Bob O’Leary

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Bob was in the United States Navy where he obtained the title of “Strongest Man in the U.S. Navy”. He has also been involved in powerlifting, bodybuilding and armwrestling. Bob competed in bodybuilding in the 1950’s and won various titles. He is the Body Building Chairman of the Middle Atlantic District of the AAU and has held this position for the past fifteen years. Recently he was elected to another two year term. He has been promoting bodybuilding for the past twenty-five years for the greater Scranton YMCA. He is a National AAU body-building judge and has been for the past 15 years. He is also on the AAU Mr. America Executive Committee. In 1986 Bob was elected to the “National Bodybuilding Hall of Fame”. For the past twenty-five years Bob O’Leary has been running and conducting the Ms. and Mr. Anthracite and Mr. North America Body Building Championships and also the Ms. and Mr. Pennsylvania and Teenage Pennsylvania Body Building Championships in conjunction with the Greater Scranton YMCA. Bob is considered one of the world’s foremost authorities on armwrestling. He is known as “the father of arm wrestling” because he was the founding chairman of both the American Armwrestling Association (AAA) and the World Arm Wrestling Federation (WAWF). He is a director of the American Armwrestling Association. He is the past Chairman of the World Arm Wrestling Federation and is a member of its board of directors. He publishes armwerestlings premiere magazine the ARMBENDER which is circulated worldwide. In November 1982, Bob was the chairman for the World Arm Wrestling Championships which was held in Syracuse, New York. Bob has also promoted several sit-down National Championships which were conducted in Northeastern Pennsylvania. The WAWF has fifty countries involved and has petitioned the Olympic Committee for recognition. In 1987 Bob was elected to the World Arm Wrestling Association Hall of Fame. In the early 1970’s Bob promoted National Championship Powerlifting Contests. These events attracted contestants from all over the United States to Northeastern Pennsylvania. In the past Bob operated the Taylor Health Studio. For several years he trained local high school and college athletes at no charge. Several years ago Bob was featured in Sports Illustrated Magazine. The article focused on his founding of the sport of Arm Wrestling. Bob has had articles on the sports of bodybuilding and armwrestling published in prominent athletic magazines such as Iron Man Magazine, Muscular Development and Muscle Magazine. He has also written articles for newspapers throughout the United States on the Iron Sports in 1989, in recognition of his contributions to advancement of sport. Physical education and fitness, Bob has been named to the prestigious International Advisory Council of the Association for International Cultural Exchange Programs (AICEP). One of the main functions of AICEP is the organization of courses, sports schools, competitive tours for High Schools, Colleges and Clubs in the U.S.S.R., GDR, China and other leading sporting nations for Canadians and Americans.

As a Council Member, Bob will be directly involved in the decision making process in terms of what AICEP courses and sport schools will be offered, topics covered, as well as the schedule and the number of possibilities for local teams to travel abroad representing the U.S. in International competitions vs. their peers in the U.S.S.R. and other foreign countries. These tours have provided a stimulating learning experience as, well as an incentive for young and adult American participants to get into the best shape of their life, as they prepare to train with and compete with foreign athletes.