"Stefan was one of the most athletic heavyweights in the USA history. He has sprinted 60 yards in an amazing 6.5 seconds while weighing 245 lbs. In high school his skill at both football and track attracted numerous athletic scholarship offers. These were rejected, however, in favor of weightlifting which Jacob found to be considerably less brutal and more satisfying than football." -Bill Reynolds
Times were changing in the competitive iron game and the world in the 70's . Bob Hoffman was losing his control and iron grip of the weightlifting world. York did not have the same allure to all lifters. Athletes like Jacob Stefan just liked to lift. He powerlifted and Olympic lifted. He was not a favorite of Hoffman who saw this as a lack of dedication, that and his long hair, liberal attitude and free spirt kept him off the pages of STRENGTH and HEALTH magazine and unknown to many lifters on east coast.
CBS coverage of the Senior Nationals, American weightlifting fans were treated to a taste of the action in the super-heavyweight class. A virtually effortless 435-lb Clean and Jerk wrapped up the title for Jacob Stefan, a previously obscure lifter from Seattle. In the same year Stefan placed third at both the Juniors and Seniors in powerlifting the heavyweight division. His 1700 total that year included a 610 squat and 670 deadlift. During that same year, he totaled 1020 on the Olympic lifts to attain his Master rating as a heavyweight. His combined 2720 total was worthy of note as a SUPERMAN TOTAL -IRON MAN
