John Grimek
| John Grimek | |
|---|---|
| — Bodybuilder — | |
 John Grimek featured on the cover of Strength and Health magazine | |
| Personal info | |
| Nickname |
"The Monarch of Muscledom" "The Glow" |
| Born |
June 17, 1910 Perth Amboy, New Jersey |
| Died |
November 20, 1998 (aged 88)[1] York, Pennsylvania |
| Height | 5 ft 8.5 in (1.74 m) |
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg) |
| Professional career | |
| Pro-debut | Olympic Games, 1936, Berlin |
| Successor | Steve Reeves |
John Carroll Grimek (June 17, 1910[2] – November 20, 1998) was an American bodybuilder and weightlifter active in the 1930s and 1940s. Throughout his career he carried the nicknames "The Monarch of Muscledom"[3] and "The Glow."[4]
Grimek was born in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, the son of Slovak immigrants George and Maria Grimek, peasants from the village Ústie nad Oravou in western Slovakia.[5]
Besides his bodybuilding exploits, Grimek also represented the United States in weightlifting at the 1936 Olympic Games in Berlin.
In 1948, at 38 years of age, Grimek defeated Steve Reeves at the NABBA Mr. Universe contest in London.
The following year he won his last contest, the AAU Mr. USA, against a field that included Reeves, Clarence Ross, George Eiferman, and Armand Tanny. He retired from bodybuilding undefeated.[6]
John was featured in many bodybuilding articles and magazines, as well as being photographed in bodybuilding magazines. Despite his retirement, Grimek continued serious training for many years, and was still able to perform squats with over 400 pounds for repetitions in his late 60s.[7] Grimek died on November 20, 1998 in York, Pennsylvania at the age of 88. He was inducted into the IFBB Hall of Fame in 1999.[8]
Titles
- 1939 York Perfect Man
- 1940 Mr. America
- 1941 Mr. America
- 1946 Most Muscular Man In America
- 1948 Mr. Universe (Categories "Short" and "Overall")
- 1949 Mr. USA
Profile
The following measurements are from 1940/1941:
- Height: 5'8½"
- Weight: 195 lbs.
- Neck: 17 inches
- Arm: 17.5 inches
- Forearm: 14 inches
- Chest: 47 inches
- Waist: 31 inches
- Thigh: 25 inches
- Calf: 17 inches
- Wrist: 8 inches
- Ankle: 9.8 inches
External links
- IFBB Hall of Fame profile
- Classic Bodybuilder
- Clarence Bass on Grimek
- John Grimek – Hall of Fame at Weightlifting Exchange
- John Grimek: "The Monarch Of Muscledom"
References
- ↑ Weider, Joe (December 1998). "John Grimek: 1910–1998" (PDF). Iron Game History. 5 (3). Retrieved 21 February 2012.
- ↑ According to the Social Security Death Index, he was born on June 18, 1911.
- ↑ Whelan, Bob. "https://web.archive.org/web/20070808135545/http://www.naturalstrength.com/history/detail.asp?ArticleID=260". Natural Strength. Archived from the original on August 8, 2007. Retrieved 8 June 2015. External link in
|title=(help) - ↑ Rosa, Ken (April 1999). "Iron Game News". 5 (4): 33.
- ↑
- ↑ "John Grimek". Legendary Fitness. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- ↑ "John Grimek: The Monarch Of Muscledom". Gym Talk. Retrieved 5 June 2015.
- ↑ "IFBB Hall of Fame Inductees for 1999". IFBB. Interactive Federation of Bodybuilding & Fitness. Archived from the original on February 4, 2012. Retrieved 8 June 2015.