Truman Hugh Cassidy (born December 31, 1935), better known as Hugh Cassidy, is an American metal sculptor, jazz musician, and former

powerlifter Powerlifting is a strength sport that consists of three attempts at maximal weight on three lifts: squat, bench press, and deadlift. As in the sport of Olympic weightlifting, it involves the athlete attempting a maximal weight single-lift effor ...

who competed in powerlifting just prior to the formation of the

International Powerlifting Federation The International Powerlifting Federation is an international governing body for the sport of powerlifting as recognized by the General Association of International Sports Federations (GAISF). The IPF was founded in 1972, and comprises member f ...

(IPF). In 1971, he became U.S. National Powerlifting Champion as well as World Powerlifting Champion at the inaugural

Amateur Athletic Union The Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) is an amateur sports organization based in the United States. A multi-sport organization, the AAU is dedicated exclusively to the promotion and development of amateur sports and physical fitness programs. It h ...

(AAU) World Championships, defeating the young soon-to-be all-time greats Jim Williams and

John Kuc John Kuc is a former world champion powerlifter from the United States. During the 1970s and 80s, he set numerous powerlifting national and world records, won three International Powerlifting Federation (IPF) world championships a ...

in the super heavyweight division.

Early life

Cassidy was born in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17th ...

.California Birth Index, 1905-1995 He is of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

and Scottish descent.

Powerlifting career

Cassidy's lifting career was quite short, starting in 1965 and ending in 1971. Formerly, he wanted to become an

Olympic 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 ...

but had problems mastering the necessary technique. Being naturally lean and standing 5-foot-10-inches tall, he knew he had to put on a lot of weight to become a successful powerlifter, so he pushed his bodyweight quickly from 175 to approximately 290 pounds. At his maximum body weight, he became a world-class super-heavyweight lifter in the early 1970s and got his nickname "Huge" for his bodyweight and appearance. Cassidy achieved his best performance at the inaugural AAU World Championships with his personal record total of 2160 lbs (800 lbs squat, 570 lbs bench press, 790 lbs deadlift). Within 6 months after his World Championship win, he suffered a knee injury which ended his lifting career.

Powerlifting meet results

*''3rd place in the AAU US National Powerlifting Championships 1970'', +110 kg (+242 lb) Class (

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

) :Squat: 729.95lb, Bench: 539.91lb, Deadlift: 740.09lb — Total: 2009.95lb *''1st place in the AAU US National Powerlifting Championships 1971'' 110 kg (242 lb) Class (

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...

) :Squat: 760lb, Bench: 520lb, Deadlift: 780lb — Total: 2060lb *''1st place in the AAU World Powerlifting Championships 1971'' +110 kg (+242 lb) Class (

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

) :Squat: 800lb, Bench: 570lb, Deadlift: 790lb — Total: 2160lb

Personal powerlifting records

''done in official competition'' * Squat: 800 lbs (363 kg) ''raw with ace-bandage knee wraps without a belt'' * Bench Press: 570 lbs (258.6 kg) ''raw (with a 2 second pause)'' *

Deadlift The deadlift is a weight training exercise in which a loaded barbell or bar is lifted off the ground to the level of the hips, torso perpendicular to the floor, before being placed back on the ground. It is one of the three powerlifting exercises ...

: 800 lbs (363 kg) ''raw'' * Powerlifting Total: 2160 lbs (800-570-790) / 979.8 kg (363-258.6-358.2) ''raw with ace-bandage wraps''

Personal life

Besides being a world class powerlifter, Cassidy was a teacher and a jazz musician as well as a nationally known metal sculptor. In the military he was an army medic. He is married to Barbara Kratzer Cassidy, a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

horticulturist Horticulture is the branch of agriculture that deals with the art, science, technology, and business of plant cultivation. It includes the cultivation of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, herbs, sprouts, mushrooms, algae, flowers, seaweeds and no ...

. They have four children, including the well-known singer

Eva Cassidy Eva Marie Cassidy (February 2, 1963 – November 2, 1996) was an American singer and guitarist known for her interpretations of jazz, folk, and blues music, sung with a powerful, emotive soprano voice. In 1992, she released her first album ...

, who died at age 33.

References