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Getbig Bodybuilding Boards => History - Stories - and Memories => Topic started by: Sergio Rules 77 on December 28, 2006, 10:20:18 PM

Title: Sergio's Wedding
Post by: Sergio Rules 77 on December 28, 2006, 10:20:18 PM
I've just started scanning all my old bodybuilding mags which have articles on Sergio and thought I'd share with you this pic from Sergio's first wedding in 1970. Many, many more Sergio articles to come.

SERGIO!!!!
Title: Re: Sergio's Wedding
Post by: Slick Vic on December 29, 2006, 04:14:31 AM
Very cool, Sergio Ruless 77!!! Thanks!  8)
Title: Re: Sergio's Wedding
Post by: Joe Roark on December 29, 2006, 04:26:18 AM
Strength & Health July 1966 mentions that when Sergio defected from Cuba he left behind a wife and two children. This is the only mention of this I have ever encountered.
So. perhaps he was married in the early sixties?
Title: Re: Sergio's Wedding
Post by: slaveboy1980 on December 29, 2006, 04:50:20 AM
yes mr roark I have heard that he left a wife and a couple of kids in cuba when he defected in 1962.

but mr roark did you know that a friend of sergio claims that mr oliva wasnt born in 1941..he claims he was born before that!
Title: Re: Sergio's Wedding
Post by: Joe Roark on December 29, 2006, 05:13:07 AM
yes mr roark I have heard that he left a wife and a couple of kids in cuba when he defected in 1962.

but mr roark did you know that a friend of sergio claims that mr oliva wasnt born in 1941..he claims he was born before that!

What is the other date of birth claimed?
Title: Re: Sergio's Wedding
Post by: slaveboy1980 on December 29, 2006, 05:18:43 AM
What is the other date of birth claimed?
its not an exact date..let me find the link: http://www.getbig.com/boards/index.php?topic=70811.msg1044454#msg1044454
Title: Re: Sergio's Wedding
Post by: Joe Roark on December 29, 2006, 07:11:05 AM
1931? I see the claim, I don't see any substantiation. Sergio has never (to my knowledge) in print claimed to be a decade older than is generally ascribed to him.
The timelines and references (unlike in Beckles case) fit neatly into an early 1940s birthdate.
If born in 1931, he would now be 75. Not likely, but that's only my opinion.
Title: Re: Sergio's Wedding
Post by: Sergio Rules 77 on December 29, 2006, 09:23:31 PM
Strength & Health July 1966 mentions that when Sergio defected from Cuba he left behind a wife and two children. This is the only mention of this I have ever encountered.
So. perhaps he was married in the early sixties?

Thanks for that Joe. I didn't know that Sergio had a previous marriage than the one to Elma. I knew he had kids from a previous marriage that he doesn't stay in close contact with, but I assumed it was from his marriage to Elma.

SERGIO!!!!
Title: Re: Sergio's Wedding
Post by: alexxx on December 29, 2006, 09:49:47 PM
Cool. His taylor must have been dumbfounded on the sight of Sergio. ;D
Title: Re: Sergio's Wedding
Post by: Figo on December 31, 2006, 02:32:12 AM
1931? I see the claim, I don't see any substantiation. Sergio has never (to my knowledge) in print claimed to be a decade older than is generally ascribed to him.
The timelines and references (unlike in Beckles case) fit neatly into an early 1940s birthdate.
If born in 1931, he would now be 75. Not likely, but that's only my opinion.

Beckles was born in 1892, wasnt he?
Title: Re: Sergio's Wedding
Post by: Iceman1981 on January 02, 2007, 05:52:44 PM
Thanks for the photo my friend.
Title: Re: Sergio's Wedding
Post by: Joe Roark on April 18, 2007, 06:31:29 AM
In the new book on Sergio by Frank Marchante, the birth year for Sergio is now 1939.

However, there are many other factual errors in the book, so who knows!
Title: Re: Sergio's Wedding
Post by: donrhummy on April 27, 2007, 10:23:49 AM
1931? I see the claim, I don't see any substantiation. Sergio has never (to my knowledge) in print claimed to be a decade older than is generally ascribed to him.
The timelines and references (unlike in Beckles case) fit neatly into an early 1940s birthdate.
If born in 1931, he would now be 75. Not likely, but that's only my opinion.

In addition, I find it hard to believe that Cuba would have had a 31 year old guy on their olympic lifting team.
Title: Re: Sergio's Wedding
Post by: donrhummy on April 27, 2007, 10:24:31 AM
In the new book on Sergio by Frank Marchante, the birth year for Sergio is now 1939.

However, there are many other factual errors in the book, so who knows!

Does the book talk at all about the family he left behind?
Title: Re: Sergio's Wedding
Post by: Joe Roark on April 27, 2007, 01:42:49 PM
Does the book talk at all about the family he left behind?

Not in any meaningful depth. He writes a little about his strong brother, but does not name him. Does not name the children by his other marriage here in America, or his ex-wife for that matter. Or any of his siblings.

This is only my opinion, but when I read a biography, I am looking for leads to pursue, specifics to follow up on, facts to compare.

Some of the statements presented as facts, are not facts. In the intro by Kennedy, Sergio is credited with being the first black man to win several titles. In fact, he was only the first black man to win one of those listed titles.

I was left thinking what a missed opportunity to convey some meaty info about Sergio...

Photos are wonderful though :)
Title: Re: Sergio's Wedding
Post by: donrhummy on April 27, 2007, 10:24:31 PM
Not in any meaningful depth. He writes a little about his strong brother, but does not name him. Does not name the children by his other marriage here in America, or his ex-wife for that matter. Or any of his siblings.

This is only my opinion, but when I read a biography, I am looking for leads to pursue, specifics to follow up on, facts to compare.

Some of the statements presented as facts, are not facts. In the intro by Kennedy, Sergio is credited with being the first black man to win several titles. In fact, he was only the first black man to win one of those listed titles.

I was left thinking what a missed opportunity to convey some meaty info about Sergio...

Photos are wonderful though :)


It's a shame but I wasn't expecting much more from a bodybuilding biography (in terms of fact checking). But I am dissapointed to hear how little it offers. Sounds like it basically went through magazine articles already wirtten and put them into a book. What a waste.