The World’s Strongest Man Used His Muscles for His Mission
4 min readJun 5, 2024
In 1971, my church, Old Field Baptist in Suwanee, GA., held a youth rally with some notable guests. Georgia’s Lt. Governor, Lester Maddox, rode a bicycle backward. Impressive, no doubt, but clearly, the show’s feature attraction and the star was none other than Paul Anderson, “The World’s Strongest Man.” Surrounded by a large group of very excited kids, Anderson wrapped his hand in a handkerchief and proceeded to drive a large nail through a stack of 2x4s. Next, ten or so adult men were seated on a table made of plywood and studs, which Anderson proceeded to lift on his back and then walk. As a ten-year-old, you can imagine just how impressive it was. Later, I learned more about Anderson, his incredible level of strength, and, just as memorable, his mission in life. The margins by which he broke existing records were unheard of, yet his most significant personal triumphs were in a much different arena.
Anderson was born in Toccoa, GA, in 1932. As a child, he suffered from Bright’s disease, a kidney disorder. He began weight lifting to add strength for football, using homemade weights his father had created from concrete. Excelling in football, he was awarded a scholarship to Furman University, where he started weightlifting more traditionally. He dropped football to focus on lifting, and his family moved to Elizabethton, TN. There, he met lifter Bob Peoples, who introduced him to weightlifting as a sport.
In 1955, Anderson traveled to the Soviet Union for a competition. Weightlifting in the Soviet Union was a popular sport, and their team was considered the best in the world. In Anderson’s first event, the overhead press, the existing world record was held by a Soviet lifter at 330.3 pounds. Anderson stepped up to the bar for his lift. Announcer Bud Palmer said, “The Russians snickered as Anderson gripped the bar, set at 402.5 pounds, an unheard-of lift. But their snickers turned to awe, and all-out cheers as up went the bar and Anderson lifted the heaviest weight overhead of any human in history”.
Given that the U.S. and the Soviet Union were amidst Cold War tensions and each searching for public relations victories, the significance of this triumph, in a sport in which the Soviets excelled and on their home soil, was substantial. The following year, at the World Championships in Munich, Anderson broke two other records. Upon return to the U.S., Anderson was hosted by then-Vice President Richard Nixon.
Anderson won the gold medal in the 1956 Olympics in Melbourne, Australia, even with a 104-degree fever at the time of the competition. Continuing to lift and break records, Anderson back lifted 6270 pounds on June 12, 1957. That is the equivalent of lifting two new Honda Accords. As of this writing, the best lift ever done by anyone else is 5,340 pounds. He was not allowed to compete in the 1960 Olympic games, as being paid for some public events classified him as a professional.
Anderson was profoundly impacted by troubled young people he met in his appearances, and he felt led to help them. In 1961, Anderson and his wife, Glenda, founded the Paul Anderson Youth Home in Vidalia, GA. Its mission was to help troubled teenagers regain their life paths. To raise the visibility and the money needed to finance this endeavor, Anderson decided to ride a bicycle from Vidalia to Omaha, NE. On a stop at the original Dwarf House South of Atlanta, he met Truett Cathy, the founder of Chick-fil-A. Cathy became the first donor for the home, and this was the beginning of a years-long relationship. Anderson made 500 or so personal appearances yearly to raise funds for the home’s operation.
In 1975, Anderson was awarded the Branch Rickey Award by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. Despite the lifelong kidney issues, Anderson continued his appearances. In 1982, he received a kidney transplant. In 1994, he was inducted into the National Power Lifting Hall of Fame, and in 1992, he was named to the Fellowship of Christian Athletes Hall of Fame. In 1990, he received an honorary Doctor of Education from Piedmont College, then in 1992, the USA Power and Strength Symposium named him “Strongest Man of the Century.”
