Robert Hudson BACKUS

Bob Backus was a weight thrower for the New York AC and Tufts. He was AAU hammer champion in 1954 but with the 56-lb weight, he won seven consecutive outdoor titles (1953-59), and also won seven indoor titles with the 35-lb. weight (1954-59, 1961). He was Pan American Games hammer champion in 1955 and finished third at that event in 1959. Backus did not qualify for the hammer throw at the 1956 and 1960 Olympics after finishing sixth in both Final Trials.

Backus took up weightlifting after he was dropped from the Army Air Force cadet program because he was too thin, at 6-5, 160 lbs. He built up to 290 lbs. and became a proponent of weightlifting for athletes, later serving as a fitness consultant to the New York Yankees. He lived in Pembroke, Massachusetts and owned a gymnasium there.

Personal Best: HT – 61.39 (201-5) (1959).