“I had no idea what role genetics played in an athlete’s physicality. All my life I heard “if you work hard you can be anything you want to be.” That phrase did not mean anything to except when it was applied to strength training,” says Coach Dick Conner.
During his days as a Navy Seabee, Dick became acquainted with Larry Goodman who provided much color and entertainment while Dick served his commitment to the U.S. Navy. Goodman would stay drunk all night and dare the Navy to mess with him. Goodman participated in the flag football league, and it was apparent that Larry was exceptionally talented. Dick recalled a referee (who was an officer and former Big Ten referee), remark that Goodman could have played Big 10 football. Larry Goodman could be walking around and without delay, jump on his hands and walk on them like a gymnast. Dick was amazed at Goodman’s athleticism.
As Dick mentioned earlier, the island housed a mixture of military corpsmen: Navy, Seabees, Marines, and Air Force. Seabees and Marines do not like each other, as Seabees were regular Navy who had completed Marine training and were trained to shoot a rifle.
Kwajalein Island had only one place to drink and it also offered an outdoor movie theatre for entertainment. There was no age limit on the island to drink alcohol, however, the 19-year-old Conner did not drink alcohol, but he had a friend named Bredow who passionately partook of spirits. Bredow was about 5 feet, 6 inches tall and afraid of his shadow, but he hung around with Larry Goodman, Teaf and Johnson, as they provided him ample safety. While drinking at the club one day, Bredow began bragging that Larry Goodman encouraged him to stand up and challenge anyone to a fight. Everyone in the club knew that Bredow was a buddy of Larry Goodman and nobody wanted anything to do with him!
Conner mentions his experience with Goodman because he observed a physical occurrence with Goodman that he had not been exposed to at this time. Though Goodman was a drunk and often disorderly, he was also a genetic freak. Dick had not read or heard anything about what effect genetics played in physical strength. Even though Dick had been devoted to weight training for about two years, Goodman was much stronger, with likely less training than Dick had put himself through.
Dick says, “So as I continue to tell my story, remember I, like you, have been messed with when it comes to the truth. The truth is you work out to find out what you can be, not what you want to be.”
Larry Goodman was finally removed from the island and sent to Japan, but he would show up later in Dick’s life! Goodman had served several months in the Marine brig, and his transfer to Japan seemed like a normal transfer. Larry was built like an ultimate fighter and had the face of a man who had spent a lot of time in the boxing ring. He was a hospital corpsman and was smarter than the average man, but he could not be told what to do. He hated authority and because of this, he was put under Marine guard so he could be transported to Japan.
Dick’s commitment to the Navy ended October 2, 1958. He spent his last day as a sailor at Treasure Island, San Francisco. “As I was ending my last days, I had a plan. A plan that included a guy I trained with on “the rock,” (the island he was stationed on in the Marshall Islands) whose name I can no longer remember. He was also released from the Navy the same day as me. Although he had left a few days before me, we got out at almost the same day.”
In a crazy twist of fate, something unbelievable was lying ahead in Dick’s next adventure. To his great surprise, who was also there, being released at the same time? None other than the one and only Larry Goodman. When Dick came face-to-face with Goodman, he remembered he had been sent to Japan and he asked him what he was still doing in the Navy. Conner thought Goodman should have been out of the Navy at that point. Goodman responded to Dick that he was doing “bad time.” For every day he was in the brig he had to add a half day to his time in the Navy. The additional time to Larry’s commitment coincided with Dick’s release date.
Upon release from his commitment to the U.S. Navy, Conner was plotting his next stop. “My plan all along was to go up to Sacramento, California and train at the great Bill Pearl’s gym,” says Dick.
Around October 4, 1958, Dick, along with the brute Larry Goodman, and another Navy buddy, Billy, hitchhiked from U.S. Naval receiving station, Treasure Island, San Francisco, up to Sacramento. Within a short time, the trio rented a small, three-room private home not far from Bill Pearl’s gym. Conner says that very quickly he and Billy joined Bill Pearl’s gym, “I can still remember the address: 1914 P Street.”
Goodman joined a boxing gym and he intended to box competitively and make some money. Within a week or so a boxing manager approached Dick and asked him to encourage Larry to change managers. “To say it was a wild life for Billy, Larry, and I was an understatement,” adds Conner.
Larry Goodman was also starting trouble, and unfortunately it was with the Hell’s Angels motorcycle club. Billy had told Dick that Larry pushed a girl out of a car and she happened to be a girlfriend of an Angel. Goodman had not had a problem with them previously. But not surprisingly, Dick later heard from Billy that Goodman received a serious beating by the Hell’s Angels due to the incident with the girlfriend.
Gym owner, Bill Pearl, was the most respected body builder in the world at that time in history. His book Beyond the Universe is one of the most interesting books Dick says he has ever read. Dick felt that Pearl could have become an Olympic wrestler if not for his passion to lift weights and body build.
At this point in his life, Conner started drinking and he was not satisfied with training at Bill Pearl’s gym. “I loved lifting weights but was totally confused as to how I should train to get bigger. Pearl made me a workout plan that consisted of about 90 sets a week, which started with three sets of 20 on an incline board. I was already so lean it was hard to pinch my stomach flesh.”
Dick continues, “after joining and paying fees at Bill’s gym for a year, and purchasing a year’s supply of protein pills, (all in about three weeks), I made a decision that was not well thought out.”
The future well-respected strength coach continued his drive and his goal in life: to be bigger and stronger. Conner admits that he did not understand genetics. And now after about two years of lifting weights, Conner was not getting bigger. One night, Larry Goodman, Billy, and Dick were drinking at a bar in Sacramento. It was about October 24, 1958, and only a few short weeks since Dick completed his commitment with the U.S. Navy. Dick was drunk and talking out of his head, and he made an impulsive declaration to his buddies. They told Dick he was crazy, and furthermore, they basically told him he was gutless if he didn’t go through with it.
On that evening, supported by liquid courage, Dick announced to Larry and Billy, “I am going to join the Paratroopers.”
Stay Tuned for Part 6 of “In The Pit with Dick Conner”
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