Unfiltered opinion?
He was great by the standards of that time.
Every time we see someone praising Sandow... it's always someone with bad genetics and unable to build what would be considered a great physique (naturally) by today's standard and/or some racist quarterwit subtly longing for the old days when a white guy was the ideal and not some massive mofo like Ronnie Coleman.
People can work their asses off and simply have below average genetics, poor diet, flawed approach, or simply didn't get the right help. OP, for example, has allegedly been training 8 years and can't post a progress pic without another 6 months to prepare. If that's true, he should probably take up swimming, running, or some other endeavor related to fitness and health.
I've never once seen an impressive or above average pic posted by someone worshipping Sandow. Yes, I've seen lean guys with good condition.
I'm guessing what passed for bodybuilding back then didn't include blacks. Just sayin'. 
Exactly. It's a backdoor way of doing what you said.
Today, there are men and women, who are natural---of all races who are in better shape than Sandow. I've met Africans, Asians, and Euros and all they did was bodyweight exercises, and they put Sandow to shame.
It's not unrealistic to have a good phyisque, or one better than Sandow. It IS unrealistic to think that you can have one like prime Ronnie or Dorian without drugs.
