January 12, 2010 9:57 AM

Joe Rollino, Strongman Who Lifted 475 Pounds with Teeth, Struck Dead by Van at 104

By
Neil Katz
Topics
Daily Blotter
(AP Photo/Charles Denson)
NEW YORK (CBS/AP) Joe Rollino was strong enough to lift 635 pounds with one finger and 475 pounds with his teeth, but the Coney Island strongman, couldn't beat a swerving minivan.

Joe Rollino - once dubbed the "World's Strongest Man" - died Monday at 104.

Rollino was struck as he crossed a major street in Brooklyn, and suffered a broken pelvis, head trauma and broken ribs. He died a few hours later at an area hospital.

Police said the driver was going the speed limit and had not been drinking. No criminality is suspected, but the driver was issued a summons for a defective horn.

During his storied life, Rollino hobnobbed with Harry Houdini, watched Jack Dempsey knock out Jess Willard and was friendly with Mario Lanza. He even had a bit part in "On the Waterfront."

Rollino would have been 105 on March 19, and was the model of health, according to friends. A vegetarian for life, he didn't drink or smoke, his friends said, and he exercised every day. He was a lifetime boxer and was part of the Oldetime Barbell and Strongmen, an organization of men who can still rip book binders at the seam.

Retired New York Police Department detective Arthur Perry, who boxed in the New York City Golden Gloves in the mid-1960s, met Rollino at his birthday party in 2008 and didn't believe Rollino was the celebrant; he looked too good for a centenarian.

"It was astonishing, how he was smiled upon by nature," Perry said. "If you would've said to me he was 80, I'd have said he looked younger."

A decorated World War II veteran, Rollino got his start as a strongman in the 1920s during the high point of the Coney Island carnival, and he billed himself as the "Strongest Man in the World." At one point, he could lift 3200 pounds.

He later made a living as a traveling boxer under the name Kid Dundee and fought in armories in cities around the country where boxing was forbidden.

Rollino said in 2008 that he was just simply born strong.

"Fighters would hit me in the jaw and I'd just look at them. You couldn't knock me out," he told writer Robert Mladinich in an interview for the boxing Web site The Sweet Science.

Mladinich said Rollino had a slew of followers who worshipped him. "He was instrumental in their positive development," he said. "He was an athletic mentor and a father figure to them."

One is 10-time Golden Glove winner Peter Spanakos, whose twin brother, Nick, roomed with Cassius Clay during the 1960 Olympics in Rome. The two met in the 1950s on the beach.

"He's a hero's hero. We should celebrate him," Spanakos said. "A true patriot, an athlete's athlete."

At Rollino's birthday party last year, Spanakos gave him a quarter, and Rollino bent it between his fingers.

"And you know what, he apologized. He said he used to be able to do it with a dime."


Add a Comment
by erb0087 January 12, 2010 5:31 PM EST
"Rollino would have been 105 on March 19, and was the model of health, according to friends. A vegetarian for life, he didn't drink or smoke, his friends said, and he exercised every day. He was a lifetime boxer and was part of the Oldetime Barbell and Strongmen, an organization of men who can still rip book binders at the seam."
===============================================

An Old School strongman, like Jack LaLanne.

What an inspiration.

(And he didn't perform his feats of strength in the "steroid era," Mr. McGwire...)
Reply to this comment
by nowhiningallowed January 12, 2010 1:18 PM EST
This guy achieved his title the natural way and without steroids. How wonderful that he lived this long. How tragic that a stupid careless driver was the cause of his death.
Reply to this comment
by DaVicar8 January 12, 2010 1:10 PM EST
I thought "The World's Strongest Man" drank Dos Equis and hangs out in gambling halls with scantily clad women?
Reply to this comment
by AttentionDeficit January 12, 2010 1:19 PM EST
That was "The World's Most Interesting Man"
by Bdwybabe39 January 12, 2010 12:49 PM EST
This article starts out to say that the minivan swerved and another article I read said that Joe was crossing a busy Brooklyn intersection. So far it appears that the whole incident was just a sad accident. I wouldn't assume Joe was guilty of jay walking until all the facts are given. Sounds like the minivan perhaps lost control attempting not to hit something else & since his horn wasn't working couldn't sound out a warning to what was happening. Joe died later in the hospital & not at the scene so who knows if other charges will be given out at a later time as well - although it just appears to be an unfortunate accident. Either way sad & tragic on both ends. I would be interested in reading Joe's memoirs if they are ever made available. Sounds like he had a great life.
Reply to this comment
by cam1966 January 12, 2010 12:25 PM EST
God bless him! What an inspiring story!
Reply to this comment
by Blatensphere January 12, 2010 12:19 PM EST
Why is this in CRIMESIDER? Because the driver was cited for a broken horn?
Reply to this comment
by kenhamlett January 12, 2010 11:40 AM EST
This man sounds amazing. I wish his memoirs were available for us to be able to emulate him.
Reply to this comment
by erich_1-2009 January 12, 2010 11:34 AM EST
Yes! That was a great story CBS!
Reply to this comment
by pubsrtoast January 12, 2010 10:24 AM EST
What a great life story!
Reply to this comment
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