Herb Glossbrenner Weightlifting Hall of Fame Biography

Herbert Glossbrenner

By Joe Avigliano of the Los Angeles Lifting Club

Herb Glossbrenner will be inducted into the York Barbell Hall of Fame, November 2007. He was born on August 20, 1942, to Fred and Irene Glossbrenner in Indianapolis, Indiana. Herb got the iron bug earlier than most. When he was 9 years old, he read an article in Readers Digest about a weight lifter named John Davis who had cleaned and jerked 402 lbs. in 1951. Impressed by his readings he asked his father to make him a barbell. In the garage, his father built Herb a barbell from a broomstick and two paint cans filled with cement, which weighed 20 lbs. Looking at his father’s new barbell creation he asked, “ How do you think this 20 lb barbell would feel to John Davis?” His father replied,” Like a toothpick son, like a toothpick.” Herb was hooked on lifting weights ever since. This fascination continued. In 1955, at age 13 he went to a movie 3 times just to see the newsreel showing Paul Anderson clean and jerking 436.5 lbs.. Herb had found his idol in Paul Anderson.

Herb started lifting weights seriously in 1964 at the National Health Studios in New Castle, Indiana. That’s where he met lifter, Ron Hale, the man who got him started in Olympic Weight Lifting. They became training partners who would travel 30 miles each way, 3 times a week, to the Titan Barbell Club in Rushville, Indiana. Later that year Herb entered his first meet, the Indiana State Championship. Herb placed 4^th and his lifting career was launched. He continued to compete throughout the 60’s in Olympic Weightlifting in the 123lbs. and 132lbs. weight classes. In 1968 he and Ron Hale formed the Central Indiana Weightlifting Club where they had a mix of Olympic Lifters, Power Lifters and Body Builders. After a short time the club grew to one of the strongest clubs in the country. Lifters such as Larry Pacifico, Jerry Jones, Terry Moneymaker and Ron Sappenfield to name a few were part of this formidable team. This team went on to win the Senior National Team Powerlifting Championship two years in a row. As the 1970’s began Herb found himself shifting towards Powerlifting, which was call ODD lifts back then. These lifts included (in this order), Bench Press, Strict Curl, Squat and Deadlift. Throughout the 70’s Herb continued to compete in both strength disciplines.

In 1975, a young lifter names Jim McCarty wrote to Bob Hoffmann’s Strength & Health Magazine looking for a coach in the Indiana area. Herb was recommended. Herb drove 140 miles to Terre Haute, Indiana to meet Jim, a very enthusiastic 102lb 15 year old, who could clean and jerk 150lbs at the time. Under Herb’s coaching, Jim McCarty went on to become arguably one of the greatest combo Olympic/Power Lifters, pound for pound, ever. They are still in touch to this day.

In 1982, Herb moved to Los Angeles to take a job writing for Olympic Magazine. He covered the sport of Olympic Lifting for 5 years before going to work as a writer and statistician for Powerlifting USA, where he worked until 2006.

In 1984 the Summer Olympic Games came to Los Angeles. Herb was assigned to cover all weight classes. His writing style was used by other countries to cover Olympic Weightlifting for their magazines and newspapers.

As a writer for PLUSA, Herb traveled around the country and around the world to cover the sport. He became only statistician and historian for the sport.

The Los Angeles Lifting Club opened in 1998 and Mike Lambert sent Herb to write about the Powerlifting Gym. Living nearby, Herb decided to get back into lifting competitively. He became a valuable member of our team. His resurrected lifting career took off slowly and built momentum. Herb set Master World Records and won Master Nationals and World Championships.

Throughout the years I was fortunate to travel the country and the world competing with Herb as a teammate and watching him as a writer. He loves the sport so much, he would bleed Powerlifting. I have always found it amazing how he knew most lifters best lifts even if it was 20 years since they did them. If you were a lifter, he cared about you no matter how heavy or light your lift was. In an article in PLUSA, Herb was considered one of the 5 most influential men in Powerlifting history. As far as I’m concerned, nothing could be truer. His contributions are many and his dedication second to none. As a teammate he was always there for everyone on the team, no matter how long or late the workout went. You could always count on Herb. He was a huge part of The Los Angeles Lifting Club.

In October 2005 Herb suffered a stroke and lost his ability to do what he loved most in life, to cover the sport of Powerlifting. For over 30 years he gave endlessly to Olympic Lifting and Powerlifting. November 2007 the two sports will give back to Herb with his induction into the York Barbell Hall of Fame. His love and dedication will be rewarded. A young 9 year old boy who a long time ago had a dream will now be among the best ever and of course along side his idol, Paul Anderson.

123 lbs	132 lbs	148 lbs
Squat - 250 LBS	Squat - 305 LBS	Squat - 455 LBS
Bench Press - 180 LBS	Bench Press - 200 LBS	Bench Press - 295 LBS
Deadlift - 345 LBS	Deadlift - 430 LBS	Deadlift - 508.5 LBS

123 lbs	132 lbs	148 lbs
Snatch - 150 LBS	Snatch - 180 LBS	Snatch - 215 LBS
Clean & Jerk - 180 LBS	Clean & Jerk - 230 LBS	Clean & Jerk - 275 LBS
Olympic Press - 150 LBS	Olympic Press - 170 LBS	Olympic Press - 215 LBS

Other Lifts of Note

Strict Curl - 150 LBS @ body weight of 148 lbs

Snatch - 225 LBS @ body weight of 165 lbs

Olympic Weightlifters	Powerlifting
Jim McCarty	Women	Men
Mike Karchut	Nance Avigliano	Louie Simmons
Joe Duge	Amy Weisberger	Ernie Frantz
Bob Bednarshi	Mary Jerumbo	Larry Pacifico
Tommy Kono	Diane Frantz	Ed Coan
Ken Patera	Beca Swanson	Mike McDonald
Bruce Wilhelm	Kara Bohigian	Ryan Kennelly
		Onn Basson

Herb would like to thank everyone who has been supportive during his stroke. There were many and he is grateful to all of you. He loves the sport of Powerlifting and says he has been lucky to have formed friendships with so many lifters in the US and abroad. I have been lucky to be able to witness a lot the greatness all of you have contributed to this sport. Thank you, Herb Glossbrenner.