Thread: The most famous bodybuilder in the early days of the sport

an unknown bodybuilder

If a guy from that era can look like that, imagine what he wouldve looked like in this day and age with the knowledge people have today!

MUSCLE CHAMPION
All photographs taken from 1880-1930

Photographic image archive
of Victorian and Edwardian-age
bodybuilders and strongmen

NOTE: Some of these men
have more than one page.
EDWARD ASTON

CHARLES ATLAS

PROFESSOR ATTILA

BALMUS

WESLEY BARKER

JOE BONOMO
page 2

CARL BUSCH

FRANCIS X. BUSHMAN

OMAR DE BOUILLON

SEIGMUND BREITBART

KARL BUSCH

EARL CADDOCK

CAMERON

LOUIS CYR

WALTER EDWARD CLEMENTS

LAUNCESTON ELLIOTT

GUSTAV FRISTENSKY

JOHN GARAN

PIERRE GASNIER

GEORGE HACKENSCHMIDT
page 2

ARTHUR HYSON

NOBLE JOHNSON

GEORGE F. JOWETT

K. T. JONES

KAMILLOTTI

SIG KLEIN

EARLE LIEDERMAN
page 2

GEORGE LURICH

JOHN GRUEN MARX
page 2

CLEVIO MASSIMO

ANTON MATYSEK

MAXICK (MAX SICK)

BERNARR McFADDEN

ALAN C. MEAD

JOE NORDQUIST

KARL MORTON

"STAFF SERGEANT"

ALFRED MOSS

BOBBY PANDOUR

JOHN WINFIELD PEARSON

NAT PENDLETON

ADOLPH G. PITZ

WALTER PODOLAK

FRED ROLLON

ANDRE ROLLET

MONTE SALDO

FRANZ SAUERER

ARTHUR SAXON

MARTINUS SIEVEKING

FRED STATION

LIONEL STRONGFORT
page 2

ALOIS SWOBODA

PROFESSOR HENRY W. TITUS

J. C. TOLSON

JOE TOROREA

AL TRELOAR

RUDOLF VALENTINO

CHARLES VANSITART

DAVID WILLOUGBY

STANISLAUS ZBYSZKO

WLADEK ZBYSZKO

Charles Atlas

Balmus


maybe you guys can get some ideas for your gallery pics

Joe Bonomo

Carl Busch
circa 1900

GUSTAV FRISTENSKY

Gustav was very powerful and could do the continental press with 308 lb With his strength, he grew an impressive physique. He was to win a World Physique Championship in 1903.

He was 6' tall and weighed 220 lbs. with extremely low bodyfat. Gustav was one of the best built of the Victorian bodybuilders and his physique would be remarkable even today. He possessed near perfect genetics for bodybuilding.

JOHN GARAN

This extraordinary man was on the cover of the September 1932 issue of Klein's Bell. This small magazine was put out by Seig Klein for his pupils from June 1931 until December 1932. Mr. Garan was born in New York City on January 19, 1910 of Russian parents. Klein called Garan a "muscle marvel." He stood 5 feet 5 inches and weighted 155 lbs. Chest 43", waist 31", upper arm 15 1/2". He could do deep knee bends with 300 lbs. He also occassionaly wrestled, as many Victorian bodybuilders did, and enjoyed playing golf. He had nearly perfect proportions in the tradition of the "Greek Ideal."

It's Matthew Broderick!

Originally Posted by fufu

It's Matthew Broderick!

ROFL





*edit.... see fufu, i can post in oc

wow, you are amazinging me today!

GEORGE HACKENSCHMIDT

Originally Posted by fufu

wow, you are amazinging me today!

these guys are amazing.

ARTHUR HYSON

Nobel Johnson

The gentleman with the lash in this photo from the silent film "Dante's Inferno" (1926) is Noble Johnson, an African-American actor who made several films during the teens and twenties. He was impressively built, as you can see.
He also appeared in the silent version of Ben Hur and also as the slave to Boris Karloff in the original "Mummy."

GEORGE FIURSDALE JOWETT

George Fiursdale Jowettt was born in Bradford, Yorkshire, England, on Dec. 23, 1891. He was not yet a year old when he fell from his mother's lap and hit a pair of firplace andirons. He was critically injured and was hospitalized a few times over the next few years asa a result. His parents were told that he would never walk again and would probably not live to see 15 years of age. He was taken to see Eugen Sandow give one of his exhibitions and learned the great strongman had once been diagnosed with a fatal illness. Sandow inspired many young boys to lead the life of a strongman, and young George was no exception. 11 year old George began physical fitness training at the Old Navy Hall in Bridlington, Yorkshire, where the family had moved.

By the age of 15, instead of meeting his expected demise, George was a gymnastic champion and at age 18 won world featherweight, lightweight and welterweight boxing titles. He soon became a junior weight lifting champion. He was named "Best developed man in England" and later "Most Perfectly Developed Man".

EARLE LIEDERMAN


He wrote one of the most famous bodybuilding books of the early era, "Muscle Building", in 1924 - the photo at right, from the book has a caption which reads "...control of the upper back muscles...taken in 1907, when the author first aquired some of his muscles".

GEORG LURICH

This gentleman was an Estonian-Russian wrestler. Just as today, wrestlers impressed their audiences with their physiques as well as their wrestling skill.

In the picture at right, Lurich flexes his mighty biceps and in the graceful, yet powerful pose at right, lets us know that he is as powerful as the legendary "Hercules" (or "Heracles" as the Greeks called him). He carries a knotted oak club called a "robur" which legend tell us is always held by Hercules. It's Hercules' trademark, and such devices are used in subsequent sculptures, paintings and even architectural detail and decoration to associate the piece with the myth. So Lurich holding the club implies specifically that he is "like Hercules."

Pillars are often associated with early bodybuilding photographs, as well. Often to suggest the bodybuilder is actually a statue standing in front of an ancient sturcture and is as classically handsome and enduring as the monument, but also they served to steady the subject for the camera, since the aparture was very slow in the early days of photography.

CLEVIO MASSIMO (SABATINO)


This great Italian champion is seen on the cover of "Muscle Builder" magazine from 1924. This issue also contains one of the last interviews with Eugen Sandow before his passing the following year. Massimo wrote his own book "Modern Hercules" and the cover of that book is shown below the studio portrait. All photos of Massimo are from the 1920's.

MAXICK (Mack Sick)

This man was only about 5 foot tall, but built and incredible physique. He gained a reputation for training champion bodybuilders in his studio. The photo at right was taken about 1910.

Maxick was a stage name. His actual name was "Mack Sick". Being a fellow of only 5 foot tall, and with a name like "Sick", it is little wonder how this man may have fought to become the great muscle champion he was to become.

His great claim to fame was the incredible ability he had to flex and move each muscle of his body almost independently. This extreme muscle control, which very few bodybuilders can perform even today, made for a remarkable display on the vaudeville stage. It gave birth to the phrase "rippling muscles", which many of the early muscle champions worked hard to develop. His posing routine astonished audiences in the early part of this century.

BERNARR McFADDEN


Photographed in 1893, he was a the author of many articles and books on
the positive effects of bodybuilding and how it also helped maintain mental health.
McFadden was to become famous world-over as a true pioneer in physical culture and muscle-building.
He practiced what he preached and lived a very healthy, happy, and long life.

ALAN C. MEAD

This dashing and handsome English gentleman was an inspiration to many of his countrymen. He was to fight bravely and couragiously in "The Great War" (World War I), but lost a leg in the process.

Mead was not a man to have anyone feel sorry for him. As part of his recovery, he began to lift weights and through pure hard work and iron determination, developed one of the most incredible upper bodies of the era. His physique was impressive even by todays standards.

These photographs are from the year 1924 and show Mead at right in a "front double biceps" and below in a "most muscular" pose. The 2 photos at the lower right show his impressively thick back development. When Mead was displaying his physique, he would always wear long pants.

this stuff is great reading. champions that overcame having their legs crushed, losing a leg... some great bb history here too.

Bobby Pandour
(Wladyslaw Kurcharczyk)
1876 - 1920

Displaying his remarkable abdominals to advantage. Pandour was a bodybuilder from Poland. He reportedly trained using a system much like that of Lionel Strongfort did, using 10 lb. weights at very high reps. He was also an avid "muscle tensing practioner". It is believed that he had perfect gentetics for bodybuilding. He was known for his superb arm and ab development. He stood 5'6" and weighed 160 lbs. He retired in 1915 after suffering an accident from which he never fully recovered.

I'm enjoying this thread. Thanks LW.

NAT PENDLETON
THE ACTOR WHO PLAYED
SANDOW IN THE MOVIES
"The Great Ziegfeld" won the
Academy Award as the
Best Picture of the Year for 1936.

Originally Posted by Bakerboy

I'm enjoying this thread. Thanks LW.

you're very welcome