Hail to the Dinosaurs!
Today’s a very important day in Iron Game history.
It’s Bob Hoffman’s birthday. He was born on November 9, 1898.
Now, younger readers may not know what that means – but older readers will know immediately that this is a day to say a silent prayer of thanks in honor of the man who did more than anyone else to promote weight training, weightlifting, bodybuilding and the Iron Game in the United States – and indeed, throughout the world.
Let me share with you the passion, the enthusiasm and the zeal that Bob demonstrated when speaking of his believed Iron Game. This is from the forward to Bob’s 1939 book, Weight Lifting – and it’s one of my favorite passages in all the physical culture books I’ve ever read:
“I am a weight lifter. I like weight lifting and weight lifters. Training with and the lifting of weights, which to me was at first a pleasurable form of exercise, an outlet for the competitive instinct all real men possess, a means of keeping fit in the shortest possible time, has become my life’s work.”
Bob Hoffman’s success in promoting weight training and weight lifting is impossible to measure. During the half century in which he owned and operated The York Barbell Company, coached the York Barbell Club, and edited and published Strength and Health magazine, Bob Hoffman brought barbell training to hundreds of thousands of men, women, boys and girls around the world.
To give you an idea of exactly what Bob Hoffman meant to the Iron Game, consider this.
Way back in the 1940’s and 1950’s, you could send a letter or post card addressed simply “Bob Hoffman, York, Pa.” or “Bob Hoffman, York Barbell Club,” or even “Bob Hoffman, Muscletown” – and mail it from anywhere in the world – and it would be delivered to Bob Hoffman at the York Barbell Company in York, Pa.
You didn’t need a street address – you didn’t need a P.O. Box – you didn’t need a zip code – you just addressed your card or letter to Bob Hoffman, mentioned “York” or “Muscletown,” – and BANG – it got delivered.
I lifted hard and heavy last night, out in the garage. I dedicated the workout to Bob Hoffman. If you train today or tomorrow, do the same.
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. I’m also doing something else to honor the memory of Bob Hoffman and the other champions of the Golden Age of Might and Muscle. I’m writing a series of novels that cover the York champions from the 1930’s through the 1950’s. The first three books in the Legacy of Iron series are already available – and no. 4 is coming very, very soon!
1. The first book in the series is titled Legacy of Iron:
2. Book two in the Legacy of Iron series is titled Clouds of War:
3. Book three in the Legacy of iron series is titled The 1,000 Pound Total
4. NOTE: You can order the first three books in the Legacy of Iron series for a special price – for more information, see the bottom of the information page for The 1,000 Pound Total.
5. You can find all three of the Legacy of Iron books at the Dinosaur Training website!
6. And remember -- be looking for no. 5 in the Legacy of Iron series -- because it's coming to you very, very soon!
