Ottley Russell Coulter

Ottley Russell Coulter (June 6, 1890 - December 17, 1976) was an American strongman, circus performer, weightlifter and police officer. He was a co-founder of the American Continental Weightlifting Association, and the author of a book about strength athletics.

Ottley Russell Coulter
Coulter in 1911
BornJune 6, 1890
Parkman, Ohio, U.S.
DiedDecember 17, 1976
Lemont Furnace, Pennsylvania, U.S.
EducationHiram College
OccupationStrongman, weightlifter, police officer
Spouse(s)Ethel Alexander
Children3

Early life

Coulter was born on June 6, 1890 in Parkman, Ohio.[1][2] He attended Hiram College for two years and dropped out.[1]

Career

Coulter began his career as a circus performer from 1912 to 1916,[3] including for the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus.[4] He also worked for US Steel.[4] In the late 1910s, he became a municipal police officer in Lemont Furnace, Pennsylvania.[4] To discourage the use of firearms, Coulter taught hand-to-hand combat in the police department.[1]

An early bodybuilder, Coulter was also a wrestler and powerlifter.[1][4] In the 1920s, he co-founded the American Continental Weightlifting Association with George F. Jowett and David P. Willoughby.[3][5] He was an early proponent of tracking progress in the performance of weight-lifters.[3] Coulter wrote articles in Strength, a magazine published by Alan Calvert, in the 1920s.[6] In 1952, he authored of a book about strength athletics.[1]

Personal life and death

Coulter collected books and magazines related to physical culture. His collection is stored at the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports.[1]

With his Scottish-born wife nee Ethel Alexander,[7] Coulter had three children.[1] They resided in Lemont Furnace.[4] His wife predeceased him in 1972.[7]

Coulter died on December 17, 1976 in Lemont Furnace, at age 86.[2][4] He was buried in the Sylvan Heights Cemetery.[4]

Selected works
  • Coulter, Ottley R. (1952). How to Perform Strongman Stunts.
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References
  1. "The Ottley R. Coulter Sport Photography Collection: A Finding Aid to the Collection at the H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports". Texas Archival Resource Online. University of Texas Libraries. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  2. "Coulter Dies". The Morning Herald. Uniontown, Pennsylvania. December 18, 1976. p. 11. Retrieved January 4, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
  3. Todd, Jan; Murphy, Michael (2001). "Portrait of a Strongman: The Circus Career of Ottley Russell Coulter: 1912-1916". Iron Game History. 7 (1): 4–21.
  4. "Coulter, Ottley Russell". The Morning Herald. Uniontown, Pennsylvania. December 20, 1976. p. 49. Retrieved January 3, 2019.
  5. Fair, John D. (May 1993). "George Jowett, Ottley Coulter, David Willoughby and the Organization of American Weightlifting, 1911-1924" (PDF). Iron Game History. 2 (6): 3–15. Retrieved January 4, 2019 – via H.J. Lutcher Stark Center for Physical Culture and Sports.
  6. Beckwith, Kimberly; Todd, Jan (August 2005). "Strength, America's First Muscle Magazine: 1914-1935". Iron Game History: The Journal of Physical Culture. 9 (1): 11–28.
  7. "Deaths: Mrs Ottley Coulter". Public Opinion. Chambersburg, Pennsylvania. April 28, 1972. p. 11. Retrieved January 3, 2019 – via Newspapers.com.
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