Product Description

From the 1930s to the 1980s, the capital of weightlifting in America was York, Pennsylvania, the home of the York Barbell Company. Bob Hoffman, the founder of York Barbell, propagated an ideology of success for Americans seeking physical improvement. Often called the "Father of World Weightlifting," Hoffman was a pioneer in marketing barbells and health foods. He popularized weight training and inaugurated a golden age of American weightlifting. Muscletown USA--part biography, part business history, and part sports history--chronicles how Hoffman made York the mecca of manly culture for millions of followers worldwide. Hoffman created his so-called muscle empire out of an oil-burner business that he started in the early 1920s. Within a decade, his passion for sport exceeded his need to produce oil burners and by the outset of the Depression he began manufacturing barbells at the factory. He soon discovered a willing public of aspiring weightlifters like himself who would buy not only barbells but also health and fitness products. Hoffman soon recruited a remarkable group of athletes, whom he tagged his "York Gang." He gave these men jobs in the factory, where they trained for national and international meets. Gradually, Hoffman emerged as one of the most prominent muscle peddlers in America, using his fame and fortune to promote competitive weightlifting, bodybuilding, and powerlifting. Muscletown USA reveals other innovations in which Hoffman played a major role, including weight training for athletes, health foods, bottled spring water, isometrics, and women's weightlifting. Even anabolic steroids, first used by weightlifters in the early 1960s, were a direct outgrowth of the fitness culture spawned by Hoffman. Meticulously researched and engagingly written, Fair's book will appeal to a wide range of readers, including anyone fascinated by American sports history and the iron game.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #446031 in Books
• Published on: 1999-06-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 436 pages

About the Author
John D. Fair is professor of history and chair of the Department of History and Geography at Georgia College & State University in Milledgville, Georgia. He is the author of two books on modern British history. He has competed in more than fifty Olympic and powerlifting meets, coached several teams, taught weight-training classes, staged meets, been a national referee, served on the national weightlifting committee, and even judged a Mr. America contest.

Customer Reviews

Grimek vs Reeves
I noticed that at least two reviews have comments about the 1949 Mr. USAContest which was awarded to JohnGrimek with Clarence Ross 2nd andSteve Reeves 3rd.Although I wasn't there and thiscompetition occurred before I waseven born, what's the point ofarguing over a competition that tookplace over 50 years ago?So what if the fans booed Grimek offthe stage...bodybuilding contests area matter of taste and personalpreference.As for the book, it was interestinto get the facts about York Barbelland Bob Hoffman and based on thisbook and in talking to some oldtimers in the sport, Hoffman did doit for "his own ego".Good book if you are into thehistorical aspects of the Iron game.

It's really irrelevant
Comparing what York Barbell controlled to what the Iron game is all about today is like comparing a small Mom n Pop store owner to the Ceo of Wal Mart. The Iron game was in it's infancy and unfortunately, Hoffman did little to promote the sport to the general public. It was for his own ego and to sell his magazines, barbells, weights and food supplements.Comparing what Hoffman had control over back in the old days to where the Iron game is today is totally irrelevant.

Hoffman did it for his ego alone
Finally we know the truth about Bob Hoffman. That he didn't work out. Didn't eat right and was nowhere near as healthy (actually pretty unhealthy) as he pretended to be.We also discover that Hoffman was not as well liked even among the weightlifters as we had thought.In fact, the whole thing was probably just used by Hoffman as a tax writeoff to offset his successful oil burner business. And in the end, Hoffman did writeoff a lot of the people that he used in his magazines to promote his ridiculously over rated products.Yeah, John D. Fair is correct, Hoffman did it for his ego alone.