Vintage Muscle Men

Thursday, April 3, 2025

Physique Week, Day 5 - Fifteen who got away

Fifteen who got away - Cover men who kept their pants on . . . at least as far as I know

Strength and Health magazine was the preeminent bodybuilding publication of the 20th Century, having a run from 1931 to 1986. More than a few of the men who appeared in it posed for nude photos at one time or another, and you've seen them here. Today I'm presenting fifteen cover men from S & H who to my knowledge never posed nude. This is one of those times I'd love to be proven wrong, so please chime in if you have nudes of any of these exceptional men. These guys are so far off the radar that only one of them has ever appeared on this blog, and yes, he had a singlet on. We start the set with Billy Parker the S & H cover man for April 1966. Mr. Parker was known for refusing to use steroids late in his career, a time when others were doing so widely.

Mike Ferraro

Mr. USA of 1964, Mike Ferraro, appears here six years earlier on the June 1958 cover of Strength and Health. He placed in competitions from 1957 to 1965 and made three additional covers.

Al Berger

May 1941 saw Al Berger make the cover. Here is a blurb

I found about him on oldtimestrongman.com.

Nick Adams

What looks to me like a Samurai sword was used in this cover shot of Nick Adams

from July 1964. He is not to be confused with the actor of the same name

or a modern day bodybuilder who looks like a space alien.

Isaac Berger

The cover man for November 1961 is possibly the most successful 20th Century athlete you've never heard of. Isaac Berger won the weightlifting gold medal at the 1956 Olympics for the 60kg class. He went on to win silver in 1960 and 1964 along with three World and two Pan American championships. In a sport dominated by superheavies, he still managed to shine brightly.

Phil Courtois

World War II was raging when Phil Courtois made the November 1944 cover. If my research is correct, he had been discharged from the U.S. Army Air Force in 1943 due to a chronic sinus condition. That did not, however, keep him from placing in several bodybuilding competitions

and appearing on at least two additional magazine covers.

Tom Drescher

October of 1958 saw Tom Drescher on the cover.

Joe Mandallo and John Davis

In a rare two man cover, Joe Mandallo (left) and John Davis appear together on the January 1941

cover. In another rarity, we get a full derriere view of Mr. Davis, who appeared earlier

on this blog winning the gold medal at the 1948 Olympics. I'm repeating

it below so you can enjoy a G-rated front view.

Bob Hoffman

Bob Hoffman was the founder of the York Barbell Company and a co-founder of Strength and Health magazine in 1931. Assuming that this photo was made near the time of publication,

Mr. Hoffman would have been 41 years of age and still in top form.

Anthony Petroline

Someone had figured out that tobacco was bad for the health when Anthony Petroline appeared

on the cover in August 1936. The name Petroline is based on the Latin word for rock,

and it seems more than appropriate for this fine bodybuilder.

George Kiehl

The February 1938 edition featered George Kiehl on the cover and an article called Sex Relations

and Health. I'd love to read that one. If they only knew what was coming 45 years later, sigh.

Ben Oakley

This is Ben Oakley from January of 1952.

Dick Bachtell

The January 1936 edition was graced with the very well built Dich Bachtell on its cover.

Sam Loprinzi

It was March of 1945 when Sam Loprinzi made the cover.

Vern Weaver

Our final Strength and Health cover man who got away is Vern Weaver from December of 1963.

Wednesday, April 2, 2025

Physique Week, Day 4 - One-off Models

For day four of Physique Week, I'm posting a dozen models for whom I've only been able to find one photo. I really hope I'm wrong about that, and I would be happy to have more images of all of them. So please chime in if you have more or know of a different name that might have been used.

We start with the very impressive Rock Albany by Jean Ferrero.

Tony Farrell

Most of Dave Martin's seaside photos show men standing on rocks or beaches, but this one of Tony Farrell is a very nice take on the reclining nude. I'd really like to see more of this guy.

Bernard Crayo

Here we have a photo of Bernard Crayo by Arax of Paris. I was hoping to find out something about Mr. Crayo on the Mid-20th Century bodybuilding websites, but nothing came up. Most of Gregor Arax's models were athletes and competitive bodybuilders.

Gil McDonald

Pat Milo took this photo of a gloomy looking Gil McDonald.

Dick Scott

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Jack Pestell

Jack Pestell (1927-2007) was a World War II U.S. Navy veteran who apparently did a one-off with Bob Mizer of AMG. Might he have done more work under another name? Although I find the drapery distracting and obtrusive, it still can't take away from that magnificent physique. Mr. Pestell used his navy experience to build a successful career operating and owning marinas and boat servicing companies. His service photo is below. Thank you, Jack, and Rest in Peace.

Jack Legurson

No photographer is known for this photo, the model

for which is shown on several websites as Jack Legurson.

Doug Troy

This one might be a one-off for both the model, Doug Troy, and the studio, Hombre.

I was unable to find any additional work by either, at least under those names.

Earl Kirk

There's a better than even chance that at one time there were more photos of Earl Kirk by Doug Juleff, aka Douglas of Detroit. Many of Mr. Juleff's prints and negatives were destroyed by the Detroit police, so a large portion of his work was lost. The lighting here is amazing.

John Meeker

Russ Warner took this photo of John Meeker with a bamboo staff.

Ronnie Applegate

I can't imagine Bruce Bellas taking just one picture of a model as good looking

and well built as Ronnie Applegate, but that's all I could find.

Van Cleemput

This summary is not available. Please click here to view the post.

Tuesday, April 1, 2025

Physique Week, Day 3 - Hairy Models

In the early days of physique photography, hairy models were very rare because the great majority of thos who posed were competitive bodybuilders who removed their body hair to better accentuate muscles. Today's hairy men are mostly from the 1960s and mostly not bodybuilders. I have, however, tried to pick some well built men. This AMG picture of Alan Arnold is the first of four you will see in today's set by Bob Mizer. Apparently he did not shy away from photographing hairy models. But then again, he took such a sheer volume of pictures (over a million at last count), that it would be hard not to include more than just a few.