Roark Posted April 13, 2002 Share Posted April 13, 2002 Goerner was born on this day in 1891, and not very many folks born before or after him have impacted grip strength to the degree he has. Frankly, some of his feats make a body wonder: Van Diggelen, his unabashed promoter vs the testimony of one of the Saxon brothers who saw Goerner fail in trying to duplicate his claimed lifts at the time. More study is needed to draw a conclusion. Anyway, people in South Africa enjoyed Goerner's strength tours on five occasions: 1922-1924, 1924-1926, 1929-1931, 1935-1936, and 1937-1938. At least some of these tours were with Pagel's Circus. He spent time as a prisoner of war, and after that John Dawe measured Goerner's forearm in 1949 at 14-1/8 (age 59), and his wrist at 8.25" and that was after a couple years spent in war camps. For some reason I cannot explain, it strikes me that he and Norbert Schemansky would enjoy each other's company, chatting about strength. In some feats of grip strength he may have been supreme. It was on June 29, 1956 that he finally left us. At any rate, a tip of the hat today to one of the great strength athletes of the past who would fare well, if not win, certain grip events today. Any Grip Hall of Fame must include him. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul valpreda Posted April 13, 2002 Share Posted April 13, 2002 Thanks Joe for another great post. Goerner is a grip legend! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybersnott Posted April 14, 2002 Share Posted April 14, 2002 Isn't it amazing how many of the Grip Greats were born in the month of April? Goerner, Saxon, Sybersnott..... oops, did I include myself?? :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roark Posted April 14, 2002 Author Share Posted April 14, 2002 Yes, and you are the only knighted one, Sir Snott! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sybersnott Posted April 14, 2002 Share Posted April 14, 2002 Thank you, thank you.... it's not easy being as humble as I am! :p :p Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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