Newsletters
We expect to post images of complete AOBS newsletters (which usually run from 12-16 pages) in the coming months. But in the meantime, here is an excerpt from our August 2007 newsletter - a report by Dr. Ken Rosa on our June 2007 reunion dinner. A multi-talented man (former Mr. Universe competitor, Dr. of Chiropractic, highly accomplished musician, radio personality and historian of the Iron Game), Dr. Ken has been kind enough to chronicle our annual event for a number of years.
Association Of Oldetime Barbell & Strongmen 24th Annual Reunion. By Dr. Ken “Leo” Rosa
Saturday, June 9, 2007
As I traveled from New York City to the Saddle Brook, New Jersey Marriott, the lush summer greenery awakened memories which transported me back through several decades to when I was a boy living with my parents in New Jersey’s bucolic Bernardsville. One of our neighbors was band leader Tommy Dorsey. It was there in the variety store that the boy who was me discovered a magazine filled with photographs of men who had muscles like Captain Marvel. Strength & Health it was called. The boy thought “that can’t be real” so I bought a ten cent Batman comic book instead. That to me was real. The boy could never have imagined that one day he would actually meet those men in the “unreal” magazine and become a part of their world. But that would be after my parents moved us to the Bronx.
(By the way, I still have that Batman comic book NOW worth a lot more than ten cents.)
Today I traveled with a young reporter who was covering our AOBS reunion for a New York City newspaper called El Hispano.
When we arrived the Marriott lobby was packed almost wall to wall with Iron Game family. The energy level seemed palpable to me. Hellos were not really necessary. Everyone just carried on as if there had been no one year hiatus. The smiling Collets, father and son, were in from California. We picked up our conversation from right where we had left off as if it had been a minute ago instead of last year. Slim Farman, the Hammer Man joined us. Slim is my choice for most thrilling strongman.
There came George “Bombero” Schumacher and David Landau both up from Florida. There’s former Mr. America competitor Joe Marino. And my pal Barney Pugach . Kim Wood in from Ohio.
There’s Dick Smith and Pete Marozas in from Muscletown, York, Pennsylvania. When Pete Marozas was 16 years old he was asked to apply some oil to the back of John Grimek just before JCG posed and won the 1940 Mr. America. Who asked him to apply the oil? JCG himself. Bruce Wilhelm in from California. I told him I saw him beat Lou Ferrigno in a strongman contest on TV. Wow! There’s Raul Pacheco and his lovely Violet up from Florida. Raul was a major figure in the New York City physique world of the 1950s. Today he had with him an encyclopedia sized album with lots of 1950s competition photos of himself, Bill Cerdas, Al Berman, Ray Jimenez, Leroy Colbert and most of the 1950s New York muscle guys. Especially those who frequented Orchard Beach in The Bronx. Many thanks to charming Violet for putting the album together. Gosh, there’s Boyer Coe. And Red Lerille up from Louisiana. Here comes Herculean stone lifting strongman Steve Jeck up from North Carolina. Clark Kent and Steve Jeck both wear glasses but in a shirt and tie Steve can not disguise the fact that he is obviously the real superman. He put his massive arm around my shoulder and I disappeared. Fortunately, Steve Jeck is a nice person and a gentle man.
Mike Bondurant held a very informative and nostalgic historical meeting from noon until 2:00pm. So many kids, including me, were introduced to muscles and methods of acquiring them when we were first attracted to Charles Atlas ads on the back covers of and in comic books. The less than ten year old kid that was me regularly asked my mother for a dime to buy a comic book. I wanted to overtake Koppy McFadden (Supersnipe) as the boy with the most comic books in America. Superman, The Shield, The Blue Beetle, The Phantom, The Batman, Daredevil, Tarzan; young boys wanted muscular physiques like those people all had which translated into all important extraordinary powers. When Wonder Woman came along girls then had THEIR super person.
I actually thought that if I practiced hard enough I WOULD eventually be able to leap tall buildings at a single bound. (The young mind is indeed amazing.) Conveniately, aimed at these young, impressionable minds, Charles Atlas ads were somewhere in every comic book. I asked my mother for the five dollars so that I could enter into the world of the World’s Most Perfectly Developed Man, Charles Atlas. Mike Bondurant enthralled us with his marvelous seminar.
The Joe Abbenda seminar from 2:30pm to 4:00pm was absolutely spellbinding. I’ve known Joe since approximately 1959 or so. We were both young hard training bodybuilders. Joe had a meteoric rise to the top of the bodybuilding world. He then became a successful lawyer. He raised a beautiful family. It is so inspiring to see the Joe Abbenda interest in bodybuilding, in the Iron Game, undiminished. In fact, Joe appears to be as fired up NOW as he was when we first met at the time that Arthur Harris was America’s Most Muscular Man. I now wish that I could have had a mentor like Joe when I was in the competitive years of my bodybuilding life. Jr. Mr. America, Mr. America, Mr. Universe Joe Abbenda is one of the greats. Joe and I are from the same competitive time period. Perhaps if we had not lived so far apart from each other I could have availed myself of his observations, his critiques and his training suggestions. I always trained hard but my passions were divided. I was more interested at that time in my career as the pianist with a constantly working, high earning, top Latin night club band and after that in becoming a chiropractic physician. Now, after practicing chiropractic for thirty five years I’m back attending the great Joe Abbenda’s wonderful seminar. I was never a champion but I’ve been privileged to have traveled through life in the company of champions in many fields of endeavor. At this point in my life Joe Abbenda is one of my heroes. I appreciate you Joe.
It was a bit after 5:00 pm when AOBS president Artie Drechsler came to the podium and addressed us via the microphone. “Strong ladies, strong gentlemen, I welcome you to our historic 24th reunion dinner. It’s a tribute to our honorees, to our performers and to our organization that you would honor us with your presence this evening. I’ve organized this gathering for the last five years and I’ve heard just about every reason imaginable why people can’t come “THIS” year. There are people who want the reunions rescheduled for the fall. Those same people hardly attended when the reunions WERE in the fall. There are a tiny number of people who complain that there are too many speeches.
Those same people probably would not complain if the speeches were in recognition of THEM. Those of you present this evening understand the importance of the annual occasion and found reasons to actually BE here and I thank you. Our mission is simple: to honor the history of the Iron Game and those who made that history. And to advocate for future generations and further health and strength. Your dedication to those values and your willingness to vote with your presence here tonight is what makes our organization strong. Vic Boff would have been proud to see what I’m seeing here tonight as I look around the room. I invite you to study Vic’s likeness created for this audience by a fabulous artist, Jim Sanders. Vic’s memory will never fade.”
We all turned to contemplate the Jim Sanders painting of Vic Boff in the back of the room. We applauded.
Artie Drechsler continued: “we are all beneficiaries of Vic’s vision at this wonderful gathering. All who are a part of the Iron Game are welcome. We come from all countries, races, religions, ages, cultures, united by mutual respect for the same values. It is both the honorees and the honorers who make this evening what it is. There are so many special things about our annual gatherings. There’s the joy that very deserving honorees derive from receiving their overdue recognition. There’s the opportunity for the rest of us to reflect on the inspiration we derive from their efforts.
On a personal level, Dave Draper was one of the people who inspired me to begin lifting weights so many years ago with his amazing physique and strength. And there’s Mike Karchut, a weightlifter I’ve admired from afar for his strength, his technique, his courage. He had the incredible kindness to answer a letter that I had written to him when I was a boy with detailed answers to my questions and great encouragement regarding my choice of a weightlifting career. The gift of inspiration is one of the greatest we can receive because it’s so powerful and because it endures. Dave Draper and Mike Karchut have given us that inspiration.
Tonight marks the third year of our AOBS Memorial Hall Of Fame Award. This award was designed to honor those who passed on before they could be honored by this Association. Tonight we are honoring a true immortal in weightlifting history, JOHN HENRY DAVIS.”
(Your chronicler reminisces a bit: John Davis was a larger than life, almost mythical figure to the Iron Game adolescents of my generation. At the time there were two such fabled personages seen in the pages of Strength & Health magazine. They were John Grimek and John Davis. Many of us kids who trained in the Bronx Union YMCA under the guidance of Englishman Charles A. Smith wanted to become both Grimek AND John Davis. At that stage of life EVERYTHING seems possible. My thrill was when John Davis actually came to Bronx Union and put on a lifting exhibition. I had seen physique stars Val Pascua on the cover of Strength & Health magazine and Keevil Daly in the pages of Your Physique but never in person. They were both there that evening and put on posing exhibitions which were awesome to the kid that was me.)
President Artie Drechsler now turned the microphone over to World’s Strongest M.C. Steve Sadicario, “Mighty Stefan”.
With his handlebar moustache Steve now reminds me of John L. Sullivan. Steve brought up Josh Levy, grandson of Julian Levy, to lead us in our pledge of allegiance to the American flag.
Now an envelope of mystery suddenly cloaked the immediate area around the microphone. Artie Drechsler, already burdened with coordinating ten thousand details at once became aware that he was suddenly UNAWARE of what was going on as Mike D’Angelo came to the microphone and said to us “the reason that we’re all here tonight is because of the work of one person. It’s the fifth anniversary of the passing of Vic Boff and the presidential assumption of Arthur Drechsler without whom we would not be here.
On behalf of the entire organization and the executive committee we have a plaque which I will read to you. A senior member of the organization will present the plaque to Arthur. This had to be a total secret because otherwise Artie would leave the room.” (Audience laughter) “The plaque reads as follows: The Vic Boff Carry On Award presented on June 9, 2007 to Arthur Drechsler with respect, gratitude and many thanks for stepping up to the challenge of keeping our organization continuing in the tradition of our founder Vic Boff.” (Great audience applause) BEFORE Artie realized what was happening he had a WHAT THE _____IS GOING ON expression on his face in response to this unscheduled, unidentified honoree. Then he realized the honoree was himself. No heads would have to roll but now he had to make an unexpected acceptance speech. Jack Benny might have folded his arms and reacted with hmmmm. Artie pensively came to the microphone and said “well, obviously I have nothing prepared.” There were laughs from the audience.
“I really do appreciate this. It’s a challenge to put everything together. I didn’t appreciate how tough a job it was until Vic sadly left us. I didn’t expect my being asked to continue Vic’s vision, his work. I could not at least TRY to carry on when they asked me to do it. The greatest joy that has come out of it is all the people I’ve gotten to meet and gotten closer to as a result of my trying to fill some mighty big shoes. In particular, my “uncle” Joe Rollino, (audience laughter) he’s adopted me as his nephew. He’s an amazing guy and I never would have had the opportunity to know him as I now do if I had not been asked to step in. I knew Joe, I had seen him around at all the dinners throughout the years. I HAD NO IDEA HOW OLD HE WAS. I thought he was probably Vic’s age or thereabouts. I happened to be standing next to him at Vic’s memorial service on New Year’s Day 2002 and Joe starts talking about guys from so long ago. I’m wondering to myself how Joe could know those guys. He’d have to be a hundred years older than all of them. Joe saw me looking at him. He looks up at me and asks ‘how old do you think I AM?’ I said, I don’t know, seventy five maybe eighty .
Joe says ‘I’M NINETY NINE YEARS OLD!’ As I gasped he pulls out his Social Security card, he shows me his 1905 birth date. Then I realized the stories he was telling me were true. He HAD known the people he talked about even though it was so long ago. So this has given me the opportunity to know everybody here, to get to know people better, to meet the honorees. I thank you very much, I really do appreciate it and to the best of my ability I’ll do my best to keep it going.”
(There was great audience applause)
M.C. Steve Sadicario came to the microphone and spoke to us. “I think it’s always good when a personal story comes out, how people feel about people, how people become strong, how people become bodybuilder and weightlifters. More than twenty some years ago we went to visit someone in a hospital. In those days they didn’t let kids visit people up in the rooms so they let us stay downstairs in the gift shop. In the gift shop there were magazines and this particular magazine opened up to a page that had a blond haired bodybuilder doing a double biceps shot. The ad was STRENGTH IN SIXTY SECONDS! It was a Weider magazine, obviously. The bodybuilder in that photo was none other than the Blond Bomber here with us this evening. So me at about nine years of age said THAT’S FOR ME, I think I’ll tear this page out and become a secret strong man. Well, half way through the tear the woman that ran the gift shop grabs me and says YOU!!! I ran so fast and I ran so far that I wound up at the AOBS dinners.
I thank you” (Applause)
AOBS president Artie Drechsler once again came to the microphone to address us. “it has often been acknowledged that there are instances where truth is stranger than fiction. But it’s rare for an actual hero to outshine a mythical name. Nevertheless, at least one American weightlifter accomplished such a feat. His name is John Henry Davis. His mother named him, in an amazing stroke of foresight, after the mythical strongman John Henry. Little did John Davis’ mother know that she had given life to a man who would actually become the strongest man in the world. With his spectacular strength of body matched by phenomenal strength of character John Davis gave the weightlifting world an incredible number of gifts. John Henry Davis truly lived up to the name his mother bestowed on him in an act of love at the beginning of his life. It’s a name which will live forever now in weightlifting history, a name we are proud to honor this evening.”
Artie Drechsler then asked us all to focus our attention on the large movie screen for a video presentation of the great John Davis in action.
(Your chronicler reflects: I was alive during the John Davis era. Of course, I was a callow boy but I was alive and aware of the strongest man in the world. When the John Davis black and white sound film started I was immediately transported back to a lamentedly missed simpler time. It was a far from perfect time sociologically but halcyon in many ways. The film narrator, the dramatic mood setting music reminded me of movie newsreels in the days when we would see two full length feature films as well as cartoons and all for about forty four cents. The New York City subway fare was ten cents recently increased from a nickel. It was the era of Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Louis, Sugar Ray Robinson, Jake LaMotta, Antonino Rocca, Milton Berle, Sylvana Mangano, Harry S. Truman, General Douglas MacArthur and John Davis. Joe Louis, boxing’s Brown Bomber, held the world heavyweight boxing championship for twelve years, longer than any man in history. John Davis was undefeated in weightlifting for fifteen years. During those years he won six World Championships and two Olympic Games while setting numerous World Records. John Davis was the first lifter ever to clean and jerk four hundred pounds in official competition.
This black and white film let us see the mighty John Davis lifting the three hundred sixtyfive pounds Apollon railway wheels which had a handle five and a half inches in circumference which made it almost impossible to grasp. The feat was so exhausting that Davis collapsed after successfully making the lift to join Charles Riguelot as the only other man to raise the Apollon wheels overhead. The slow motion camera showed just how amazing the Davis lift was as he flips his left hand from under the bar and then catches the bar with an overhand grip. Also in the film was the John Davis rich baritone singing voice moving me almost to tears as he sang Thine Alone and demonstrating (in my opinion) that good music is more powerful than anything.
Jules Bacon agreed with me.)
After the film M.C. Steve Sadicario announced the passing of great wrestler Abe Coleman, Ray “Thunder” Stern, Richard Tom, Adele Eder, Bill Good and 1943 Mr. America Jules Bacon. Feel better wishes to Johnny Mandel, Al Thomas, Kenny Hall.
Our stentorian voiced Master of Ceremonies continued “Ladies and Gentlemen, we have with us this evening Lou Demarco. We have many times National Champion and the only American under 242 pounds to clean & jerk 500 pounds, Mark Cameron. Son of the Mighty Atom, Mike Greenstein. There’s Carl Linick. Al and Olga DiSantis. Strongman, motivational speaker, showtime coordinator Russell Jones. Twenty eight times National Weightlifting Champion Julian Levy. Daughter of Leo Murdock Rosemary Miller. Former physique title winner, announcer, the man with the booming voice, Len Bosland. Strongman Stanless Steele. Renown Iron Game publisher Dennis Reno. Former world’s Strongest Man Don Rheinhoudt. Strongman Lou Torttorelli. IFBB Mr. America John DeCola. Rising strongman star Pat Promilitis. Strongman, photographer John Marcone. Fred Butz and Sam Bigler. Three time Chinese Weightlifting and Asian Games Champion Joe Chu. Author of the Norbert Schemansky book Mr. Weightlifting, Richard Bak. Strongman, wrestling historian, supporter of AOBS, Tom Townsend.”
Your chronicler adds: Tom Townsend is a special guy. A year ago he made me aware via a photograph of the then 101 year old former wrestler Abe Coleman. This year I was forever grateful when he presented me with a December 1934 issue of British physical culture magazine Health & Strength.
Welcome back to Fred Yale who came to the microphone and spoke to us.
“Thank you to Vic and Ann Boff for starting these reunions. Thanks to Artie Drechsler for continuing them. Thanks for the inspiration given to me by my late friend Ed Jubinville. Now on to Dave Draper. This goes back to the Weider warehouse days in New Jersey. I went there to buy some equipment and I saw this large blond haired fellow but I didn’t speak with him. I didn’t know who he was or why he was there. Years later I saw him guest posing at a show in Massachusetts.
In preparing for this tonight it was very interesting talking with Dave. It was easy to relate to what he said about the early days because he and I were coming up at about the same time. Dave is the most unique and interesting bodybuilder of our time. He became a household name early in his career in bodybuilding. We saw him on the covers of magazines, inside those magazines, in movies, on TV. This was someone with only four titles.
It all started in 1942 when Dave was born in Secaucus, New Jersey. At about age ten he’d look around and see men with bulging muscles working in construction. Dave knew he wanted that look. Eventually he was able to purchase an inexpensive set of weights. A mirror reflecting results obtained by this growing boy became his source of encouragement. By the mid 1950s people like Steve Reeves and Charles Atlas began to play a role in his lifting. By age seventeen Dave knew that the weight game was something he was going to stick to. Dave was about fifteen years old when he first saw Joe Weider. Dave would take the bus to Weider’s Union city, New Jersey warehouse to purchase equipment. Leroy Colbert was always on hand to help with those purchases. At about age nineteen Dave began to help out at the Weider warehouse. In 1963 Dave entered his first competition, Mr. New Jersey and won. Shortly after that he moved to Venice in California. Dave easily assumed the Muscle Beach lifestyle where life settled around what you just loved to do. His philosophy was get as good as you can each day. With the help of George Eifferman and a six day training routine that’s exactly what he did. While Dave was preparing for the 1965 Mr. America he sought the opinion of Bill Pearl to ascertain whether or not Dave was ready for the top United States physique competition. Pearl checked Dave under the lights and said DO IT! Some of the Mr. America competitors were Zabo, Johnny Maldonado, Joe Nista, Chet Yorton was considered the man to beat. When all was said and done Dave Draper won best arms and the 1965 Mr. America title. After that there were photo shoots and magazine covers to blast him into the Universe and stardom. Then the Mr. World. Shortly after Dave won the Mr. World title the competition bug began to wane. Dave did not like where bodybuilding was headed.
Dave Draper not only made it in bodybuilding and movies but he made it in other ways. Dave had this fierce intensity which not only got him those titles in bodybuilding and got him through those intense workouts but also through certain recent health problems. Dave Draper is a survivor and will continue that way. Dave has a unique popularity in this sport which has continued for the past forty four years.
I asked him to comment on his unusual popularity both in his prime and now. Here’s a guy who is very quiet. He liked to train either alone or with few people around yet he had this huge fan base then and now. Regarding this popularity Dave said he thinks he had become part of a segment of history of bodybuilding which took place from about 1963 to 1973. It was rising up and becoming far more visible than ever before. The sport still at that time had an innocence about it. Now, today, there are twenty year olds who look to Dave for advice, books, DVDs. Moving into the forty fifth year it just seems to keep going and going. Ladies and Gentlemen, it’s my honor to introduce to you Mr. America, Mr. Universe, Mr. World, The Blond Bomber, Dave Draper!”
(There was thunderous applause)
Tall, physically impressive, soft of voice, unassuming, genuinely likeable, guy next door; it would tend to diminish the appeal, the charm of what Dave said to us if I attempted to write it here. Therefore, I urge you to contact Mike D’Angelo (18 Colon St., Staten Island, New York) or Artie Drechsler in order to obtain a video and experience the entire AOBS reunion including Dave Draper speaking to us and receiving his Vic Boff AOBS Highest Achievement Award plaque plus a magnificent Jim Sanders painting of Dave in his prime. Dave Draper and his wife Laurie are two of the nicest people one could meet in any field of endeavor.
Lou DeMarco now came to the microphone and spoke to us about eight time National Champion, Pan American Games Champion , two time Olympian, World Champion medalist Mike Karchut. “Mike’s parents are from Ukraine. They emigrated to Germany. In 1944 Mike was born in Germany. In 1950 the family came to the United States and settled in Ohio. When Mike entered high school athletics he started in gymnastics. Then he started to lift weights. There were not many coaches back then so Mike Karchut was essentially self taught. It wasn’t easy to find places to train. Mike eventually had his own Olympic set. He got to go to a local YMCA and they let him train there. One day he missed a snatch. With the sudden crashing, explosive, deafening noise a woman in the office below almost had a heart attack and they threw him out. Mike was then invited to train in a Fire Station. That lasted about a week because the City found out and decided that if Mike were to get hurt he would sue. So out again. But even with such difficulties Mike had won Teen Age National Championships, Junior National Championships. I spoke with Bob Gajda (1966 Mr. America) who then invited Mike to train at Chicago’s Duncan YMCA where he would have a place to train as well as people to train with. The rest is history. Despite all of his many successes the one thing Mike regrets is that he never became World Olympic Champion. However, in life it’s not important that you win or lose. It’s the trying that counts. Mike Karchut and I go way back. I consider Mike to be a brother to me. Ladies and Gentlemen, my brother, Mike Karchut.
There was applause.
Mike Karchut came to the microphone and spoke to us. “When I started lifting my inspiration was Tommy Kono. At this time I think EVERYONE’S inspiration is Joe Rollino because he’s setting a record that very few of us will ever achieve.” There was great applause. “Somebody once said you don’t have to be crazy to lift weights but it helps. God bless you all and God bless America. Thank you.” There was applause as Artie Drechsler presented Mike Karchut with the AOBS Vic Boff Highest Achievement Award. Jim Sanders unveiled a gorgeous painting of Mike Karchut lifting during his prime years.
We enjoyed desert with the swing music of trumpeter Harry James and his orchestra in the background thanks to Russell Jones.
Now M.C. Steve Sadicario announced that it was Showtime. He called Slim Farman protégé Erik Vining to the lifting platform which was just in front of the dais. Erik’s first feat was to coil a 5/8 inch round steel bar that is four feet in length which he did successfully to audience cheers. Next was to tear the corner off a deck of playing cards. M.C. Sadicario announced THERE IT IS, DONE! Let’s hear it!” And we did. More encouragement from our M.C. and the audience requested that Erik perform two more feats of strength.
Artie Drechsler now took over the microphone to announce that two Olympic lifters were preparing to put on an exhibition for us. One would be Erika Dice. Artie said “Erika was a nationally ranked hammer thrower. She came to a Strongman dinner in 2000 and met some of the Olympic lifters. She became interested in Olympic lifting so I invited her to the Lost Battalion Hall (a gym) where I coach. I showed her a few basic elements of weightlifting and she took to it right away. She learned quickly, practiced a lot on her own and got herself up to National level in weightlifting. In fact, she has achieved medals in National Championships. The other lifter will be Ed Herger. I worked with him and he made the Junior World Championship team. He too has won medals at three of the last National Championships. Tonight Erika is going to perform the two hand clean and jerk (C&J), while Ed will do the two hand Snatch (these are the two events than make up the weightlifting program at the Olympic Games). They haven’t really had a place to warm up properly and tonight’s lifting platform is much smaller than the usually required 13 feet by 13 feet. They’ll be alternating back and forth working their way up. In Olympic competition there’s a men’s bar and a woman’s bar. The woman’s bar weighs 33 pounds. The man’s bar weighs 44 pounds.”
Ed started with 242 pounds in the snatch. Erika C&J’d 176 pounds for her first lift. Ed moved up to 264 pounds for a success. Erika moves up to just under 200 pounds and make a successful C&J with this weight. Ed makes a valiant but unsuccessful snatch attempt with just under 300 pounds. Erika successfully C&J’s over 200 pounds. Ed Herger gets set to attempt a snatch with 308 pounds. As Ed was getting ready to approach the bar Joe Rollino said to Artie Drechsler “Ed is pulling the bar up too far away from his body.” Artie nodded. Joe said in a very emphatic tone “TELL HIM THAT!” (The Great” Joe Rollino’s words of wisdom should be heeded.), but it was too late for technical corrections as the lift was soon under way. Ed made a supreme effort but 308 was simply not in cards for him this day. There was tremendous applause for both Ed Herger and Erika Dice, two superlative young athletes.
Your chronicler shares these thoughts: As I watched these two wonderful young Olympic lifters my mental time machine transported me back to my own competitive years some decades ago. The standing press was part of Olympic lifting then. I fell in love with the press. The standing press became a major part of my workout. I loved it and I became pretty good at it. There were no coaches for me. I trained alone even though I was in the Bronx Union YMCA. I had no one to teach me how to perform the snatch and the clean jerk so I never properly learned them. As I watched Ed Herger and Erika Dice perform I found myself wishing that I could have had an Artie Drechsler coaching me during my competitive years. Even though I was a bodybuilder I developed interest in the three Olympic lifts. Artie Drechsler is a knowledgeable, caring coach. I wonder what might have happened if I had come under the mentorship of Artie Drechsler. Many people engage in speculation of what might have been. I guess that’s what I’m doing now but it’s only a day dream. In the movie On The Waterfront Marlon Brando regretfully declares “I coulda been a contender.” I suppose that’s what I’m doing now. Today’s young lifters are fortunate to have the coaching of Artie Drechsler.
Curiously, our M.C. Steve Sadicario seemed to have disappeared while the lifting was going on. Suddenly there seemed to be a commotion in the room. I looked and saw what appeared to be a little hunched over ancient man dressed in black, wearing a black hat, sunglasses, mumbling something, using a cane and hobbling towards the lifting platform.
(Artie, how’d this person get IN here?). But wait, he’s taking off his coat, his hat and he’s got a strongman outfit on underneath. He straightens up and look at those bulging muscles! That’s not the little old wine maker….that’s Mighty Stephan!
Holey Moley! The cane has become a ten pound sledge hammer which he holds in one muscular straight arm’s length distance in front of him and using only his iron cast wrist he lowers the hammer’s head to his lips for a kiss. He immediately with his hand plunged a nail through a plank of lumber on top of a wooden nail keg (which had belonged to the Mighty Atom) and pulled it out with his teeth. He then tore paperback books (over 400 pages). He bent a 3/8 hang square spike then a 60 penny spike (which he gave to Dr. Perkins). He punctured a balloon and glitter came out all over while he demonstrated his massive calves and muscular arms to the ooos and ahhhs of the crowd and did his unique rap routine throughout the whole performance. All this was accomplished non-stop in minutes leaving most of us amazed by The Mighty Stefan who then bade us good night by saying “STAY HEALTHY, STAY STRONG, I’LL SEE YOU ALL NEXT YEAR,
I THANK YOU!” There was deafening applause.
Mark your calendars: June 7, 2008 AOBS 25th Reunion, a very special one.