Long before Arnold Schwarzenegger made a name for himself as one of the world’s most-celebrated bodybuilders, my great-uncle was wowing crowds around the country with inventive feats of strength.
Antone Matysek’s most-famous stunt, which he performed on the Vaudeville stage, was hoisting three men over his head with one arm as they pedaled vainly on a custom-made bicycle outfitted with added weights.
A childhood immigrant from what is now the Czech Republic, Matysek grew up at St. Wenceslaus Parish in East Baltimore, where, according to his 1963 obituary, he first became interested in physical culture.
Many St. Wenceslaus parishioners were involved in “Sokol,” a Czech gymnastics and fitness organization that emphasized “a sound body and a sound mind.”
As he grew in strength and popularity, my great-uncle began a successful national mail-order physical conditioning program and was regularly featured on the pages of Strength magazine. After setting world weightlifting records in 1915 and 1917, he was crowned “America’s Strongest Man” in a 1922 competition at Madison Square Garden. He astonished the crowd by raising 2,900 pounds in a hip lift.
When I asked my dad, George Matysek Sr., what he remembers of Antone, he told me how he and children of his neighborhood would peek through the basement windows of his uncle’s Biddle Street row house to watch him lift weights. Antone, a father of five who taught physical fitness at the Baltimore Police Academy and later was a foot patrolman in Fells Point, had dug a three-foot-square hole in the floor to give him room to lift weights overhead without bumping into the ceiling.
At the height of his popularity, Antone (also known as “Anton” and “Andy”) posed for the colossal statue of Orpheus that stands on the grounds of Fort McHenry in Baltimore. The 24-foot-tall bronze figure of the mythological Greek hero of poetry and music was erected 100 years ago as a symbolic tribute to Francis Scott Key, the poet who penned what would become the National Anthem.
President Warren Harding was among more than 15,000 people who converged on the fort for the statue’s dedication. Radio carried the president’s remarks live, marking the first time a president’s voice was transmitted over the airwaves.
A century later, the fort’s wonderful staff invited me to represent the Matysek family during a June 11 celebration of the statue’s centennial jubilee.
On a rainy day not unlike the wet one that greeted onlookers at the original dedication, I was honored to stand beneath the enormous statue long known to my family simply as “Uncle Antone.”
While the artwork, sculpted by Charles H. Niehaus, was somewhat controversial at the time of its dedication – many were confused as to why a monument to Key would depict Orpheus – it’s hard to imagine Fort McHenry today without the lyre-strumming behemoth.
If you get a chance this summer, check out the fort’s special exhibit on the dedication of the Orpheus statue. While you’re there, give a wave to “Uncle Antone.”
Email George Matysek at gmatysek@CatholicReview.org
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