Bob Hoffman (sports promoter)
| Bob Hoffman | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Robert Collins Hoffman November 9, 1898 Tifton, Georgia, United States |
| Died |
July 18, 1985 (aged 86) York, Pennsylvania, United States |
Robert Collins "Bob" Hoffman was an American entrepreneur who rose to prominence as the owner of the York Barbell,[1] founder of magazines such as Muscular Development and Strength and Health,[1] and the manufacturer of a line of bodybuilding supplements.[1] Hoffman was the promoter of bodybuilders like John Grimek and Sigmund Klein, as well as a coach for the American Olympic Weightlifting Team between 1936 and 1968[1] and founding member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports.[1]
"During his athletic career, first as an oarsman and then as a weightlifter, he received over six hundred trophies, certificates, and awards."[1]
Hoffman moved to York, Pennsylvania in 1919 where he co-founded his business, initially named the York Oil Burner Corporation;[2] he bought the bankrupted Milo Barbell Company in 1935. His supplement business was involved in several brushes with the law. During several occasions (1960, 1961, 1968, 1972 and 1974), his company's products were seized by the Food and Drug Administration,[1] and in a 1968 consent decree he and his company agreed to stop a long list of questionable health claims for their products.[1] The fact that he sold supplements through his company, was a weightlifting coach and a founding member of the afformentioned Council, as well as his athletic career, helped make him "a major factor in the growth of nutritional fads for athletes", according to alternative medicine critic Stephen Barrett.[1]
Until the definite ascent of the IFBB by the 1970s, Hoffman remained the single influential figure on the North American weightlifting, weight training, bodybuilding, and overall physical culture scene.
Hoffman was a leader of the National Health Federation, a pro-alternative medicine lobbying organization.[1]
Additionally, Hoffman was a decorated World War I veteran and an author of a number of books, including "How to be Strong, Healthy, and Happy" and "I Remember the Last War".
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Barrett, Stephen (July 18, 2003). "Be Wary of the National Health Federation (1993)". Quackwatch. Stephen Barrett. Retrieved December 23, 2016.
NHF's Leaders
Not surprisingly, most of NHF's leaders have been economically involved with the issues it has promoted-and at least twenty have been in legal difficulty for such activities. NHF's officers and board members have included the following people.
[...]
Bob Hoffman, who died in 1985, published bodybuilding magazines and sold bodybuilding equipment and food supplement products through his company, York Barbell Co., of York, Pennsylvania. In 1960, the company was charged with misbranding its Energol Germ Oil Concentrate because literature accompanying the oil claimed falsely that it could prevent or treat more than 120 diseases and conditions, including epilepsy, gallstones, and arthritis. The material was destroyed by consent decree. In 1961, fifteen other York Barbell products were seized as misbranded. In 1968, a larger number of products came under attack by the government for similar reasons. In the consent decree that settled the 1968 case, Hoffman and York Barbell agreed to stop a long list of questionable health claims for their products. In 1972, the FDA seized three types of York Barbell protein supplements, charging that they were misbranded with false and misleading bodybuilding claims. A few months later, the seized products were destroyed under a default decree. In 1974, the company was again charged with misbranding Energol Germ Oil Concentrate and protein supplements. The wheat germ oil had been claimed to be of special dietary value as a source of vigor and energy. A variety of false bodybuilding claims had been made for the protein supplements. The seized products were destroyed under a consent decree.
Despite his many brushes with the law, Hoffman achieved considerable professional prominence. During his athletic career, first as an oarsman and then as a weightlifter, he received over six hundred trophies, certificates, and awards. He was the Olympic weightlifting coach from 1936 to 1968 and was a founding member of the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. These activities helped make Hoffman a major factor in the growth of nutritional fads for athletes. - ↑ "Bob Hoffman Historical Marker". explorepahistory.com. WITF, Inc. Retrieved January 1, 2017.