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Getbig Bodybuilding Boards => History - Stories - and Memories => Topic started by: sarcasm on November 28, 2005, 01:59:31 PM
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anybody have any Patera stories, one of the all around strongest guys ever, one of my favorites.
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i'll start, there was a story in Milo about him deadlifting 735 and shrugging it so hard that he bent a York powerlifting bar.
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Here is a story...He threw a boulder thru a McDonalds wondow with another wrestler then they beat up some woman cop and he went to prison...
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Here is a story...He threw a boulder thru a McDonalds wondow with another wrestler then they beat up some woman cop and he went to prison...
It was Mr. Saito.The boulder was blamed on them & they denied it. Patera & Saito supposedly beat up several cops (men & women), a coulple of the K-9's too. When the next round of backup's arrived, they drew down on them with the 12 guages & ended the fight. One female cop was hurt pretty bad from what I heard & was in the hospital for a few months.
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yeah, i read about that one.
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Ken Patera was one of the best presses of all times (for his bwt, Bill March was probably the best) and a former top Oylmpic lifter. He had acting job's in pro wrestling for a few years. His older brother had been a assistence coach in the NFL (believe at one time with the old LA Rams) and Ken did get into Pro ball for awhile, I think. Being somewhat of a free spirit he pretty much did what he wanted to in his day, I've heard. Natural strong man with or without weight training.
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He shrunk ALOT when he got into wrestling. He barely looked like the same guy when you compare him in WSM to him in WWF
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I heard he was the first person to lift either 500 or 600 over his head. Is this right
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I belive first to press 500 or 600, but I don't remember which...I think he could doo 600 off a rack???
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First American to C/J over 500, I think his standing press was over 500, too:).
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Bruce Wilhelm said that when he would do presses behind the neck with Ken that he would go up to 225-245 and stop there but Ken would keep going to 375-385 standing, he said everybody would stop and watch.
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So I guess that the $64,000 question is: Where is he now and what is he doing?
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So I guess that the $64,000 question is: Where is he now and what is he doing?
http://www.kenpatera.com/
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Ken Patera was one of the best presses of all times (for his bwt, Bill March was probably the best) and a former top Oylmpic lifter. He had acting job's in pro wrestling for a few years. His older brother had been a assistence coach in the NFL (believe at one time with the old LA Rams) and Ken did get into Pro ball for awhile, I think. Being somewhat of a free spirit he pretty much did what he wanted to in his day, I've heard. Natural strong man with or without weight training.
His brother was the first head coach of the Seattle Seahaks in 1976. I think his name was Jack.
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Here is a story...He threw a boulder thru a McDonalds wondow with another wrestler then they beat up some woman cop and he went to prison...
Yeah because the McDonalds was closed and they refused to re-open to serve them. They must have been drunk as hell.
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His brother was the first head coach of the Seattle Seahaks in 1976. I think his name was Jack.
I remember that coach-he was a so-so coach and always ran trick plays......
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Young Ken:
www.lifttilyadie.com/PWA/Patera.jpg.
Bro:
www.beckys-place.net/patera.html.
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my dad is a retiered pro wrestler Killer karl Kox like my name here on get big. He new Ken very well he says ken used to sit with his back against a building and he would take his car and let it Idell and Ken would make the car spin wheels with with his feet on the bumper.
Thats what I call leg strength.
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When I went to BYU I was surprised to find a pic of Ken on the wall of the old Smith Field House, where the weight room was.
Apparently way back when, Ken did the shot put on the BYU track team. True story.
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he was one of the better collegiate shot putters around that time i think he did 65 or 66 feet.
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my dad is a retiered pro wrestler Killer karl Kox like my name here on get big. He new Ken very well he says ken used to sit with his back against a building and he would take his car and let it Idell and Ken would make the car spin wheels with with his feet on the bumper.
Thats what I call leg strength.
Karl Kox....eh Well.....I know someone who didn't like him.... ;D
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a lot of people did not like him he was a great heal
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I was watching ABC's Wide World of Sports in the eraly 70;s it was a live broadcast .The interviewer asked Ken what he had to do in his training to beat the big Russians .He said make more money so he can get the kind of drugs they have .Honest he said that .
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my dad is a retiered pro wrestler Killer karl Kox like my name here on get big. He new Ken very well he says ken used to sit with his back against a building and he would take his car and let it Idell and Ken would make the car spin wheels with with his feet on the bumper.
Thats what I call leg strength.
I saw him do that feat when he was with the WWF (WWE) . Vince drove a full size Econoline Van & he braced himself against the wall & held the van back. It was amazing to say the least. I asked him (Patera) later & he said it wasn't that hard esp after the van wheels started spinning. On his pressing strength, he was the first American to press 500lbs over his head. He did 503lb in the 73(?) Pan-American games.
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Kazmaier did something similar just the other was around. He tied himself to my Bronco and held a rope tied to a van and had the tires spinning. Patera reminds me allot of Kaz
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that shit is crazy
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I remember talking to Ken in length about his style of training (Olympic lifting). He was/is a very articulate man. The one thing that really stood out was I was looking at his legs & I swear it was like you could see every muscle fiber in them . It was crazy, he reminded me of a racehorse. I have met several pro BB'er's some of whom were in damn good shape too & I have never seen a set of legs that were even close to being "fibrous" like his were, & what really made that unique was he had a little beer-gut going too. It was like he was ripped & chubby at the same time. That's the only way I can describe it.
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I did an extensive feature on Patera in 1974 for Grimek(I did all my writing for Hoffman's publications through John) & Strength & Health.
I had recently graduated from college, so I thought it'd be a good opportunity to go home to Minnesota (from Los Altos, CA), visit family, friends and interview
Ken Patera. I had somewhat of an "in" because I knew Verne Gagne (world
'rasslin champ & promoter). I called Verne and got permission (backstage pro
wrestling then was very, very hush, hush) to attend taping of the Saturday eve television matches. Gagne even had his secretary accompany me, probably more to watch over me to make sure I didn't get to cozy with the "biG" secrets behind the curtains. They were taped in the famous Foshey (spl.) tower. Besides, Ken that evening (early), his nemesis Superstar Billy Graham was grappling...what a loveable heel he was. I understand Superstar posts on Get Big. I read some of his stuff and died laughing. I'll have to drop by and say hi.
Anyway, later that night I attended the big match between him and Superstar.
They had this gig where they were going to arm-wrestle. The script of course
called for plot and story development. And they milked it for all they had, both
Ken and Superstar, who really upset the apple cart when he overturned the
arm-wrestling table and proceeded to try and slice and dice Ken with remnants
of the table legs, etc., etc. I forgot who won. I believe Superstar was disqualified. No, could this really happen? Yea, hardcore wrestling fans, I'm
afraid Superstar didn't play fair that night. But who really cared, the throng of
believers were entertained. After the matches, I waited for Superstar at the
elevators. Big guy, Nice guy. Got a few quickie quotes, talked, laughed a little.
He did say that he thought Patera was (in real life) probably the strongest guy he had ever met. It was colder than H that night. I remember Superstar getting in his big black luxury car and speeding away. He peeled out so fast
the exhaust had not caught up with him.
It was either the next day or it was the same day as the taped tv matches, I
spent time with Ken in his car driving, asking questions and trying to get to
know him so I could serve him best and the reading public. He was quite re-
served, actually, quite easy going, articulate, seemingly very well read. I tried
my best to capture the essence of the man while revealing as much as I could.
He had just gotten married or was about to (very pretty woman...), who had a
few children.
For a big man around 300 pounds, Ken's most striking feature was his muscular, shapely legs. I believe that's where most of his strength came from,
in terms of foundational/core power. He never went over (as they call it) as a
hero. I guess the weightlifting/strength/Olympics mantra wasn't enough. Even
though they lied about him getting a medal at the Olympics (Gagne, AWA,etc.),
it didn't seal his fate. But, Patera did go over much more as a heel, with his
bleached blond hair and "attitude".
One thing for sure, his pure power and weightlifting feats will forever be
remembered. His particular abilities come along very seldom. Ken Patera was
to Weightlifting what George Foreman was to boxing.
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here are patera best lifting squat 820 for 3reps press behind the neck with 420 pounds standing military front squat 650 pounds an387pounds snatch iwonder the kind of snatch could kazmaier post strong as he was
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here are patera best lifting squat 820 for 3reps press behind the neck with 420 pounds standing military front squat 650 pounds an387pounds snatch iwonder the kind of snatch could kazmaier post strong as he
not sure what kaz's best lifts were. probably wouldn't be hard to check, but check out onlyme's pic of kaz pulling on the rope? :o
the guy was about 6'4 but the thickness in his upper arms and forearms makes him look short.
i can only imagine what it must have been like standing next to kaz.
i can tell you right now onlyme, that pic of yours has given me much inspiration in my own weights workouts. kaz was the man in my book so if ken was anything like kaz (haven't seen much of ken) then respect. 8)
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iwas a kazmaier fan also would have been interesting to see patera ability in the power three
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my dad is a retiered pro wrestler Killer karl Kox like my name here on get big. He new Ken very well he says ken used to sit with his back against a building and he would take his car and let it Idell and Ken would make the car spin wheels with with his feet on the bumper.
Thats what I call leg strength.
i saw that on wwf back in 82 or 83. it was a van. looked pretty cool, but they never panned out and showed the whole van.
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i saw that on wwf back in 82 or 83. it was a van. looked pretty cool, but they never panned out and showed the whole van.
Yes thats what we did with Kaz. He is tied to my Bronco and he is holding a rope that is tied to the bumper of the press van. We were doing a segment on a local news station and he thought it would have looked cool. He held the van enough to make it spin its tires. It was on camera
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so how about patera total in the power three903 617 860 makes sense to me
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so how about patera total in the power three903 617 860 makes sense to me
probably more like 525-530 on the bench, 785-790 deadlift and 840-850 squat.
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I thought I read Patera's best press was over 500 strict and maybe a 600 push press?
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probably more like 525-530 on the bench, 785-790 deadlift and 840-850 squat.
How do you know this were you there. Were you even born yet. I doubt it on both.
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patera could push press 55o poundsaccording to david p willoughby .iwas just guessing at his ability inpowerlifting .ithik he would have been great every where
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With a 550 push press it would be awesome to see what he could press on a strongman log.
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yes you are correct for the log press people forget his physique also
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:D
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those obsessed with calf devlopment should have asked ken advice on this he and serge reding had great calves , did they labor on the calf machine .as olympic lifters
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Verne Gagne always said that Patera would have won the Olympic gold medal in weightlifting if he hadn’t been out all night trying to attack the German girls the night before.
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just toobad this macdonlad incident happened . it became a joke with time.
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I was just in the store tonight and saw the official Ken Patera "Classics" figure from Jakks Pacific.
Decent likeness.
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Ken was a strong guy but his promos were not as strong lol
Keep your eye on Mene Gene during the promo!!
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how about twisting parcometers . is this a joke . with bare hands
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Ken Patera on the WSM from 1977 as well as franco columbo and Lou Ferrigno.
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Ken Patera on the WSM from 1977 as well as franco columbo and Lou Ferrigno.
don't forget teenage mr a mike dayton the guy who hangs himself
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a loong time ago . ferrigno won the steel bar bend but ken won tire toss. its funny that bruce wilhelm won the whole thing . he is no stronger than ken . those contests takes more stamina than strentgh.
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(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_jKrQrrAH3Xg/THWP8vRYHMI/AAAAAAAABD4/bz_BvDkqyTo/s1600/kpatera2.JPG)
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(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_jKrQrrAH3Xg/THWP8vRYHMI/AAAAAAAABD4/bz_BvDkqyTo/s1600/kpatera2.JPG)
Is that from the same competition in which Columbu messed up his leg?
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would probably have to be franco c only competed once that i know of, lou ferrigno and mike dayton were also in that year.
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first WSM contest in 1977 . moons ago wilhelm won . no way he was as strong as patera . stamina play a big role in those things .
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would probably have to be franco c only competed once that i know of, lou ferrigno and mike dayton were also in that year.
Funk, I keep meaning to ask: How's your boy doing, now?
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Funk, I keep meaning to ask: How's your boy doing, now?
thanks for asking, he's getting better got some of his upper body strength back legs are still way behind, starts a new job monday after being out of commision since sept 22 day of accident, and then nov pulmonary embolisms.
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thanks for asking, he's getting better got some of his upper body strength back legs are still way behind, starts a new job monday after being out of commision since sept 22 day of accident, and then nov pulmonary embolisms.
Awesome!!
Hey, if he's in good spirits about it, tell him I said that some people will do anything to get out of work! ;D
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Yes, same contest... Patera was hurt during this contest as well.
Steve, glad to hear your son is doing better...
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Awesome!!
Hey, if he's in good spirits about it, tell him I said that some people will do anything to get out of work! ;D
will do.
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Yes, same contest... Patera was hurt during this contest as well.
Steve, glad to hear your son is doing better...
i used to like the early contests better when they brought in powerlifters, wrestlers, track and field, oly weightlifters,bodybuilders, that being said the guys are much better now that they specialize in the events.
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He was at the cauliflower alley deal in Vegas the year before my dad dies, he can barely walk and has to sleep in a recliner. He said "to much heavy weight lifting "
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whos is in a recliner . kem .
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whos is in a recliner . kem .
yeah Kenny does.
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he had a limo service once . i suspect his wrestling career who was long took his toll a bit . he is now over 65 years old
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....
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great shot dave, hoffman would only be happy with jim benjiman representing york bb co. ;D
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ken was a bit stiff for weightlifting i think . didnt have alexeev abilities . but what a powerhouse . great legs shoulders and more .
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(http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_jKrQrrAH3Xg/THWP8vRYHMI/AAAAAAAABD4/bz_BvDkqyTo/s1600/kpatera2.JPG)
Ken was strong as hell back in the day.
These photos are of Ken back in 1977 at the WSM Show. He was one great guy to hang around.
Not the strongest at every event, but at some of them he was the best. Just thought you guys might
Like seeing some picture's that weren't scanned from someone that was there.
Enjoy
RZ
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i can't believe ken said"we'll see whose steroids are better, when asked about the usa's chances in the olympics.
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whose are better his or mine . talking about alexeev . ken was stronger but vasili was the better weightlifter . . bruce wilhelm won this first contest .
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i can't believe ken said"we'll see whose steroids are better, when asked about the usa's chances in the olympics.
Not the smartest thing to say for sure. But
He is right. We all know that steroids are still being used today all over the world by some Bodybuilders, Lifters, and Strongmen even in this day and age. Back in the 60s and 70s they didn't know any better. But you do know now don't you? I'm against all usage and would like to think no one uses anymore but we all know that will never happen. There's a way around everything sad to say. I would like to say to all of you out there that don't use, Don't Start And Good For You. And to though's of you who do, STOP!!! You can be great without.
Try Blood, Sweat, and Iron.
RZ
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whose are better his or mine . talking about alexeev . ken was stronger but vasili was the better weightlifter . . bruce wilhelm won this first contest .
Bruce won the first two WSM Shows.
RZ
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so long ago . now they have much bigger men . specialist of strongman contests
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first WSM contest in 1977 . moons ago wilhelm won . no way he was as strong as patera . stamina play a big role in those things .
Sorry guy.
Bruce was stronger than Ken in though's days. Ken had his good events as shown in the photo of them bending the steel bars. But Bruce just beat him out in the end. And Bruce did WIN two years in a row. I was there to see it all. I thought Ken was a great competitor. I take nothing away from him. I think Bruce was just in a little better shape.
RZ
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so long ago . now they have much bigger men . specialist of strongman contests
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so long ago . now they have much bigger men . specialist of strongman contests
It was a long time Ago
The difference and what made the very first WSM the best is that all the contestant were well known Star's that the public all knew. Now the shows are just guys that nobody hardly knows. Yes there big and strong and most aren't even American. I for one want a strongman I've heard of, one that has some fame. Not a want to be. After all its TV. Guess you had to be there.
RZ
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ken went to jail couple of years later . and this thing was overpublicised . now he is a senior .
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ken went to jail couple of years later . and this thing was overpublicised . now he is a senior .
Spent a year and a half.
What would you do for a Hamburger????
Sadly we all get old
RZ
One thing I left out was that the Bodybulders did win a lot of the events.
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ken went to jail couple of years later . and this thing was overpublicised . now he is a senior .
Of course it was over-publicized! He was a pro-wrestler at the time, and this was great publicity for him and Saito. By the time his sentence was to be served, he was working in the WWF. Vince McMahon loves any kind of publicity, and upon Patera's return, WWF released a special video on Ken and gave him a huge push.
Unfortunately, he ruptured a bicipital tendon soon thereafter and was kind of shelved. He left after several months of serving as enhancement talent to other up and comers.
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Of course it was over-publicized! He was a pro-wrestler at the time, and this was great publicity for him and Saito. By the time his sentence was to be served, he was working in the WWF. Vince McMahon loves any kind of publicity, and upon Patera's return, WWF released a special video on Ken and gave him a huge push.
Unfortunately, he ruptured a bicipital tendon soon thereafter and was kind of shelved. He left after several months of serving as enhancement talent to other up and comers.
Let's not forget he didn't go to jail for breaking a window. He went to jail for beating the crap out of two police officers and there dog. It was never proven that he broke the window. He never did get that Big Mac.
RZ
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Let's not forget he didn't go to jail for breaking a window. He went to jail for beating the crap out of two police officers and there dog. It was never proven that he broke the window. He never did get that Big Mac.
RZ
He beat the dog, too? I'm assuming a German Shepard? Damn!
You're right about the window. Ken maintains that a disgruntled employee did that. I just find it funny that, with everything else that happened, he and Saito were bickering over a thrown rock.
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He beat the dog, too? I'm assuming a German Shepard? Damn!
You're right about the window. Ken maintains that a disgruntled employee did that. I just find it funny that, with everything else that happened, he and Saito were bickering over a thrown rock.
I think the cop's Dog did it.
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I think the cop's Dog did it.
Yes. Nobody thought to question the dog.
Nobody ever suspects the dog!
;D
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ken had a lot of brute strentgh . was always beaten by the big alexeev though . . . .
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Yes. Nobody thought to question the dog.
Nobody ever suspects the dog!
;D
yup, they always use that bullshit 'no opposable thumbs' argument ::) lol
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yup, they always use that bullshit 'no opposable thumbs' argument ::) lol
Ha, ha, ha, ha!!!!
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This was me spotting Big Kenny P. at the WSM 1977 right at the finish line.
At least he didn't brake his leg.
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This was me spotting Big Kenny P. at the WSM 1977 right at the finish line.
At least he didn't brake his leg.
Poor Franco...
The phrase, "Break a leg," is good luck to everyone else.
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Poor Franco...
The phrase, "Break a leg," is good luck to everyone else.
Yea
But let's not forget that Poor Franco did end up with almost a Million Bucks.
That makes poor Franco NOT SO POOR.
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kem was way stronger than wilhe,m who won . bruce always said his friien d patera was much stronger . no way could bruce PBN 190 KILOS . STRICT . KEN DID .
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kem was way stronger than wilhe,m who won . bruce always said his friien d patera was much stronger . no way could bruce PBN 190 KILOS . STRICT . KEN DID .
Could Be.
Ken normally was a very strong lifter.
In this contest it wasn't how strong of a lifter you were, it was a combo of things of strength. Bruce (at the time) was the stronger man overall. Kenny sadly had a shoulder injury at this show and that hindered him on a lot of the events. He did his best not to let that stop him but the fact is it did to some extent. If Kenny was 1000% he might have won, but most likely not and here's why.
Event 1 Bruce 1st Ken 4th
Event 2. Bruce 4th Ken ?
Event 3. Bruce ? Ken 4th
Event 4. Bruce 1st Ken 2nd
Event 5. Bruce ? Ken 1st
Event 6. Bruce 1st Ken 3rd
Event 7. Bruce 4th Ken ?
Event 8. Bruce 4th Ken ?
Event 9. Bruce 1st Ken 4th
Event 10. Bruce 1st Ken 3rd.
Bottom Line. Out of 10 events Bruce had 5-1st place wins. Ken only had 1.
Despite that he only won 1 event Kenny still ended up in the top four and Third place overall.
That is pretty good considering.
Ken was one of the nicest guys there.
I enjoyed helping him through each event.
RZ
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The Show
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Ken was one of the nicest guys there.
I just heard Ken speak at a wrestling legends convention. I was amazed at how humble and friendly he sounded. He may just really have it in for McDonald's! ;D
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two things on ken p. don't know if they were mentioned before. 1. gorilla monsoon mentioned that the reason he quit wrestling was the way ken patera handled him, it was said he wants picked up andre the giant before andre could even give him the little helper jump. 2. ken supposedly said before the olympics, now let's see whose steroids are better? ::)
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two things on ken p. don't know if they were mentioned before. 1. gorilla monsoon mentioned that the reason he quit wrestling was the way ken patera handled him, it was said he wants picked up andre the giant before andre could even give him the little helper jump. 2. ken supposedly said before the olympics, now let's see whose steroids are better? ::)
Well now,
Thats something to think about.
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patera could press off racks 510 pounds three reps . if with that tstrebtgh he could not bodyslam andre i wonder who could of course he lost 50 pounds from weightlifter to wrestler . looked in great shape at 284 pounds .
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Ken will be inducted this year into the AOBS (www.aobs.cc), I'm really looking forward to this one.
I help organize the event.
He was there a couple years ago, Wilhelm comes every year.
Can't wait...
Patera Power
Here is a sampling of the lifts Ken Patera was capable of at his awesome peak.
Incline Press 485 x 2
Rack Press 552
Power Clean 505
Hang clean 486 x 3
High Pulls 770
Squat 820 x 2 (no wraps or suit, super deep)
Front Squat 650 x 3
Bench Press 560 (I never did them.)
Snatch 387 official, 402 in training
Overhead Squat with Snatch Grip 480
Clean and Jerk 506 official, 518 in training
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:)
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:)
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like i said so often he could have reached 2350 as a powerlifter . nobody else i know guessed numbers for him in the power three .
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I just heard Ken speak at a wrestling legends convention. I was amazed at how humble and friendly he sounded. He may just really have it in for McDonald's! ;D
I sat on the couch in between Ken and Wilhelm for 4+ hours a few SAT's ago. (At Marriott Hotel in NJ (Lounge). (He was honored earlier that evening at AOBS).
Great guy, great stories, humble and down to earth. Bruce is great as well, great story teller, one funny bastard...
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I sat on the couch in between Ken and Wilhelm for 4+ hours a few SAT's ago. (At Marriott Hotel in NJ (Lounge). (He was honored earlier that evening at AOBS).
Great guy, great stories, humble and down to earth. Bruce is great as well, great story teller, one funny bastard...
Sorry I had to miss the AOBS this year. Would have enjoyed seeing the guys agin after all these years. I'll bet you forgot to give them my email address. It's ok, they probably don't remember me being that it was a long time ago. Sounds like you had a great time. Perhaps next year you and I will be sitting in that lobby having a cocktail or two and telling story's of our past.
RZ
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hard to beleive they did theuir lifting in the 1970,s . ken for early 70,s bruce for later .