Joe DePietro – Arguably Weightlifting’s First “Pocket Hercules”

Copyright© 2024 by Arthur Drechsler

In 1947, when Bob Hoffman ran the first World Weightlifting Championship ever held in the US, the US team dominated the event, winning every bodyweight category. Among the men who played a key role in that victory was one of the lightest athletes on the team – Joe DePietro.

A “rookie” at the World Championship level, Joe won its lightest bodyweight category (56 kg. – which had its inaugural appearance at the World Championship level that same year). For Joe, it was a victory that signaled his intention to win the Olympic Games the following year. Here is his story.

Joe DePietro, shown above, was arguably Weightlifting’s first “pocket Hercules” (today this appellation is generally used in reference to the great 3-time Olympic Champion Naim Suleymanoglu, of Turkey).  Even more compact than Naim, Joe stood 4’ 10” tall but had a chest that measured in excess of 40” and arms that exceeded 14”. 

Despite the size of Joe’s muscles, he naturally weighed only about 121 lb., a bodyweight that made the 123 lb. bodyweight category adopted the AAU for national events in 1940 perfect for him.

Prior to 1940 the US held national level competitions that included weight classes below 132 lb. at least as early as the 1920s, but those classes seemed to change every few years. For instance, there was a 118lb class (1929-1939), a 128lb class (1929-1930), a 126lb class (1931-1939), and a 112 lb class (1932-1939).

Almost concurrent with the creation of the 56kg category in 1940, Joe DePietro’s weightlifting star began to rise. In that first year that new weight class was recognized, Joe became New Jersey State Champion and placed third on his first trip to the National Championships, with a total of 540 lb. He then went on to win the first North American Championships with a three-lift total of 555 lb.

Joe’s extremely small hands made it very difficult for him to hold the bar when he lifted, but he possessed tremendous pressing power. Unlike most lifters, he was able to press in strict fashion nearly as much as he could clean.  He therefore rapidly gained a reputation as a terrific presser who often took an early lead in the competition (the press was the first lift to be performed in weightlifting competitions with three lifts, followed by the snatch and clean and jerk, in that order).

In 1941, Joe improved his total to 590 lb. and had high expectations of winning the National Championships. Unfortunately for him, he had terrible day at the Nationals and only managed to total 545 lbs, which earned him a fourth-place finish. The winner, W. Cochrane, of the Maspeth Weightlifting Club, in Queens, NY, made an outstanding total of 616lbs (higher than any 3-lift total that had ever been made in the 128lb. or 126 lb. classes during its 8 years of existence at the US National Championships and very possibly the highest total even made up to that time by a 123 lb. athlete).

The following year, luck turned in Joe’s direction. He first won the Junior National Championships (a competition for athletes who had never the Junior or Senior National event – not the 20 and under competition it is today).  He then went on to win his first Senior National title with a total of 565 lb. 

In 1943, Joe won the Nationals again, this time with a total of 585 lb. Many thought Joe was now positioned to dominate in his weight class for many years to come.

However, weightlifting is a sport full of surprises, and in 1944 Joe got one – in the person of Emerick Ishikawa. Joe’s lifts had been improving during the year and he had posted a new personal record total of 610 lb. at the 1944 Middle Atlantic Championships.  Nevertheless, he was defeated by the hard-charging Ishikawa, who made a 615 lb. total.

Undaunted, Joe trained even harder and came to the Nationals in perhaps his best shape ever.  He made a press of 210 lb. (a lift believed to be the heaviest ever made in official competition at 56kg up until that time) and total of 620 lb. However, Ishikawa made a total of 630 lb. to defeat Joe. Emerick’s total was believed to have been the heaviest ever lifted officially up until that time (world records were not officially recognized in this weight category until 1947).

At the 1945 Nationals, Joe was in top shape once again. But Ishikawa was known to be in record-making shape as well, so rather than lift against Ishikawa directly and risk a loss, Joe moved up to the 132 lb. class and won with a total of 635 lb. Joe’s decision to lift in the heavier bodyweight category proved to be a wise one, as Ishikawa won the 123 lb. category with the same total.

The following year, Joe was back at 123 lb. and was not to be denied. He was in such good shape that this time he out-totaled Ishikawa even though Emerick elected to compete (and win) at 60 kg Joe won with an American record press of 217lb. and a total of 646 lb. (Ishikawa made 641 lb. total at a heavier bodyweight).

In 1947, the World Championships were to be held in the US for the first time in history. That year was also to be the first one in which the 56kg category was to be contested at the World Championships.

Thrilled by the prospect of a World Championship’s that would include his bodyweight category, Joe showed up in great shape for the 1947 Nationals. He pressed a record 220 1/4 lb. and coasted to victory with a 615 lb. total.

He then got really serious and made astonishing progress between the Nationals and the World Championships. At the World Championships, in Philadelphia, he made a world record press of 102.5 kg, a world record snatch of 87.5 kg, and a world record total of 300 kg to score a convincing victory. 

Another American who contributed to the team’s performance was Richard Tom, who placed 2^nd at  56 kg.(Tom also won a bronze medal at the 1948 Olympics and contributed to the US Team victory there as well). His silver medal gave the US a 1-2 punch in this first bodyweight category contested at the World’s and this helped the US team dominate the team championship (the US had eked out a team victory over the USSR at the prior year’s world championship’s, by earning the same number of team points but earning more higher level medals than the USSR team).

The opportunity to compete in the 1948 Olympic Games (the first Olympics held since World War II had interrupted the Games after 1936) was eagerly awaited by many athletes, and perhaps none more than Joe DePietro. 

This was to be the first Olympic Games in which the 56 kilogram category was contested and he wanted to be ready.  He showed his readiness by making 2 world records at the 1948 US Nationals (a 230 lb. press, and a 675 lb. total).  At the Olympic Games, Joe did not disappoint, making a new world record total of 307.5 kg and winning the Games handily.  He had finally established himself at the strongest little man in the world – a true pocket Hercules.

There is an interesting story behind Joe’s successful trip to the Olympics.  His coach and lifelong friend, Frank Bates, was also training at the time for a spot on the Olympic team, but in a different sport (pistol shooting).  Frank had been a good weightlifter for many years and later went on to become one of this country’s most respected weightlifting referees. As one of the US’s best marksmen, he had legitimate hopes of representing his country at the Olympic Games. 

When it appeared there would be insufficient funds to send a full US Olympic Team to the Games (in those years, the USOC’s fund-raising efforts were not yet well enough organized to generate the monies needed to consistently send full teams to the Olympics), Frank gave up his spot on the team in order to help assure there would be adequate funding for Joe to compete. 

Frank’s explanation for his generous act was that Joe had a real chance to win, whereas he (Frank) did not feel he could have done so. Even some friends of Frank Bates may not have heard this story, but those who knew him will appreciate that this kind of act is just what Frank did over and over again during his lifelong service to weightlifting.

In 1949, Joe won another Nationals, but was only able to place third of the World Championships.  Mohamed Namdjoo of Iran shocked the world with a 315 kg total that year and Joe, who was not in his best shape, totaled only 295 kg He was edged out for the silver medal, on bodyweight, by Kamel Mahgoub of Egypt.

The following year, Joe won the Nationals again. At the World Championships he went on to make the same total as he had done the prior year. This time it was not enough for a medal, and Joe ended up in 4^th place. His powers as a weightlifter were beginning to decline.

It should be noted that Joe did hard physical work for much of his life, and that work often interfered with his training.  It was a struggle for him to stay in top shape throughout his career, but by the time he had reached his mid ’30s, Joe found the challenge of balancing work, training, and family life more problematical than ever before.

In 1951, DePietro won the Nationals the ninth time, but was not selected for the US World Championship Team.  He competed in the Nationals for the last time in 1952, where he placed third. That appearance marked the end of a long and glorious career.