots level through periodic self-
It was steroids, not isometrics, that revolution- improvement contests. The 1963 version included 161
ized strength training in the 1960s, but there was no evi- entrants from ages 9 to 18 representing 31 states and two
dence for most of the decade ofthe former's impact on Canadian provinces. The average age was 15.57 and the
youthful trainees. More than ever, Hoffman's approach bulk of contestants (41 %) hailed from the Middle
and magazine content was oriented towards youth. Even Atlantic (New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Mary-
Vera Christensen's "To the Ladies" column increasingly land, and Delaware) region. The winner, Thomas
used photographs of teen models to illustrate exercises, Morelle, 15, of Utica, New York, had gained 25 pounds .
and in the March 1961 issue she even used her own chil- of muscular bodyweight in several months with impres-
dren, Cory at 3Yz years and Cole at 21 months, in an arti- sive before/after dimensions-neck 14Yz to 161;4, chest
cle on "Exercise for the Small Child." Her advice 40 to 46Yz, thigh 21 I;4 to 24, biceps 13 to 16, and waist
resembled Grimek's, which was that the best way to 30 to 29Yz, and strength gains-squat 210 to 365, bench
encourage children is to do the movement yourself and press 205 to 300, and press 135 to 180. Nothing more
that one should never force a child to exercise.so High was heard of Morelle, but third place winner Bill
school weight training received a special boost from Reynolds of Port Angeles, Washington, became a prolif-
1961 to 1963, with coverage of programs in such dis- ic bodybuilding author and editor of Joe Weider's Flex in
parate places as Sandia High (Albuquerque, New Mexi- the 1980s. John Coffee of Eastman, Georgia, did not
co); Livonia High (Detroit, Michigan); New Hyde Park place but eventually became a USA Weightlifting coach
High (New Hyde Park, New York); Butler High (Butler, and benefactor. 86
Pennsylvania); Herbert Hoover Jr. High (San Jose, Cali- Changes too were undetfoot at York that coin-
fornia); and Jasper Place High (Edmonton, Alberta).SI cided with the influx of a new generation of editors that
There was also an increased emphasis on collegiate pro- included Tommy Suggs, Terry Todd, Bill Starr, and
grams as more of the nation's youth were seeking a high- eventually George Lugrin, all by way of Texas and more
er education. The March 1959 issue of Strength & in tune with the times. By the mid-sixties, as Suggs once
Health included an atticle on "Weight Training for Track quipped, isometrics was perceived as a "national fad"
and Field Men at Villanova," which highlighted Olympic that was "all too soon forgotten."87 Boys Club remained,
champion and world record miler Ron Delany and but the new editors expressed disappointment that they
marked the beginning of a "Barbells on Campus" series were not receiving enough good photos and stories to
that extended into the 1970s. The July 1960 issue fea- publish it evety month. The feature also assumed a new
tured weight training at LSU with a photo of Harvey title in 1965, "Bob Hoffman's Boys Club, The Place
Cannon, Billy's father, beside a squat rack in one of the Where Future World's Champions and Mr. Americas
school's well-equipped dormitories.82 "Today, as never Make Their Debut," but its days were numbered. A 1967
before, the accent is on physical fitness, especially for survey of readers by Starr indicated that only 3% chose
the youth of America," observed Hoffman.s3 it as a feature they most enjoyed, while 36% selected it
The early sixties also featured the advent of a as one they enjoyed least. That "Boys Club" was "vety
new group of Olympic weightlifting hopefuls, including unpopular" was "surprising since almost half of the total
Russell Knipp of Pittsburgh who eventually made nine readers are teenagers," observed Starr.ss The concept for
world records in the press; five-time national champion attracting youth to weight training that had worked so
Joe Puleo of Detroit; twice national champion Bruce well for over three decades was apparently too old-fash-
Wilhelm of Sunnyvale, California; Bob Bednarski, the ioned. Likewise Little Samson seemed out-of-date, and
"Woonsocket Wonder" who was world champion in ads featuring Bobby Grimek as an eight-year-old must
1969 and set many world records; and Joe Dube of Jack- have been embarrassing to a teenager of fourteen by the
sonville, four-time world record holder and America's time they were pulled in the November 1962 issue of
44
August 2012 Iron Game History

Strength & Health. The Little Samson barbells, renamed had improved in the schools. "Have our youth become
Little Hercules, reappeared in the May 1963 issue and stronger?" His results showed "a very significant
stayed on the market through 1967 with little fanfare. In improvement" in the press, curls, squats, and pull-ups
the meantime the Grimek boys were pursuing other and a lesser increase in sit-ups, a change Hughes attrib-
sports, Bobby played football for Catholic High and Ste- uted to "better school and community physical education
vie liked to bowl,89 Hoffman, diagnosed in 1965 with programs that are producing a stronger, more physically
serious health problems, seemed set in his ways, but his fit college student."93 It was the view of Gene Primm, a
editorial on "The Younger Generation" in the November physical education teacher at Bellevue School-in Peoria,
1964 issue indicated that his commitment to youth was 1llinois, that
as great as ever.9o
Fortunately his young editors were no less com- A well-established and well-supervised
mitted to youth training and continued to focus on school program of regular, progressive weight-
and college programs. Their "special teenage issue" of training is one of the most beneficial
November 1966 with Phil Grippaldi, "America's and healthful activities in which a child
Strongest Teen-Ager," on the cover, included at1icles on may take part. The 'athletic heart' and
Teenage Mr. America Boyer Coe, Mexican Olympic 'musclebound' theories have gradually
hopeful Manuel Mateos, and the first teenage weightlift- given way to the knowledge that weight
ing camp that was held at York Junior College just after training is not detrimental to the young
the Teenage National Championships in July. In his person's health, and the same theory is
"America's Wonderful Teen-Age Lifters," Hoffman proving true at the lower age level of
again applied his well-worn cliche, "As the Twig is grade school ifthe program is adminis-
Bent" to his successful mission in awakening the nation tered under the auspices of one who has
to the importance of youth fitness. an adequate knowledge of weight train-
ing and a sufficient amount of common
It has been a privilege and an honor to sense.94
have been associated with these won-
derful teen-agers, these 'Bob Hoffinan By 1970 it was evident to Charlie West that "in the last
Boys Grown Up,' who have made their three years the coaches across the country have literally
mark not only in the lifting world, but in jumped on the bandwagon for weight training. There are
all phases of life .... Some ofthem will very few holdouts in this day and age." Both coaches
go far. A wonderful lot of boys who will and parents understood the "imp011ance of bigger and
become a wonderful lot of men and stronger athletes" and the "need to keep up with the
have a great deal to do with keeping competition."95 Hoffinan, after all, had been right for
American lifting at the top of world decades not only about the benefits of weight training
weightlifting.9t but its applicability to other sports, even for youngsters.
There appeared to be no significant differences
America was hardly at the top of world weightlifting any between Hoffinan and his young cohorts throughout the
more, but a significant number of spot1s medicine sixties, most of whom were ardently spreading the
authorities and physical educators were now won over to gospel. Bill Starr relates that he, Tommy Suggs, Bill
Bob's principle of weight training for youth. · March, and Bob Bednarski did countless exhibitions "in
It was the view of chiropractor Samuel Homola every imaginable site: church basements, health fairs,
in 1968 that "since weight training is now an important Rotary Clubs, Lion's Clubs, Knights of Columbus,
part of athletic training, the boy who begins a little lift- Kiwanis, Masonic Lodges, VFWs, lots of high schools,"
ing about 12 years of age will be a bigger, better, and and the annual York Fair; and each exhibition added $25
stronger athlete when he enters high schooJ."n Profes- to their weekly salaries of $100. Although Hoffinan was
sor Eric Hughes used data from strength tests ad minis- apt to regard these outings as opportunities to "talk about
tered at the University of Washington in 1951-52, 1958- himself and sell his products," according to Starr, he and
59, and 1966-67 to detetmine whether physical fitness Suggs started their own exhibitions where their sole aim
45
Iron Game History Volume 12 Number 1

was "to get young athletes to lift weights. "96 Their course, had been a part of the training protocol at York
enthusiasm for youth lifting was also reflected in their since Dr. Ziegler's experiments in the early sixties, and
articles. To address the "regular flow of mail" from par- even after steroids spread to all sports and patts of the
ents requesting information on how and when to begin country over the ensuing decade they remained a tightly-
pre-teen training, Suggs, as Grimek had done in the guarded secret for the record performances of Hoffman's
1950s, used his own kids, Debbie and Bubba, to illus- lifters. Tensions at York were palpable. [Editors' Note:
trate movements. Like Grimek, he believed that "some For a more detailed discussion of the drug scene at York
discretion is necessary in supervising their physical in the late 1960s see John Fairs Muscletown USA.]
activity" and that one "should not push youngsters for A crack occurred when Starr, reflecting the lib-
records and all-out attempts." But he makes the impor- erated views of his generation, printed a letter from Jeff
tant point that they are no more endangered from lifting Everson of Stoughton, Wisconsin, in the February 1971
than from other more popular activities like baseball issue of Strength & Health criticizing Hoffman's
("little league elbow") or the rough-and-tumble spmt of hypocrisy for condemning rebellious drug-taking youths
football. "A child is ready to start training any age after while failing to mention the drug abuse at York. It was
six. And after age 16 he is ready for heavier training that accompanied by an editorial defense of "anabolics and
includes heavy single efforts."97 How closely the ideals amphetamines" from Starr.
of Starr and Hoffman coincided on youth development is
indicated in a series of articles on nutrition in 1968 and Some go so far as to say that it is
1969. In an article on adolescent growth and nutritional immoral to use anabolics. It should be
requirements, Starr concluded that "proper nutrition, considered cheating and any drug user
coupled with a sound exercise program ... are the two should be batmed. Yet anabolics are
keystones to a sound, healthy adult life. The foundation being used by just about everyone in the
for this life of healthful living is laid in the fotmative sport. I seriously doubt if there were
years and most importantly when the boy or girl is pass- over two lifters at this year's Senior
ing through the teen years." Hoffman, in a subsequent Nationals who were not using anabolics.
article not only makes virtually the same points but uses ... I do believe that anabolics are safe
many of Starr's words. That youthful nutritional habits when used properly and that they do
lay the basis for adult health ultimately shows up in a result in a substantial strength gain. I
final "As the Twig is Bent" editorial in which Hoffman believe that amphetamines do bring
reminds readers that "the future of America depends on positive results to some lifters and are
the boys and girls oftoday."9s not harmful when used properly.99
Notwithstanding this apparent meeting of minds
over what was arguably the most impmtant issue con- After StatT was swiftly dismissed, there was a general
fronting American society, there was a growing cultural policy of reaction and retrenchment that set into York
cleavage between Hoffman and his younger editors. On Barbell in the early seventies. Hereafter Bob's manage-
one level the generation gap was signified by longer hair, ment was controlled by traditionalists as the company
psychedelic sights and sounds, and a more casual went into a spiral of decline in the 1970s. Feeling
lifestyle generally. Beyond that it took on political over- betrayed by the youth in whom he had placed so much
tones, incorporating the anti-Vietnam War movement, trust without ever comprehending their cultural values,
civil rights protests, and women's liberation. But its Hoffman was bitter and disillusioned: "Three I'm sony I
most distinctive feature was the widespread use of drugs ever met are Starr, Suggs and Lugrin."Joo
on all levels of society, patticularly among young peo- Other changes included an orientation of the
ple. The younger generation at York was hardly immune magazine to family fitness, general health, softball, and
to these influences, which included consumption of both a variety of other physical culture topics, with no obvi-
recreational and perfmmance enhancing drugs. The for- ous focus on youth training. The April 1972 issue
mer took the form of parties-sometimes at the Suggs marked the last appearance of Boys Club, an anachro-
farm-or in town homes where lifters experimented with nistic concept for hip baby boomers. It would be easy to
marijuana and hallucinogenic substances. Drugs, of conclude that its demise was also symbolic ofthe failure
46
August 2012 Iron Game History

of Hoffman's concept of weight training for youth, but it latter lines echo Hoffman's "As the Twig is Bent" apho-
would be more accurate to perceive it as a victim of its rism.
own success. By that time, though remnants of the sup- Thomas Baechle and Roger Earle, in the 2008
posed dangers of muscle-binding, stunted growth, ath- Essentials of Strength Training, have accumulated more
letic hea1t, and rupture remained among the unenlight- up-to-date research evidence in suppmt of weight train-
ened, the concept of weight training for pre-pubescent ing for children. They note that "clinicians, coaches,
and adolescent youngsters was not only more widely and exercise scientists now agree that resistance exercise
accepted by practitioners of sport and exercise but can be a safe and effective method of conditioning for
embedded in much of the popular literature of physical children" and "major spmts medicine organizations sup-
culture. With its increasing general acceptance, the need port children's pmticipation in resistance exercise pro-
to promote the concept was less urgent. As Bill Curry, vided that the programs are appropriately designed and
noted Southem weightlifter and Merchandise Manager competently supervised." Numerous studies demon-
for Diversified Products, once observed, Bob was a strated that "boys and girls can increase muscular
"true missionary" in spmts science.IOJ But once his con- strength" beyond normal "growth and maturation" and
version of weightlifting's disbelievers was complete that "strength gains of roughly 30% to 40% have been
there was little need to continue proselytizing.1o2 typically observed in untrained preadolescent children
Perhaps the truest test of whether children who following short-term ... resistance training programs,
patticipate in resistance training programs are safe and although gains up to 74% have been reported." Contrary
will increase in strength can be found in the many stud- to the "common misperception .. . that resistance train-
ies carried out within the scientific community since the ing will stunt the statural growth of children ... it prob-
1970s. Early results were inconclusive, there being no ably has a favorable influence on growth at any stage of
indication of their effectiveness.I03 Scores of later stud- development." Furthermore it would likely "minimize
ies, however, have verified Hoffman's pioneering prin- or offset the incidence and severity of spmt-related
ciples. By 1993, according to William Kraemer and injuries common to young athletes" and improve their
Steven Fleck in their widely used text, Strength Training performance. As to when to start a child on a lifting pro-
for Young Athletes, there was a greater understanding gram they were in sync with the early practitioners at
among scientific and medical authorities on the subject York.
and unrealistic fears were "starting to diminish." They
concluded that children could "safely and effectively Although there is no minimal age
perfonn resistance training," although it should be done requirement for patticipation in a youth
with proper supervision, correct technique, and never resistance training program, children
with maximum poundage. should have the emotional maturity to
follow directions and should be eager to
Proper program design along with try this type of activity. . . . The goals
knowledgeable supervlSion makes of youth resistance training programs
resistance training safe, rewarding, and should not be limited to increasing mus-
fun. Improved physical function will in cular strength but should also include
tum enhance physical fitness, health, teaching children about their bodies,
injury prevention, and sport perform- promoting an interest in physical activi-
ance. Perhaps an even more important ty, an~ having fun. It seems likely that
outcome is the child's development of children who enjoy participating in
an active lifestyle. Proper exercise physical activities and sports are more
behaviors can contribute to better likely to be active later in life [authors'
health and well-being over a lifetime italics].Ios
[authors' italics] .104
Although they were scientifically and independently
While close counseling of young trainees reflect derived, these findings were implicit in the empirically-
Grimek's approach with his boys, Kraemer and Fleck's based conclusions of Hoffman and Grimek two genera-
47
Iron Game History Volume 12 Number 1

tions earlier. Bureau and the Centers for Disease Control, almost
The most definitive endorsement of youth 700,000 students admitted using steroids in 2005.109
weight training, summarizing 258 studies, appears in the Bodybuilding promoter Cliff Sawyer believes that when
2009 position statement of the National Strength and track star Ben Johnson got caught at the Seoul Olympics
Conditioning Association. Its seven authors, represent- in 1988 with steroids in his system, "it tumed off a lot of
ing a variety of exercise and medical scientists and prac- parents to having their kids go to a gym and work
titioners, concluded that "research increasingly indicates out."llO [Editors' Note: Not all parents reacted in this
that resistance training can offer unique benefits for chil- way to the Johnson situation, and there were reports
dren and adolescents when appropriately prescribed and from gym owners that in the wake ofhis positive test they
supervised" and that its acceptance "by medical, fitness, got calls from parents wanting to know how they could
and sport organizations is becoming universal." Build- acquire for their sons the same sort of anabolic agents
ing on previous statements in 1985 and 1996, they which had helped Johnson develop his heavily muscled
affirmed under seven headings that youth resistance pro- and explosive body, especially since their sons would
grams ("properly designed and supervised") were rela- almost never have to face Olympic-style drug testing.]
tively safe, could enhance muscular strength, improve Although proponents of weight training for children and
cardiovascular health, improve motor skill and sports teens can take satisfaction in debunking some of the
perfmmance, increase resistance to injuries, improve most stubbom myths that have plagued physical culture
psychosocial well-being, and (a la Hoffman and for most of the twentieth century, their euphoria must be
Grimek) promote and develop exercise habits during short-lived and accompanied by a realization that an
childhood and adolescence.1o6 But the most emphatic even greater controversy has emerged, like the Hydra,
statement that weight training for youth was no longer over the health and well-being of youth who train with
an issue came from the sub-title of the first chapter of weights.
William Kraemer's 1993 book: "The Controversy
Resolved."J0 7 NOTES:
Or is it resolved? Its acceptance has given rise
to new questions with no less serious consequences that
1. This familiar idiom is derived from Alexander Pope, "'Tis Educa-
are rooted in the rupture that took place at York in the tion forms the Vulgar Mind, Just as the Twig is bent, The Tree's
early 1970s. Both Hoffman and Starr were strong inclin'd," in An Epistle To the Right Honourable Richard Lord Viscount
believers in the merits of weight training for children Cobham (London and Dublin: reprint by George Faulkner, 1734), 11.
and teens, and even after nearly a half century Starr 2. Aristotle, Politics, Book VIII, Part 4, trans. H. Rackham (Cambridge,
MA: Harvard University Press, 1959), 648-49 .
remains unwavering in his commitment, having pub- 3. William Shakespeare, Troilus and Cressida, Act I, Scene 2, Antho-
lished two articles entitled "Youngsters Need Strength ny B. Dawson, ed. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2000),
Too" in 2011.108 It is doubtful, however, that he, any 87.
more than Alvin Roy, would condone or endorse admin- 4. "Health & Strength League," Health & Strength 26 (February 21,
1920): 128; and Laurie Webb, "League Notes," Health & Strength 75
istering steroids to youngsters, yet it has inadvettently
(December 1946): 526.
become the logical endgame of youthful weight training. 5. "American Strength & Health League," Strength & Health 1
For Starr, and Hoffman too, it was "Catch 22." Data (December 1932): 13.
drawn from the Department of Health and Human Serv- 6. "American Strength & Health League," Strength & Health 1 (Janu-
ices for Alan Klein's 1993 book Little Big Men indicate ary 1933): 20; "American Strength & Health League," Strength &
Health 1 (February 1933): 20; and "American Strength & Health
that about 250,000 of the estimated million Americans League," Strength & Health 1 (May 1933): 24.
who took steroids at that time were high school students. 7. Sales Records, Strength & Health, Hoffman Papers, John Fair Col-
A multi-authored 2000 study for The Adonis Complex lection.
reckons that "a typical high school boy in the United 8. Bob Hoffman, How to be Strong, Healthy and Happy (York, PA:
Strength and Health Publishing Co., 1938}, 7, 227, 303, 372.
States would think nothing of taking anywhere between
9. "Letters from Readers," Strength & Health 15 (April 1946): 5. A
300 and 1,000 milligrams of steroids per week," and a decade later Hoffman's problem with the Strength & Health League
competitive weightlifter "might take up to several thou- was used against him by his commercial rivals, Joe and Ben Weider.
sand milligrams per week." And according to a 2009 "This column was the meeting place of more homosexuals than
CBS News report, based on figures from the Census Kraft-Ebing or Kinsey ever dreamed of! Ostensibly a 'pen pals' club,
it became notorious with the passing years and was finally discon-

48
August 2012 Iron Game History

tinued by 'request,' rumor hath it, of higher authorities ." It was, the coached strength prodigy Isaac Berger at his Adonis Health Club in
Weiders alleged "the first time in history the faggots have ever been Brooklyn, effectively responded to Grimek's query a year later in an
organized." Joe and Ben Weider, "People Who Live in Glass Houses," article entitled "Start 'Em Young," Strength & Health 22 (March
Muscle Builder 9 (December 1957): 56. See also: David K. Johnson, 1954): 16, 44.
"Physique Pioneers: The Politics of 1960s Gay Consumer Cultue," 27. John Terpak letter to Pudgy Stockton, October 20, 1952, Les and
Journal of Social History 43, no. 4 (Summer 2010): 867-892. Pudgy Stockton Papers, H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture
10. Money Order Books, 1942-1950, Hoffman Papers. & Sports, University of Texas, Box 6, folder 141, 1951-52. See also
11. "Especially for S & H Boys," Strength & Health 13 (October Jim Murray, "Barbell Bits,'' Strength & Health 21 (December 1952):
1945): 16-17. 14.
12. "Especially for S & H Boys," Strength & Health 13 (November 28. Jim Murray, "Barbell Bits," Strength & Health 20 (July 1952): 16;
1945): 16-17; "Especially for S & H Boys," Strength & Health 14 Ray Van Cleef, "Strongmen the World Over,'' Strength & Health 21
(December 1945): 17; "Especially for S & H Boys," Strength & Health (September 1953): 23; Jim Murray, "Muscle Miscellanea," Strength
14 (February 1946): 16-17; "Especially for S & H Boys," Strength & & Health 21 (June 1953): 15; Steve Stanko, "Success Stories,"
Health 14 (March 1946): 16; "Especially for S & H Boys," Strength & Strength & Health 22 (August 1954): 20; and Donne Hale, "The Sto-
Health 14 (April 1946): 19; Bob Hoffman, "The Best Time to Start," ry of a Boy," Strength & Health 24 (January 1956): 34, 62-63.
Strength & Health 14 (June 1946): 22; and "Especially for S & H 29. Jim Murray and Peter V. Karpovich, Weight Training in Athletics
Boys," Strength & Health 15 (December 1946): 23. The first female (Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1956).
featured was "barbelle" Mary Jean Allman of Battle Creek, Michigan, 30. Bob Hoffman, "York High Wins First Football Championship,''
who celebrated her twelfth birthday by cleaning and jerking 75 Strength & Health 22 (March 1954): 12-13, 44. See also Bob Hoff-
pounds and deadlifting 180 pounds. "Letters from Readers," man, Better Athletes Through Weight Training (York, PA: Strength
Strength & Health 17 (January 1949): 7. and Health Publishing Co., 1959): 225-28.
13. Steve Stanko, "Self Improvement Contest Winners," Strength & 31. Murray and Karpovich, Weight Training, 115.
Health 16 (December 1947): 18. 32. Matt Schudel, "Hall of Fame Lineman with the Chicago Bears;
14. "Especially for S & H Boys," Strength & Health 14 (April 1946): All-American at U-Md," Washington Post, July 26, 2010, B7.
18-19. 33. C. H. McCloy, "Weight Training for Athletes?" Strength & Health
15. "Especially for S & H Boys," Strength & Health 18 (April 1950): 23 (July 1955): 8.
15, 33. 34. Terry Todd, "AI Roy: Mythbreaker," Iron Game History 2 (January
16. John Grimek, "The Man on the Cover," Strength & Health 17 1992): 13-14; and John Fair interview with Ray Roy, January 18,
(April 1949); Steve Stanko, "Self Improvement Heroes," Strength & 2012, Baton Rouge, Louisiana. That Roy was responsible for much of
Health 9 (August, 1949): 22; "Especially for S & H Boys," Strength & his lifters' success in Paris is the view of Hoffman in "Details of the
Health 14 (August 1946): 23; and George Eiferman, "The Man on the World's Championships," Strength & Health 15 (January 1947): 10-
Cover," Strength & Health 16 (June/July 1948): 8. 11. For additional details on Roy's personal life, see Lee Feinswog,
17. Hoffman, "The Best Time to Start," 23. "Powerful impact," Our City 225 (February 2009): 47-50.
18. "Especially for S & H Boys," Strength & Health 18 (April 1950): 35. Terry Todd interview with Ellis Brown, December 23, 1984,
15 . Shreveport, Louisiana, cited in Todd, "AI Roy," 14.
19. "Life Tours the Children's TV Shows," Life 31 (December 24, 36. Bill Williams, "Barbells Build Winning Football Team," Baton
1951): 73; Jim Murray letter to John Fair, July 5, 2011, letter in pos- Rouge State-Times in Strength & Health 24 (May 1956): 8-9, 39-42.
session of John Fair; and "Weight Lifting News," Strength & Health See also Hoffman, Better Athletes, 217-224; Bob Hoffman, "Football
21 (December 1952): 7. and Alvin Roy," Strength & Health 38 (June 1970): 59, 70-71; and Bob
20. Jim Murray, "Paul Oudinot Jr.-Ten-Year-Old Strength Prodigy," Hoffman, "Weight Training and Football II," Strength & Health 38
Strength & Health 20 (April1952) : 10-11. (July 1970): 46-47, 79-80.
21. Murray letter to Fair; and Steve Stanko, "Self Improvement Suc- 37. Joe Kolb, "The Fort Lauderdale Story," Fort Lauderdale Daily
cess," Strength & Health 19 (September 1951): 17. News in Strength & Health 24 (May 1956): 10, 42, 44.
22. Jim Murray, "Paul Waldman, Youthful Body Building Sensation," 38. Bob Hoffman, "As the Twig is Bent," Strength & Health 24 (May
Strength & Health 21 (April1953): 30-31; and "Weight Lifting News," 1956): 3-4, 39.
Strength & Health 21 (August 1953): 7. 39. The set included an aluminum bar with two 2Yz and six 1X pound
23. Paul Waldman, "My Training Experiences," Strength & Health 20 weights, a pair of two-pound dumbbells, a training course for boys,
(January 1952): 32-33. See also Jim Murray, "Coverman Paul Wald- a Little Samson training shirt, and a membership card in the Strength
man," Strength & Health 22 (August 1954): 9, 39; and Paul Waldman, & Health Boys Club. "York Barbell for Small Fry," Strength & Health
"John Terlazzo Trains the Businessman," Strength & Health 21 24 (May 1956): 63.
(August 1953): 12. 40. George R. Bruce, "Let's Start a Boys' Club," Strength & Health 19
24. Jim Murray, "Coverman-Gienn Bishop," Strength & Health 23 (February 1951): 20.
(February 1955): 31. 41. "Strength and Health Boys Club," Strength & Health 24 (March
25. Bob Hoffman, "Building Young Supermen," Strength & Health 19 1956): 34-35.
(February 1951): 9, 47; and "Especially for Strength & Health Boys," 42. "Strength and Health Boys Club," Strength & Health 24 (Febru-
Strength & Health 21 (December 1952): 28. ary 1956): 34.
26. John Grimek, "How Young Should You Start 'Em?" Strength & 43. Harry Paschall, "Rod Allen," Strength & Health 24 (July 1956): 12-
Health 21 (February 1953): 12-13; and John Fair interview with Pat 13.
Grimek Stover, July 28, 2011, York, Pennsylvania. Hy Schaffer, who 44. See "Strength and Health Boys Club," Strength & Health 24 (June

49
Iron Game History Volume 12 Number 1

1956): 35; "Strength and Health Boys Club", Strength & Health 24 Louisiana," Scrapbook, Alvin Roy Papers in possession of Alvin Roy,
(October 1956): 36; "Strength and Health Boys Club," Strength & Jr., Baton Rouge, Louisiana.
Health 25 (January 1957): 36-37; "Strength and Health Boys Club," 62. Interview with Ray Roy. "The interesting thing," says Boyer Coe,
Strength & Health 25 (February 1957): 36; and "Strength and Health "is Ray [Roy] sends me just a tear of loose leaf paper and says, 'Boy-
Boys Club," Strength & Health 26 (March 1958): 41. er, the Mr. Louisiana contest is next weekend, if you want to enter.' I
45. John Grimek and Bob Hoffman, "Boys ... Meet Little Samson in didn't even have an entry blank, and I just wrote out something and
which the Younger Grimeks become Little Samson Addicts," sent it in, and I guess they accepted it. I didn't have a pair of posing
Strength & Health 24 (June 1956): 28; and "York Barbell for Small trunks. I just used a swimsuit. I kind of rolled it up, but anyway I was
Fry," Strength & Health 24 (June 1956): 63. good enough to come out third, and I won several body parts. I was
46. "Fun in Your Backyard," Strength & Health 26 (February 1958): tickled to death. And I remember John Gourgott and Dr. Craig
33 . Bobby, "Li'l Samson," is also depicted beside a pool in the "Boys Whitehead were judges. And I was in the restroom taking a pee, and
Club" section as liking "most of the games and sports youngsters of Dr. Whitehead came up and said, 'you know, you're pretty good for
his age play, but is especially fond of diving and swimming and does a kid."' John Fair interview with Boyer Coe, June 3, 2011, Hunting-
very well for his age." "Strength and Health Boys Club," Strength & ton Beach, California.
Health 26 (February 1958): 40. 63. Interview with Ray Roy. The Roys also had a role in the success-
47. "Strength and Health Boys Club," Strength & Health 25 (Decem- ful basketball career of Baton Rouge native Bob Pettit, though not
ber 1956): 37; "Strength and Health Boys Club," Strength & Health until he became a professional with the Milwaukee Hawks in 1954.
25 (November 1957): 40; and "Strength and Health Boys Club," "Here he is 6' 9", and when he came back home he weighed about
Strength & Health 26 (February 1958): 40. 210 pounds, and he'd been beaten up so bad, he said, 'Man, they're
48. Hottman/Ketterman Family photographs, Hoffman Papers. beating the hell out of me.' He came to us and talked to Alvin, won-
49. Money Order Books and Book Sales Records, 1953-58, Hoffman dering if the weights would help him. And so, we started working
Papers. with him." In 1958 Pettit, a regular trainer with weights, led the
SO. See Peary Rader, "Editorial," Lifting News 2 (December 1955): 6; Hawks (then at St. Louis) to an NBA championship.
"Readers' Round-Up," Iron Man 15 (March 1956): 43 and 51; Peary 64. "Strength and Health Boys Club," Strength & Health 24 (August
Rader, "National Teen Age Lifting Tournament," Lifting News 2 (April 1956): 36.
1956): 1; and Peary Rader, "New National Records Set at Teen-Age 65. "Strength and Health Boys Club," Strength & Health 26 (May
Nationals," Lifting News 4 (July 1957): 2. 1958): 40-41.
51. "Now It's Your Turn to Choose the Winner," Tomorrow's Man 3 66. "The Iron Grapevine," Strength & Health 27 (November 1959):
(September 1955): 17. Muscular Development, the sister magazine 26; and George Cohen, "Gary Gubner, Teen-Age Super Athlete,"
to Strength & Health that was launched in 1964, covered mainly Strength & Health 31 (June 1962): 35, 52-53.
bodybuilding and powerlifting and was virtually mum on the subject 67. Bob Hoffman, "It Was a Sad Day," Strength & Health 26 (Febru-
of youth training. ary 1958): 10.
52. Roger Rizzo, "I Gained 41 Pounds of He Man Muscle following 68. "The Iron Grapevine," Strength & Health 26 (March 1958): 25.
The Weider System," Muscle Power 19 (June 1956): 9. 69. John C. Grimek, "They're Never Too Young," Strength & Health
53. Joe Weider, "I Want to Make You an All-American He-Man," Jun- 27 (January 1959): 36-37, 51-53.
ior Mr. America 1 (December 1955): 3. 70. "The Iron Grapevine," Strength & Health 29 (April 1961): 63;
54. "Strength and Health Boys Club," Strength & Health 26 (Decem- "Strength and Health Boys Club," Strength & Health 28 (October
ber 1957): 41. 1960): 40; and "The Iron Grapevine," Strength & Health 28 (Novem-
55. Terry Todd interview with Paul Dietzel, May 1987, Baton Rouge, ber 1960): 27.
Louisiana, cited in Todd, "Alvin Roy," 15. 71. "Strength and Health Boys Club," Strength & Health 27 (January
56. Ken Leistner and Sandy Mcleod, "Alvin Roy-Fitness for Foot- 1959): 40.
ball," Strength & Health 37 (November 1969): 51; and Alvin Roy, 72. Bob Hoffman, "The Most Important Article I Ever Wrote,"
Weight Training for Football (York, PA: York Barbell Company, 1959): Strength & Health 29 (November 1961): 30-33.
11, cited in Todd, "AI Roy," 15. 73. See Hoffman, et. al., Functional Isometric Contraction, 5-B, 11.
57. John Fair interview with Ray Roy. The Detroit Lions were one of the first professional teams to use iso-
58. Ace Higgins, "Billy Cannon," Strength & Health 27 (November metrics. See Jim Lycett, "Lions Tap New Well of Strength," The
1959): 34-35. Detroit News Pictorial Magazine, July 22, 1962. Bob Pettit, whose
59. Ibid.; Mike Nettles, "Billy Cannon, LSU's All-American," Sports scoring average was 31 points during the first portion of the 1961-62
Illustrated 9 (October 17 1958): cited in Todd, "AI Roy," 15; and Ter- season, was so convinced of its efficacy that he had substituted iso-
ry Todd interview with Billy Cannon, December 1985, Shreveport, metrics for his weightlifting regimen. Pat Harmon, "Pettit Drops the
Louisiana, cited in Todd, "AI Roy," 15. Weights," Cincinnati Enquirer, December 1961, newspaper clipping
60. Bob Hoffman, Martin Broussard, Alvin Roy, and Francis Drury, in possession of John Fair.
Functional Isometric Contraction, Advanced Course (York, PA: The 74. Norm Olson letter to Bob Hoffman, July 16, 1962; and Jim
Bob Hoffman Foundation, 1962), 14. Goosetree letter to Bob Hoffman, January 29, 1962, Hoffman
61. In a resume, circa 1963, Alvin Roy notes that he had been con- Papers.
ducting a public service program "without pay, on WBRZ-TV for three 75. Bill Blodgett, "Isometric Contraction Builds Champions," The
years in conjunction with President Kennedy's Proclamation on Phys- Tampa Times, September 1, 1962; and Vince Reedy, "Easy as ABC,
ical Fitness for Youth." The show was titled, Alvin Roy's Family Phys- and Economical," The Victoria Advocate, May 20, 1962.
ical Fitness Program. By this time he also claims to have "coached, 76. "Power Rack Sales to High Schools and Colleges-1962," Hoffman
trained and help develop 200 boys, ages 8-14, daily for the past 17 Papers. Joe Weider, on the other hand, refused to join "the isomet-
years . J. Alvin Roy, Physical Education Instructor, Baton Rouge, ric craze" and to jump "on the gravy train to sell 'isometric torture
50
 August 2012 Iron Game History

racks,"' claiming that he had already discovered isometrics and 93. Eric Hughes, "Research and the Weight Man," Strength & Health
incorporated it in his principles "which have been used by body- 36 (May 1968): 45, 68-69.
builders the world over for years." Joe Weider, "The Isometric Body- 94. Gene Primm, "The Establishment of a Weight Training Program
building Racket," Muscle Builder 12 (July 1962): 14-15. in the Grade School," Strength & Health 35 (February 1967): 48-49.
77. John Fair interview with Louis Riecke, April 29, 1989, Harahan, LeRoy Barney, Associate Professor of Education at Northern Illinois
Louisiana. For the story of Ziegler's experiments with Riecke and University, also addresses cherished myths held by parents about the
York lifter Bill March see John D. Fair, Muscletown USA, Bob Hoffman dangers of weight training in "But I Don't Want My Child to Lift
and the Manly Culture of York Barbell (University Park, PA: Pennsyl- Weights," Strength & Health 37 (October 1969): 22, 69.
vania State University Press, 1999): 199-200. 95. Charles West, "A Beginning Weight Training Program for Teen-
78. Interview with Ray Roy; and Hoffman et. al., Functional Isomet- Agers," Strength & Health 38 (June 1970): 18-19.
ric Contraction, 32. 96. Bill Starr, "The York Barbell Series-Exhibitions," Starting
79. Interview with Coe . Strength, January 26, 2012, viewed at
80. Vera Christensen, "Exercise and the Small Child," Strength & http:/I sta rti ngstre ngth. co m/i nd ex. ph p/site/article/the_york_ bar-
Health 29 (March 1961): 38. See also Christensen's "Exercise for the bell_series_exhibitions.
Young Teenager," Strength & Health 38 (May 1970): 32; and 97. Tommy Suggs, "Facts about Weight Training for Youngsters,"
"Teenage Training," Strength & Health 41 (January 1973): 60. Strength & Health 37 (June 1969): 32-33.
81. Vic Westphal!, "Summer High School Weight Program for Athlet- 98. See Bill Starr, "Planned Nutrition for the Teen-Ager," Strength &
ics," Strength & Health 29 (January 1961): 41; "Strength and Health Health 36 (June 1968): 30, 75-76; Bob Hoffman, "Protein Needs for
Boys Club," Strength & Health 30 (July 1962): 41; "Strength and Adolescents and Young Adults," Strength & Health 36 (December
Health Boys Club," Strength & Health 30 (September 1962): 41; Paul 1968): 40, 77-78; and Bob Hoffman, "As the Twig is Bent," Strength
Uram, "A New Outlook on School Fitness," Strength & Health 30 & Health 37 (May 1969): 5-8.
(October 1962): 40; Ray Van Cleef, "Making Huskies Out of Softies," 99. "Letters from Readers," Strength & Health 39 (February 1971):
Strength & Health 30 (November 1962): 40; and "Strength and 8-9; and Bill Starr, "Anabolics and Amphetamines," Strength & Health
Health Boys Club," Strength & Health 31 (May 1963): 41. 39 (February 1971): 54-55, 68-69.
82. James P. Tuppeny, "Weight Training for Track and Field Men at 100. "A Sour Note," n.d., Hoffman Papers.
Villanova," Strength & Health 27 (March 1959): 28; and George W. 101. John Fair interview with Bill Curry, circa 1989, Opelika, Ala-
Ritchey, "L.S.U., Weight Training at Louisiana State University has bama.
many facets," Strength & Health 28 (July 1960): 36. 102. An ongoing measure of the degree of acceptance of weight
83. "Strength and Health Boys Club," Strength & Health 29 (Sep- training for youth is indicated in an article by Scott Safe, "Making the
tember 1961): 40. Case for a National High School Weightlifting Program" in USA
84. "Strength and Health Boys Club;' Strength & Health 30 (August Weightlifting's E-Magazine, The Lifter (March 2012): 2-3, viewed at
1962): 41; "Strength and Health Boys Club," Strength & Health 31 http://www.tea musa .org/USA-Weightl ifting/Resou rces/E-Maga-
(November 1963): 26; "Strength and Health Boys Club;' Strength & zine.aspx.
Health 30 (April 1962): 41; and "Strength and Health Boys Club," 103. See M. R. Hetherington, "Effect of Isometric Training on the
Strength & Health 28 (June 1960): 41. Elbow Flexion Force Torque of Grade Fve Boys," Research Quarterly
85. "Strength and Health Boys Club," Strength & Health 30 (May 47 (1976): 41-47; and J. Vrijens, "Muscle Strength Development in
1962): 40-41. the Pre- and Post-pubescent Age," Medicine and Sport 11 (1978):
86. "Self-Improvement Contest," Strength & Health 31 (June 1963): 152-58.
16-17, 60-62; "1963 Boys' Self-Improvement Contest Winners," 104. William J. Kraemer, Strength Training for Young Athletes
Strength & Health 31 (October 1963): 38-39. See also Bill Reynolds, (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1993), 1, 4.
"Military Weight Training Facilities," Muscular Development 5 (May 105. Thomas R. Baechle and Roger W. Earle, Essentials of Strength
1968): 19, 45. Training and Conditioning (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2008),
87. Tommy Suggs, "Isometrics," Strength & Health 35 (September 145-46, 148-49.
1967): 28. 106. Avery D. Faigenbaum et al., "Youth Resistance Training: Updat-
88. Bill Starr, "S&H Survey Results," Strength & Health 35 (May ed Position Statement Paper From the National Strength and Condi-
1967): 34-35. tioning Association," Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research
89. "The Iron Grapevine," Strength & Health 31 (January 1963): 65. 23 (2009) : S60-61.
Pat Grimek Stover recalls that her brother Steve continued training 107. Kraemer, Strength Training, 1.
in later life and "did enter a contest." As to whether the son of her 108. Bill Starr, "Youngsters Need Strength Too," and "Youngsters
sister Bonnie, Timothy Day, who "still lifts weights," ever entered a Need Strength Too, Part II," Starting Strength (2011) viewed at:
contest she is not so sure, but iron game author David Gentle http://StartingStrength.com.
remembers an enquiry from him. "Isn't it weird. I'm getting 109. Harrison G. Pope, Jr., Katharine A. Phillips, and Roberto Olivar-
Grimek's grandson asking me for info on John-strange family." dia, The Adonis Complex, The Secret Crisis of Male Body Obsession
Interview with Stover; and David Gentle letter to John Fair, Novem- (New York: Free Press, 2000), 107; Alan Klein, Little Big Men, Body-
ber 2, 2006, letter in Fair's possession. building Subculture and Gender Construction (Albany, NY: State Uni-
90. Bob Hoffman, "The Younger Generation," Strength & Health 32 versity of New York Press, 1993},149; and John Blackstone, "High
(November 1964): 5. See also, Fair, Musc/etown USA, 227. School Athletes Turning to Steroids," CBS News with Scott Pelley,
91. Bob Hoffman, "America's Wonderful Teen-Age Lifters," Strength February 11, 2009, at http://www.cbsnews.com/2100-18563_162-
& Health 34 (November 1966): 5, 8. 3617414.html.
92. Samuel Homola, "Keeping the Family Fit with Weights," Strength 110. John Fair interview with Cliff Sawyer, March 22, 2008, Worces-
& Health 36 (September 1968): 48. ter, Massachusetts.
51
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