Peary Rader

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Peary Rader
Born(1909-10-17)October 17, 1909
Peru, Nebraska, U.S.
DiedNovember 24, 1991(1991-11-24) (aged 82)
Alliance, Nebraska, U.S.
OccupationBodybuilder, magazine publisher

Peary Rader (October 17, 1909 – November 24, 1991) was an American early bodybuilder, Olympic lifter, writer, and magazine publisher from Nebraska. He was the founding publisher of Iron Man from 1936 to 1986.

Early life[]

Rader was born on October 17, 1909 in Peru, Nebraska.[1] He grew up near Hemingford in Box Butte County, Nebraska.[1] He started lifting weights as a teenager and later shifted his emphasis to heavy, high repetition squats, building his bodyweight up to 210 pounds within about a year (he eventually reached 220 pounds).[citation needed]

Career[]

Rader was victorious in a number of local and regional weightlifting contests, and also became proficient at a number of other lifts (such as the one-hand clean) and feats of strength. Rader was the Midwestern Heavyweight Champion for seven years, with official lifts of 220 pounds in the one-hand clean and jerk, 280 pounds in the two-hand clean and jerk, and a squat of 450 pounds (without support gear).[citation needed]

Rader founded Iron Man, a bodybuilding magazine, in 1936. It was initially called Your Physique.[1][2] At its peak, the magazine had a circulation of 40,000.[1][2] Rader published Iron Man through the September 1986 issue, which included a number of letters from prominent people in the field to celebrate the magazine's fiftieth anniversary. In 1986, Rader sold the magazine to , who repositioned it as a hard-core bodybuilding magazine. Rader also published Lifting News for many years.[3] He authored approximately 1,300 magazine articles; most were in Iron Man, but some were also published in Strength Athlete.

Rader was the chairman of the National Body Building Association.[4] He was inducted into the Body Building Hall of Fame and the Power Lifting Hall of Fame.[4] In the 1950s, alongside Bob Hoffman and Joe Weider, Rader was a "pioneer" in the commercialization of protein as a bodybuilding supplement.[5]

Personal life and death[]

Rader married the former Mabel Kirchner in 1936; they had two sons, Jack and Gene.[6]

Rader died on November 24, 1991 in Alliance, Nebraska, at the age of 82.[1][2]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b c d e "Creator of 'Iron Man' magazine dies". The Lincoln Star. Lincoln, Nebraska. November 27, 1991. p. 12. Retrieved January 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Deaths: Peary Rader". The Orlando Sentinel. November 28, 1991. p. 20. Retrieved January 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. ^ Florio, Nails (June 17, 1964). "Nail 'Em Down". The News. Chicago, Illinois. p. 22. Retrieved January 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b "Deaths Elsewhere: Peary Rader". Detroit Free Press. November 28, 1991. p. 31. Retrieved January 2, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Hall, Daniel T.; Fair, John D. (2011). "The Pioneers of Protein" (PDF). Starting Strength. Retrieved January 2, 2019.
  6. ^ Peary and Mabel Rader Collection, 1931–1989

Further reading[]

  • Dellinger, Jan, "Iron Game Heritage, Part II", Hardgainer, September–October, 1994.
  • Strossen, Randall J., "Peary Rader (1909-1991)", Hardgainer, March, 1992.
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