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08-16-2013, 10:04 AM
EUGEN SANDOW: THE FIRST BODYBUILDERMaking his 36th Olympia Appearance
http://www.musculardevelopment.com/images/slider/13peter-sandow.jpgEach year the Mr. Olympia winner takes home not only a bucket full of cash, but also the prized Sandow statuette. Such is the prominence of the Sandow that it has become a pseudonym for the Olympia itself, as in, “Will Phil Heath win his third Sandow?” This artifact is a replica of Eugen Sandow, celebrated as the first real bodybuilder. So how come a man who died in 1925 will still demand center stage attention at the 2013 Mr. Olympia contest? Here’s a resume of Eugen Sandow and his remarkable life.
AGE OF THE STRONGMAN By the late 19th century strongman acts were a staple of music hall, vaudeville and circus promotions. This was in an age when official lifts as in Olympic lifts had not been codified and the strongmen would be seen to perform novelty type feats, such as supporting large amounts of weight or people overhead, chain snapping and steel bending deeds. The accent in all these acts was on performance and not on physique development, and most of the eras strongmen were to say the least, bulky. In this period such strength luminaries as Attila, Louis Cyr, Apollon, Arthur Saxon and George Hackenschmidt excelled, but there was one who in popularity and long-term significance overtook them all.
http://www.musculardevelopment.com/images/McGough_Report/13peter-sandow2.jpgThe individual referred to was Eugen Sandow. He was born on April 2, 1867 as Friedrich Wilhelm Muller in Konigsberg, East Prussia, which is now part of Russia. A promising acrobat he joined a circus in his teens and at age 20 found himself stranded in Brussels, Belgium when the circus went bust. Fortuitously he went to the local gymnasium owned by legendary strongman Louis Durlacher who went by the stage name of Attila. The latter spotted Muller’s strength potential and very quickly worked him into his act and his protégé’s name was changed to Eugen Sandow.
What separated Sandow from other strongmen of the time was his honed muscularity: He was not just a bulky figure wrestling with a heavy weight, he was a lean powerfully built athlete who had rounded and hard musculature and clearly defined abdominals. His star appeal was as much for his physique as his strength. He in essence became the first bodybuilder (before the term had been coined) as besides his strength act he performed a series of poses, which he dubbed “muscle display performances”. In 1894 the uniqueness of his level of muscularity was verified by Thomas Edison capturing Sandow’s posing performance on his Kinetscope (film) machine.
SPREADING THE WORD As the 19th century grew to a close his fame escalated and he was a star attraction in America (doing two tours for the legendary theater impresario Florenz Ziegfeld) and throughout Europe. Based in London, in 1894, he published his first book Sandow's System of Physical Training -- it was the first of many. In 1897 he opened his first Institute of Physical Culture and eventually added 19 other Institutes in Britain. In 1898 he launched his own magazine entitled Sandow’s Magazine and started a mail order business. In 1904 he published Body Building, and so christened the sport we know today.
http://www.musculardevelopment.com/images/McGough_Report/13peter-sandow1.jpgThrough his magazine Sandow launched The Great Competition – a contest to determine the best physique of the time. Hundreds entered and the 70 or so finalists flexed their credentials at London’s famed Albert Hall on Saturday September 14th 1901. 15,000 spectators attended the event and thousands were turned away as the judges (one of whom was Sir Arthur Conan Doyle of Sherlock Holmes fame) awarded first place to William Murray of Nottingham (which incidentally is my hometown). For his victory Murray was awarded a gold statue in the likeness of Sandow.
In his multi-faceted roles of performer, publisher, promoter, trainer, and the man who gave the sport its name, Eugen Sandow was truly “The First Bodybuilder” and his legacy lives on today as each year since 1977 the Mr. Olympia winner receives a gold Sandow statuette. It is the 21st century’s connection and fitting acknowledgement to the man who did so much to cement the sport’s foundation over 100 years ago. (The only year since 1977 that the Sandow was not presented was at the 1982 event staged in London, when the promoters decided to present winner Chris Dickerson with a glitzy trophy of their own. Years later Chris was given a Sandow to make up for that omission.)
Postscript: Eugen Sandow died in London at the age of 58 on October 14, 1925. Some reports suggest that shortly before his death his car had run into the ditch and he single-handedly hauled it back onto the road. Supposedly so strenuous was this task that he eventually burst a blood vessel and died. Alternatively, there are other authorities who dispute that account and say he had been in poor health before his demise. In any case his death certificate lists “aortic aneurysm” as cause of death. He was buried in an unmarked grave in Putney Vale Cemetery, London, at the request of his wife, Blanche. In 2002, a gravestone and black marble plaque was added by Sandow admirer and author Thomas Manly. The inscription (in gold letters) read "Eugen Sandow, 1867-1925 the Father of Bodybuilding."

Presser
08-16-2013, 10:07 AM
Nice post, I don't know if I'd call it a bucket full of cash lol mayb a bowl full or a cup full lol

charliebigspuds
08-16-2013, 12:36 PM
MMMM putney vale should i make a pilgrimage..
its only 1 hour away..if u leave at 3am..lol..bloody london traffic..