Louis Abele by Al Urban in 1940. (Thanks B.B.)
Louis was on the brink of making his mark in the sport of weight lifting in early 1940. At a preliminary contest for the upcoming Olympics -- scheduled to be held in Tokyo -- Louis took second place and made the U.S. Olympic team Unfortunately, soon after making the team, Japan invaded China and the Games were cancelled.
He would have been given a chance at the 1944 Olympics scheduled to be held in London, but fate stepped in again. By that time, the war in Europe was in full swing and those games were also cancelled. Many of Louis' fans thought he would have been a star in Olympic weightlifting, if the war hadn't taken that opportunity from him in his prime.
Heavy on the oil, but a great body and nice pose. What's with the hair?
ReplyDeletemen in those days had shorter cropped hair, than he is showing, and wore hats always (until car roofs dropped, and hats had to be removed to drive,)
Deletehis wavy hair is hat-shaped.
I have this photograph attributed to Al Urban. This photograph also was used on the cover of Strength and Health 1940 (poser was drawn in). Thanks for posting and for the bit of background.
ReplyDeleteThanks! I found a copy of that issue and that gives us a date. I figured it would be 1940.
DeleteThanks for his background info. The planets didn't line up for him in regard to the Olympics. Today and for a long time the Olympics have been so corrupt and corrupted, maybe it's a good thing that he is not tied to them and their notoriety. - Rj
ReplyDelete