Many of us remember our first barbell.
But how many of us remember the day
our first barbell died?
Or who killed it.
John Grimek and Steve Stanko did.
Grimek and Stanko both learned weight-
lifting on the very same barbell.
It was a home made revolving set in
the possession of the Keesby Eagles
Athletic Club.
On the night of June 22, 1947, a lifter
named Jim Toth attempted a 340 pound
continental clean and jerk with the old
barbell.
He pulled it high and hard.
The bar shot up like a rocket -- and
crashed down onto his chest -- and broke
in half as it hit him.
Luckily, there were no other fatalities.
Gord Venables reported the incident in
Strength and Health. He thought the bar had
just gotten tired after being manhandled by
men like Grimek and Stanko for so many years.
And that's the way things were -- way back
on June 22, 1947.
As always,m thanks for reading. If you train
today, make it a good one - but don't break
your barbell!
Yours in strength,
Brooks Kubik
P.S. For more Iron Game history and fast-moving
action grab Legacy of Iron -- and if you've
already read the little monster, grab the next
book in the series. We have five of them now, and
they just get better and better. You can find them
here:
http://www.brookskubik.com/products.html
