Now that our Christmas present is safely stored in the Stark Center and I’ve caught what’s left of my breath, I thought I should send along a note to explain the present and also shed some light on a recent widely-seen video that’s been causing some comment. I’m referring to the video showing California’s Latvian-born...
Several weeks ago, when the 2015 version of the Guinness World Records book (GWR) was published it contained a short but significant new blurb stating that, “The greatest weight ever raised by a human being,” according to our 1955 book, “is 4333 lb (1.84 tons) [1965 kg] by the 25-stone [158.7-kg] French-Canadian Louis Cyr (1863-1912)...
In the fall of 1914, America had 48 states, Austin had 32,000 residents, and the University of Texas had 2,254 registered students. Theo Bellmont had joined the Athletic Department in 1913 as Director, bringing with him a small bulldog pup later to become known as Pig Bellmont—our unofficial mascot. There were virtually no cars on...
On December 10th, the Stark Center hosted a party for approximately 125 fans of Austin golf, most of whom were members of the Austin History Center Association and, as such, were also students of the history of this part of Central Texas. The party featured an open bar, a catered buffet, and an informal, extended interview with Tom Kite and Ben Crenshaw, two of golf’s most successful touring professionals [...]
Early this morning Jan and I received a call from the family of Joe Weider that he had just died of natural causes in a local hospital near his home. To say that Joe was a giant in the world of physical culture would be an understatement, and a case could be made that his...
Until a week ago, here at the Stark Center things had been humming at a higher rate than ever during the spring semester, at least as far as the “doing” of History is concerned. I say that in part because David Webster, Scotland’s venerable chronicler of the strength sports, had been here with us since...
In 2008, Joe and Betty Weider donated a second million dollars to the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports at the University of Texas, and as a way to thank the Weiders for their many contributions to the fields of exercise and health as well as for their financial support to the...
The reception to celebrate the official opening of the Joe and Betty Weider Museum of Physical Culture was private, and only invited guests were allowed to take photographs or to videotape the occasion. Almost 200 professional photographs—taken by several leading photographers including John Balik, the publisher and editor of Iron Man magazine and Robert Gardner,...
