Montana, you seem to have a good amount of knowledge on bodybuiding's past history, so please feel free to correct me when and if you catch me in an error and want to offer added comments. Someday I'd like to write a book about this subject, but my date and place and "who" memory is slowly slipping into the dark side ..... so any corrections or possible corrections, updates, etc. is greatly appreciated.
Back in the mid 60's I was stationed with a bunch of Marines (grunts/03's/Jarheads/Uncle Sam's Misguided Children - USMC/etc) who spent a lot of time in the base gym doing our best to outlift one another during our one to two hour "lunch break". Anyone (Marines and Navy) were allowed to lift providing they had the heart and competitiveness to do so. The gym was small so we had to be selective, but strength and weakness did not matter as long as "heart" was evident and one progressed up the wt scale over time.
This lunchtime activity grew to the point where we had to close the gym for only those who showed "heart" and yearned to train in earnest. The other guys would have to go running the hills or jump a rope or do laps in the pool on the other side of the camp. (Camp Margarita if memory serves me correctly.)
Over the months a lot of gains were made in that gym and some of the guys went off on weekends and returned with various olympic lifting, powerlifting, and bodybuilding trophies. And a few of the guys even managed to set new records for the Southern California area in many pullup, situp and pushup contests that were held throughout the relatively small beachside towns back then.
One Marine (a young, aggressive Lieutenant with tons of bodybuilding potentital who was the USMC "poster boy" back then) made some unreal gains over a short period of time and decided that he was going to be the best bodybuilder that he could be even if he had to "leave the Corps" in order to accomplish his new objective.
Well, Chesty Puller must have heard his dream and wanted him to stay, so this young Lieutenant (let's call him "Chris") with unreal potential somehow got orders to report to MCRD San Diego immediately - just down the road a piece! (MCRD = Marine Corps Recruit Depot for you civilian critters.
And San Diego just so happened to be the town in which Pudgy Stockton had a health food store...... and soon their paths would converge and change a small part of one Marine's history.
To Be Continued.... heading off to do some cardio.