I Accept The Challenge!

by Bob Hoffman

SOME of you have read in one of Weider's scandal sheets of the attack against me and John Farbotnik, the current "Mr. America". People of any intelligence can see that Weider is not working for the good of the body building and weight lifting interests. he is not sincerely endeavoring to help build a stronger and healthier America. Instead he employs distortions and lies to mislead and misinform the strength and health seeking public, particularly the younger fellows who in some cases do not know the true facts. The chief purpose of his malicious tactics is to make more money for Weider.

It is too bad that we have such a man connected with this sport and movement for he does it a lot of harm. There has been no stopping to Weider in his vicious mad dog tactics. If the communists go on constantly telling malicious lies about America and we do not answer their false charges through our Voice of America, the people only hear one side of the controversy. Many will be inclined to believe that side when the attacks go unanswered. If Weider's lies are not opposed some people, especially the newcomers, are likely to be hoodwinked into believing them.

Weider challenges me to a contest involving weight lifting and physical excellence. Unquestionably he has been training hard for some time with this motive in mind. I have just been employing a moderate weight training program for maintaining a superior degree of fitness. As a patriotic citizen, I have assumed more and greater responsibilities connected with our national defense efforts. Perhaps Weider is not particularly concerned over this critical situation for he remained free of any service in the Armed Forces of Canada during the last World War. My days are filled to the brim tending to our various projects. In addition to our long established manufacturing facilities, large foundry and machine shop, we have two new shops, one a precision machine plant and the other a factory with Swiss automatic screw machines. Besides these activities, there is the regular work connected with Strength & Health, the York Barbell Company, coaching of lifters, meetings and trips involving the promotion of this movement. Much time is consumed in conferences involving these various projects. A great deal of time is devoted to trips in my dual capacity as coach and sponsor of American weight lifting champions. Quite naturally I am usually so busy that there is not available time to devote to extensive special exercise programs.

Despite the fact that my time for training has been limited, I am not only willing to accept Weider's challenge, but anxious to compete against him. Now for the terms of the contest in accepting the challenge he has hurled at me. All through history the man who is challenged has had the privilege of choosing the weapons. I want this to be a complete contest, a good all round one. It must be a three way contest. There will be a lifting contests confined to standard lifts. Then there will be a physique contest. These two events will be governed by qualified A.A.U. officials. They will give the public the chance to see if Weider can perform the lifts he claims and has the muscularity depicted in studio photos. The third part of the competition will give him the chance to show what he can do with his muscles, and also what sort of a man he is.

Muscles are made to use. An athlete can do things with his muscles. In "How To Be Strong, Healthy and Happy" I wrote, "A thorough physical training course must include the following. Exercises for building muscles and strength. Exercises to build vital force, to strengthen the organs, improve circulation and develop the wind. Exercises to increase speed, prevent slowness, stiffness or sluggishness, that might be the results of only hard slow exercises in the training program. Stretching exercises to make the body more supple, flexible and constantly youthful. Exercises to develop timing or coordination. Physical training should build courage, often called 'guts' or intestinal fortitude. It should provide the ability to save one's life, if need be, and to protect one's family or one's honor."

I have been insulted and my reputation has been unfairly and maliciously blackened by Weider. I want and demand satisfaction. Therefore, I insist that the third part of this tree way contest be a boxing bout. This requires the physical abilities cited in the previous paragraph, the physical qualities the York courses have been designed to produce: speed, strength, stamina and durability.

This boxing bout should not be less than 6 three minute rounds, preferably to a finish. Heavy regulation boxing gloves are a handicap so I propose the use of skin tight leather gloves. This bout and the other two events should be staged in public before a paid audience. The money derived from this special contest should be used to defray the expenses of the American weight lifting team to the World's Championships this year. I also propose that this contest be staged at Philadelphia, the nation's third largest city. This is about an equal distance from Jersey City and York. Arrangements can be made to stage this contest at a large auditorium.

This three way contest should make for a good test of physical qualities. In connection with it, I wish to point out that I will insist on just one provision in the arrangements. This demand is that the boxing bout be the first event on the program while we are both fresh and ready for action. The strength contest and physique event will follow. Weider should not look so pretty at the time of the physique contest so this will compensate for my shortage of hair.

If Weider is willing to accept this proposed three way contest, resulting from his challenge, he should take immediate action to make definite arrangements for it. It is my desire to have it staged so that it will serve a worthy purpose in providing funds to defray the expenses of sending our American weight lifting champion to Italy this October to compete in the 1951 World Championships.

Since the matter of magazine statistics is also involved in Weider's most recent attack, it will not be ignored. We are willing to debunk Weider's distorted statements about this matter. This can be readily tended to by requiring the accurate circulation and sales figures be made public. Since we both employ the American News Company for circulating our magazines on the news stands, they alone can furnish the true figures. We accept Weider's challenge here by requesting him to publish the true figures of his actual sales and circulation for this year. These figures of course must be provided officially by the American News Company with a copy of the statistics sent to us by this distributor. Of course we in turn would have the American News Company provide Weider with the same evidence for public release. We indeed hope that Weider will not back down on this part of his challenge. Acceptance would provide the chance to give conclusive proof of how false his slanderous charges are. It so happens that we know from a reliable source that our sales percentage has been higher than his. We also know that more copies of Strength & Health are circulated than either of his two magazines. Official statistics from the American News Company will provide proof of the fact that our current sales and circulation have both increased. We challenge Weider to disprove this.