Al Treloar (May 11, 1873 â€" February 28, 1960) was an American
bodybuilder, athletic trainer, author and artist's model. He won the
first international bodybuilding contest in 1904, appeared in early
silent films, and toured the United States as a vaudeville performer.
He was physical director at the Los Angeles Athletic Club from 1907 to
1949.Treloar was born Alfred Toof Jennings, the only child of Albert
and Frances Toof Jennings of Allegan, Michigan. His father was a
lawyer and educator, and served as superintendent of schools for
Allegan until 1874. Treloar attended high school in Manistee,
Michigan, where his father was superintendent of schools until
1897.Chicago hosted the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, a six-month
world's fair that attracted tens of millions of visitors. Showman
Florenz Ziegfeld created an evening vaudeville production at the
city's Trocadero nightclub, centered around German bodybuilder Eugen
Sandow. Twenty-year-old bodybuilder Treloar was hired to be one of
Sandow's onstage assistants. The production opened on August 1, 1893,
and consisted of a series of athletic actsâ€"acrobats, cyclists,
trapeze artistsâ€"interspersed with musical interludes (during which
food and drink were served). Sandow appeared in the third hour,
flexing and striking the poses of famous statues. After various
demonstrations of feats of strength, the show's climax was Sandow
lifting a barbell with a large wicker basket attached to each end.
While held in the air by Sandow, the baskets opened to reveal a man
inside each. At the end of the Fair, Treloar toured with the
production to the West Coast and elsewhere.Treloar enrolled in the
Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard College in 1894. He studied
independently under lecturer Dudley Allen Sargent, director of the
Hemenway Gymnasium, and perhaps the foremost American expert on
physical education. His first year, Treloar rowed on both the varsity
and freshmen crew teams. "His rowing was crude, but he was a man of
remarkable physique." He set University strength recordsâ€"lifting 520
kg (1,150 lb) with his legs, and 355 kg (783 lb) with his back.
bodybuilder, athletic trainer, author and artist's model. He won the
first international bodybuilding contest in 1904, appeared in early
silent films, and toured the United States as a vaudeville performer.
He was physical director at the Los Angeles Athletic Club from 1907 to
1949.Treloar was born Alfred Toof Jennings, the only child of Albert
and Frances Toof Jennings of Allegan, Michigan. His father was a
lawyer and educator, and served as superintendent of schools for
Allegan until 1874. Treloar attended high school in Manistee,
Michigan, where his father was superintendent of schools until
1897.Chicago hosted the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition, a six-month
world's fair that attracted tens of millions of visitors. Showman
Florenz Ziegfeld created an evening vaudeville production at the
city's Trocadero nightclub, centered around German bodybuilder Eugen
Sandow. Twenty-year-old bodybuilder Treloar was hired to be one of
Sandow's onstage assistants. The production opened on August 1, 1893,
and consisted of a series of athletic actsâ€"acrobats, cyclists,
trapeze artistsâ€"interspersed with musical interludes (during which
food and drink were served). Sandow appeared in the third hour,
flexing and striking the poses of famous statues. After various
demonstrations of feats of strength, the show's climax was Sandow
lifting a barbell with a large wicker basket attached to each end.
While held in the air by Sandow, the baskets opened to reveal a man
inside each. At the end of the Fair, Treloar toured with the
production to the West Coast and elsewhere.Treloar enrolled in the
Lawrence Scientific School of Harvard College in 1894. He studied
independently under lecturer Dudley Allen Sargent, director of the
Hemenway Gymnasium, and perhaps the foremost American expert on
physical education. His first year, Treloar rowed on both the varsity
and freshmen crew teams. "His rowing was crude, but he was a man of
remarkable physique." He set University strength recordsâ€"lifting 520
kg (1,150 lb) with his legs, and 355 kg (783 lb) with his back.
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