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Weightlifting Hall of Fame

Weightlifting Hall of Fame - York BarBell

The Weightlifting Hall of Fame contains a diverse history of strength sports, their evolution from mythology to early Olympic Games and from the 19th and 20th-century amateur and professional strongmen to the current specialized sport of Olympic weightlifting, powerlifting, and bodybuilding.

The Weightlifting Hall of Fame and Museum encompasses approximately 8,000 square feet of the space and is housed in the first floor of the York Barbell corporate headquarters, adjacent to York’s distribution center, 2 miles north of York at exit 24 off Interstate 83.

Hall of Fame Highlights

The Hall of Fame is a self-guided tour taking a counter clockwise movement through historical accounts. A 7.5ft bronze statue of Bob Hoffman, “Father of World Weightlifting” and founder of York Barbell, stands outside of the entrance to the museum and Hall of Fame.

The introduction to the strength begins in the massive two-story lobby, fronted with a circular window. Life-size bronze busts of Steve Stanko and Bob Hoffman stand beside displays of the nineteenth century and early twentieth-century spherical-end shaped dumbbells and barbells.

Visitors will also see York’s “ticket to the world” – our 185kg Elite certified set, the only set manufactured in the United States and approved by the IWF for use at all international and national weightlifting events. Behind this set, you can see a mural depicting champion weightlifters, seated on the right is Tommy Kono, arguably the greatest American weightlifter.

To the right of the lobby is a large auditorium featuring an Olympic weightlifting platform where competitions are held and seating for 200 people. Films may also be viewed in the auditorium, which is equipped with a projection room and a large screen on the wall behind the platform.

Strongmanism

This exhibit in the museum displays a variety of plaques, trophies, sculptures and vintage barbells from the strength era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Highlighting this exhibit is a statue of Louis Cyr, a 19th century professional strongman, and his actual 220-pound stage dumbbell. At its heaviest, packed with metal pellets, it weighted 273 pounds. Cyr handled it easily one-handed, using the overhead “side press” style… read more about the history on display at our Strongmanism exhibit →

Museum Hours (EST)

  • Mon – 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
  • Tue – 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
  • Wed – 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
  • Thu – 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
  • Fri – 9:00 am – 6:00 pm
  • Sat – 9:00 am – 4:30 pm
  • Sun – Closed

Contact the Hall of Fame and Museum