Joseph Dube

:: 3/17/2024: John La Berg, Schaumburg Il, USA
Sorry Joe, I agree with the athletic director. The snatch has caused a lot of injuries in cross fit. The snatch is a great lift when learned properly over the course of a few years.

:: 4/1/2018: AJAX, , USA
joe dube is correct when he comments on the ignorance of high school coaches to importance of Olympic lifting I went local high school years ago and talked to the football coach to include clean &Jerk in training I showed him a still photo of Tommy Kono in split jerk position and this fool of a coach asked my why Kono was running with the 375 lb barbell overhead. Dumb ass

:: 3/6/2018: Mike Walker, Redondo Beach 90277, United States
Hi Arthur, great interview with Mr. Dube. Can you contact me direct at the email provided?

:: 7/17/2014: Arthur Chidlovski, Boston MA, USA
Thats great, Teri! By all means, the ring should be returned to its owner. With your permission, I've forwarded your message/email to Joe. Please reply to his email.

:: 6/2/2014: Terri, Canadian Oklahoma, Usa
I have found Joseph dube championship ring

:: 10/23/2013: john coniff, wheeling wv, usa
Patera had the stronger body, but Dube had the stronger mind

:: 10/22/2012: Al Dube, Abbeville Ga., Wilcox
As I look back I can still remember the beginning of Joe and Virgil's career in Weighlifting.My,I sure miss those days of them training in the back yard.It was Daddy that really got Doug and Virgil started. I always call Joe (Doug)since Douglas is his middle name.It's a family thing.Daddy had a pair of those stretch springs with a handle on each end.That lasted a little while and Doug and Virgil started using them along with Daddy.Then they ordered the rubber one and it was somewhat harder.But that's why Doug and Virgil liked it.Our Aunt Clara helped Doug and Virgil buy their first weights made by Joe Weider.And they were on their way from there.Next came a 400 lb. set of York Barbells because Doug and Virgil like the York bar a lot better.Our Mother told Doug and Virgil 'A WINNER NEVER QUITS AND A QUITTER NEVER WINS.That's all it took to instill the determination and WILLPOWER into Doug and Virgil.The rest is history.That was and still is our family motto.The 4 of us are so bonded together with brotherly love,no one could tear us apart and that's the way Momma and Daddy always wanted it.They taught us to love one another no matter what.I do want to say how proud I am of my brother Joe and Virgil's accomplishments in weightlifting over the years.Doug won the World title while I was in Vietnam and I was as proud as I could be while we were fighting those Communists.All 4 of us(Virgil,Doug,Clifford,and I are getting up in age now but we're still kicking and are as bonded together as 4 brothers could be.There were some times when all 4 of us lifted weights.Doug and Virgil taught me very well on the squat clean and squat snatch.But that was many years ago.I do want to say it was a great pleasure to meet Paul Anderson the night Joe pressed 400 and 3/4 lbs as a teenager at Jacksonville Beach and the first teenager to do so.That was a thrill for me.

:: 5/9/2011: Jack Tamul, Bristol RI, USA
During the 70's and early 80's Joe would train at the YMCA in Jacksonville, Florida. When you entered the building you would always know if Joe was there by the sound of his wieghts hitting the platform. The entire building rattled. Everyone would smile and say,'He's here'. He was an inspiration for everyone, He taught us that no matter who you are or where you're from you can be the best there is. Thanks Joe.

:: 3/14/2010: Mike Sibley TPHS '66, Marietta ga, usa
I went to school with Joe and his younger brother,Clifford (I think that's his name). My fondest 2 memories were the time I was 'guarding' the fence at a football game and I was in 9th grade, Joe was in 10th or 11th. When he jumped the fence we were supposed to make him pay the $.75 admission. You can bet your butt none of my team mates were going to make JD pay!! The other was when he was in the locker room and wanted to show how strong he was. He grabbed a sweatshirt and held the two sleeves out to the side then jerked one of them off. Try it yourself, it's impossible unless you're Godzilla or JD. Hope he's still alive.

:: 2/13/2010: Paul Ohearn, Ridgeland SC, USA
What can you say about Joe Duby that hasn't been said before. We all know he was one of the best and could very easily, if he ever stopped screwing up his body with constant injuries been the best of all time. I first saw Joe Dube lift at the 1963 Senior Nationals in Harisburg, PA. He bombed at this meet because first national meet. But damn id he wasn't strong.A little week on style, but OH my god look out if he does it right, Next I saw him at the Olympic Tryouts in 64 at the worlds fair.With a little better selection of weights he would have ben the # 2 man to Schemansky instead of Gubner, but thats all history.I then ran into Joe 2, 3,or4 times over the next 10 to 15 years. I never realized until we started to get into our 30's,40's and 50's what I knew about this guy. In plain simple words he is the best. Almost 50 years after we first met I have to sayhe is one of the greatest men I've ever met.Joe Dube I love you, and I will buy the next round.

:: 8/28/2008: Stephen Powell, Irmo SC, United States
Joe Dube is a great ambasssedor for the sport. He is always present at National meets and encourages every lifter he comes across. The Joe Dube meet help annually in Jacksonville FL is so fun to attend. He told me one time he still dreams he's on the podium and he hears Oscar State announce him as the winner of the 69 Worlds. What I would give to re-live a true dream like that.

:: 8/25/2008: Michael Pottorff, Macon GA, USA
Being heavily into weightlifting in the 60s, I remember Joe and Virgil at meets in Jacksonville and Pensacola then, where my Dad was a referee. Those were great times watching Joe do some amazing lifts. Certainly would be great to go back in time to those days.

:: 8/10/2008: Arthur Chidlovski, Boston , USA
Joe Dube first burst upon the weightlifting scene as a teenager, becoming the first teenager in history to press 400 pounds. In his twenties he continued to gain bodyweight and strength, soon rising to become a top contender for the superheavyweight championship of the US, and one of the best lifters in the world. During his illustrious career, Joe set numerous American and World records. He won the Pan American Games in 1967 and went on the following year to win a bronze medal at the 1968 Olympic Games in Mexico City, the only American to medal that year. Inspired by his Olympic experience and convinced he could defeat the reigning superheavyweight Olympic and World Champion, Leonid Zhabotinsky (who said the Americans could never beat him), Joe trained with a vengeance for the 1969 World Championships. His dedication was rewarded when he handed Zhabotinsky his first defeat since he the Russian won the Olympic Games in 1964. With his victory, Joe became the last American male to date to win a world weightlifting championship. (courtesy of weightlifting.org)

:: 5/18/2008: Mel Arnold, Cincinnati Ohio, USA
I was an avid Olympic Weightlifting fan during the late 60's and early 70's. I still remember Joe Dube's accomplishments during that period. I was very proud to be an American and felt that lifters like Joe Dube and Bob Bednarski could really give the Soviets a run for their money on the international level at the time. I like Joe's take on the High School weightlifting program in Florida. I wonder if Joe has ever thought about trying to get the Press re-instated into the Olympic weightlifting competition?

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