John Carroll Grimek (June 17, 1910 – November 20, 1998) was an American bodybuilder and weightlifter active in the 1930s and 1940s. He was Mr. America in 1940 and 1941, and Mr. Universe in 1948. Throughout his career he carried the nicknames "The Monarch of Muscledom" and "The Glow."

Life

Grimek was born in

Perth Amboy, New Jersey Perth Amboy is a city (New Jersey), city in Middlesex County, New Jersey, Middlesex County, New Jersey. Perth Amboy is part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. census, the city's population was 55,4 ...

, the son of Slovak immigrants George and Maria Grimek, peasants from the village Ústie nad Oravou in northern Slovakia. Grimek moved to

York, Pennsylvania York ( Pennsylvania Dutch: ''Yarrick''), known as the White Rose City (after the symbol of the House of York), is the county seat of York County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is located in the south-central region of the state. The populati ...

in 1935 to join Bob Hoffman, the founder of

York Barbell York Barbell is an American-based international manufacturer of fitness products. Bob Hoffman, named "Father of World Weightlifting" by the International Weightlifting Federation, bought the Milo Barbell Company and founded York Barbell in 1932 ...

. Besides his

bodybuilding Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuses ...

exploits, Grimek also represented the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

weightlifting Weightlifting generally refers to activities in which people lift Weight training#Equipment, weights, often in the form of dumbbells or barbells. People lift various kinds of weights for a variety of different reasons. These may include various t ...

at the 1936 Olympic Games in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

, where he took 9th place in the men's heavyweight category. Grimek was Mr. America in 1940 and 1941, and Mr. Universe in 1948. In 1949, he won his last contest, the AAU Mr. USA, against a field that included

Steve Reeves Stephen Lester "Steve" Reeves (January 21, 1926 – May 1, 2000) was an American professional bodybuilder, actor, and philanthropist. He was famous in the mid-1950s as a movie star in Italian-made sword-and-sandal films, playing the protagon ...

, Clarence Ross, George Eiferman, and Armand Tanny. Grimek retired from bodybuilding undefeated. Grimek featured in many bodybuilding articles and magazines. He was also the editor of ''

Muscular Development ''Muscular Development'' is an American fitness and bodybuilding magazine first published in 1964. It was founded by Bob Hoffman. History John Grimek was the editor from 1964 until its sale in 1986 to Twinlab.

''. Despite his retirement, he continued serious training for many years, and was still able to perform

squats Squat, squatter or squatting may refer to: Body position * Squatting position, a sitting position where one's knees are folded with heels touching one's buttocks or back of the thighs * Squat (exercise), a lower-body exercise in strength and co ...

with over 400 pounds for repetitions in his late 60s. Grimek died on November 20, 1998, in

, at the age of 88.

Posthumous tributes

Grimek was inducted into the

IFBB Hall of Fame The IFBB Hall of Fame was established in 1999 to honor outstanding athletes and officials in the sport of bodybuilding. There have been no inductees since 2011. Induction years 1999 *Carla Dunlap *Cory Everson *John Grimek *Lee Haney *Rachel McLi ...

in 1999. He is depicted as part of a

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

located at 37 West Philadelphia Street in York, Pennsylvania, which was finished in 2000.McClure, James, ed. (2002). "Murals of York". York Daily Record. York, Pennsylvania.

References

External links

IFBB Hall of Fame profileClarence Bass on GrimekJohn Grimek – Hall of Fame at Weightlifting ExchangeJohn Grimek: "The Monarch Of Muscledom"Index of archived ''Iron Game History'' articles
many about Grimek, mainly those in the April 1999 issue
MuscleMemory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grimek, John 1910 births 1998 deaths American bodybuilders American male weightlifters American people of Slovak descent Olympic weightlifters of the United States People associated with physical culture Professional bodybuilders Sportspeople from Perth Amboy, New Jersey Weightlifters at the 1936 Summer Olympics 20th-century American people