• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Catholic Review

Catholic Review

Inspiring the Archdiocese of Baltimore

Menu
  • Home
  • News
        • Local News
        • World News
        • Vatican News
        • Obituaries
        • Featured Video
        • En Español
        • Sports News
        • Official Clergy Assignments
        • Schools News
  • Commentary
        • Contributors
          • Question Corner
          • George Weigel
          • Effie Caldarola
          • John Garvey
          • Father Ed Dougherty, M.M.
          • Guest Commentary
        • CR Columnists
          • Archbishop William E. Lori
          • Rita Buettner
          • Christopher Gunty
          • George Matysek Jr.
          • Father Joseph Breighner
          • Father Collin Poston
          • Robyn Barberry
          • Hanael Bianchi
          • Amen Columns
  • Entertainment
        • Events
        • Movie & Television Reviews
        • Arts & Culture
        • Books
        • Recipes
  • About Us
        • Contact Us
        • Our History
        • Meet Our Staff
        • Photos to own
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
  • Advertising
  • Shop
        • Purchase Photos
        • Books/CDs/Prayer Cards
  • CR Radio
  • News Tips
  • Subscribe
Antone Matysek was named "America's Strongest Man" in 1922 at Madison Square Garden in New York. He is shown performing one of his most famous physical feats. (Courtesy National Park Service)

Baltimore’s strongman

July 5, 2022
By George P. Matysek Jr.
Catholic Review
Filed Under: Amen, Amen Matysek Commentary, Arts & Culture, Commentary, Feature

Antone Matysek, a parishioner of St. Wenceslaus in East Baltimore, posed for the statue of Orpheus that serves as a monument to Francis Scott Key at Fort McHenry in Baltimore. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

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.

The Orpheus statue at Fort McHenry is a tribute to Francis Scott Key, author of the poem that became the Star Spangled Banner. (Kevin J. Parks/CR Staff)

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

Also see

Actor is ‘transformed’ by portraying Father Tolton in theater production

Judge blocks Catholic University of America’s sale of Dorothy dress

Pope, Bono launch Scholas educational initiative

Notre Dame of Maryland students recreate 99-year-old photos

Emmitsburg grotto awaits return of statue of Blessed Virgin Mary

Report: Kids’ time spent on screen soars during the pandemic

Copyright © 2022 Catholic Review Media

Print Print

Primary Sidebar

George P. Matysek Jr.

George Matysek, a member of the Catholic Review staff since 1997, has served as managing editor since September 2021. He previously served as a writer, senior correspondent, assistant managing editor and digital editor of the Catholic Review and the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

In his current role, he oversees news coverage of the Archdiocese of Baltimore and is a host of Catholic Review Radio.

George has won more than 100 national and regional journalism and broadcasting awards from the Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association, the Catholic Press Association, the Associated Church Press and National Right to Life. He has reported from Guyana, Guatemala, Italy, the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland.

A native Baltimorean, George is a proud graduate of Our Lady of Mount Carmel High School in Essex. He holds a bachelor's degree from Loyola University Maryland in Baltimore and a master's degree from UMBC.

George, his wife and five children live in Rodgers Forge. He is a parishioner of the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Homeland.

View all posts from this author

Recent Commentary

God spoke to me through my espresso

‘Do not worry about tomorrow’

Trying to emerge from my beach daze…er…days (7 Quick Takes)

Beating the claw machine

A personal flyswatter and other gifts, hummus, and a new room (7 Quick Takes)

Recent Local News

New triptych icon has origins in Archdiocese of Baltimore

Sister Bernadette Wilson, L.S.P., dies at 71

RADIO INTERVIEW: Solemnity of the Assumption/World Youth Day

Baltimore-area groups awarded $356,000 in CCHD grants, speak of togetherness

Anna’s Gift Foundation helps hope bloom for hospitalized children

Catholic Review Radio

CatholicReview · Catholic Review Radio

Footer

Our Vision

Catholic Review Media communicates the Gospel and its impact on people’s lives in the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.

Our Mission

Catholic Review Media provides intergenerational communications that inform, teach, inspire and engage Catholics and all of good will in the mission of Christ through diverse forms of media.

Contact

Catholic Review
320 Cathedral Street
Baltimore, MD 21201
443-524-3150
mail@CatholicReview.org

 

Social Media

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Recent

  • How to make the church synodal? Inclusion, say respondents in 3 countries
  • The elderly can unite all generations, save humanity, pope says
  • New course aims to instruct new Catholics, reenergize lifelong Catholics
  • God spoke to me through my espresso
  • ‘Do not worry about tomorrow’
  • Digital world leaves some ‘hyperconnected and alone,’ Vatican official says
  • ‘Esclavos y Reyes’ muestra la vida española de un santo en el siglo XIX
  • New triptych icon has origins in Archdiocese of Baltimore
  • LCWR president outlines ‘map-shaping’ concepts for future of religious life

Search

Membership

Catholic Press Association of the United States and Canada

Maryland-Delaware-DC Press Association

The Associated Church Press

© 2022 CATHOLIC REVIEW MEDIA, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED