Roark Posted November 23, 2001 Share Posted November 23, 2001 Lionel Strongfort was born Nov 23, 1878 in Berlin, Germany, and David Webster says he lived past 90. Strongfort's real name was Max Unger, and many of his strongman feats were more feats than strongman in tone. From the magazine 'The Strongman' May 1924 comes the following info: Apparently Strongfort had a dumbell which he asserted weighed 312 pounds and had a 4" diameter handle! He would put this overhead at performances after smearing the handle with vasoline. Albert Attilla revealed that the bell was probably about 190 pounds, that is 122 pounds less than claimed. Obviously, with a 4" handle Strongfort stood the bell on end, rather than cleaned it, since his wrist was 7.5" and his forearm 13.4 or 13.5. So it must have been a 'long' dumbell. Also, Willoughby says that when Strongfort tore FIVE decks of cards together, it was because the cards had been previously baked in an oven. But in fairness to Max, Warren Lincoln Travis said that he witnessed him bent press '...179 pounds, four times in succession from the shoulder', which was about Max's bodyweight. I think Max retired to Bavaria after a successful mail order business. I have one of his dumbells circa 1920, which when filled with shot weighs six pounds. And, yes, I can lift it. If anyone has a death date for Strongfort, please share. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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