Clyde Emrich (April 6, 1931 – November 10, 2021Clyde Emrich, pioneering NFL strength coach, dies at 90
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Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

weightlifter Olympic weightlifting, or Olympic-style weightlifting (officially named Weightlifting), is a sport in which athletes compete in lifting a barbell loaded with weight plates from the ground to overhead, with each athlete trying to successfully lift ...

. He was also a long-time strength coach for the

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, who in 2008 named their weight room after him. He is a member of the

Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame The Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame, located in the Hawthorne Race Course, in Stickney/Cicero, near Chicago, honors sports greats associated with the Chicago metropolitan area. It was founded in 1979 as a trailer owned by the Olympia Brewing Compan ...

Early life and family

Emrich was born in

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. When he was a child, he enjoyed playing football and baseball. He began lifting weights at age 15 where he only weighed 110 pounds standing at 5 foot 6 inches tall. He had no coaching or training so he would turn to Strength and Health magazines for help on strength programs and how to lift. His early start to lifting weights paid off, leading him to win his high school wrestling championship and finishing the

100-yard dash 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

in 10.2 seconds. He had five sisters and one brother. His father worked for the Pittsburgh Glass Company as a salesman.

Career

Emrich was self-coached throughout his career in weightlifting. He placed eighth in the 181-pound (82.5 kg) weight class on the U.S. Olympic weightlifting team in the

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

Helsinki Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...

, Finland. In 1954, he took 3rd place in the Senior World Championships held in

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, Austria. He later won the silver medal in

Munich Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...

, Germany and was invited to be a part of the American team on its goodwill tour of the Far East. Emrich set his first world record on March 30, 1957. He was the first middle heavyweight at 198 pounds to clean and jerk 400 pounds. Two weeks later, he set the record to 409 pounds on the clean and jerk. Emrich was also in the United States military. While in the military, he was stationed in Germany. He continued to strength train and competed internationally. In 1957, Emrich severely hurt his shoulder which required 18 months of treatment. In 1959, however, he competed in the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

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where he took home a gold medal. During his career, he won four Senior National titles as well as several state and regional championships.

Organizations

*USA Weightlifting Hall of Fame *Illinois State Weightlifting Hall of Fame *USA Strength and Conditioning Coaches Hall of Fame *Chicagoland Sports Hall of Fame

References

External links

Clyde Emrich - Hall of Fame at Weightlifting Exchange

Bears name weight room after pioneering strength coach
{{DEFAULTSORT:Emrich, Clyde 1931 births 2021 deaths American male weightlifters Olympic weightlifters for the United States Weightlifters at the 1952 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in weightlifting Pan American Games gold medalists for the United States Weightlifters at the 1959 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1959 Pan American Games Sportspeople from Chicago Military personnel from Illinois Chicago Bears coaches 20th-century American people 21st-century American people