Clarence Ross (October 26, 1923 – April 30, 2008), also known as Clancy Ross was a

bodybuilder Bodybuilding is the use of progressive resistance exercise to control and develop one's muscles (muscle building) by muscle hypertrophy for aesthetic purposes. It is distinct from similar activities such as powerlifting because it focuse ...

from the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

. Ross was born in

Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...

on October 26, 1923, the second of the four children of Hershel Ross, a teamster, and his wife Jeannette Levi. His mother died when he was young, so he grew up in a series of

foster home Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home ( residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family ...

s. He started weight training at age 17, weighing 135 pounds at a height of 5'10". He was motivated by the Japanese attack on

Pearl Harbor Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the ...

to enlist in the

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an ar ...

, which he did on October 31, 1942 at San Francisco, and was then stationed in

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

.Enlistment record at Ancestry.com Around this time he married his wife. In 1945, Ross won the AAU Mr. America contest in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. After this success, he started to appear on the covers of popular physique magazines such as ''Your Physique'', ''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby. The charact ...

'', ''Muscle Power'', and ''Health and Strength''. After leaving the service in November 1945, Ross opened a gym in

Alameda, California Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for " tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda Island, but also spans Bay Farm Island and Coast Guard Island, as we ...

. In 1976 Ross opened a bodybuilding gym in the Ygnacio Plaza Shopping Center, 1853 Ygnacio Valley Rd, Walnut Creek, CA 94598, where he ran it until 1981 when he sold the gym to Win Paris, who after 6 short months sold the gym to one of the Gold's Gym owners, Ed Conners. The gym was then sold to Fitness 19 and is still in business after 40+ years at the same location. On March 13, 1948, Ross won the Mr. USA contest in

ahead of the 1947 Mr. America,

Steve Reeves Stephen Lester "Steve" Reeves (January 21, 1926 – May 1, 2000) was an American professional bodybuilder, actor, and philanthropist. He was famous in the mid-1950s as a movie star in Italian-made sword-and-sandal films, playing the protagonis ...

. Ross attempted to defend his title in 1949 but placed second to

John Grimek John Carroll Grimek (June 17, 1910 – November 20, 1998) was an American bodybuilder and weightlifter active in the 1930s and 1940s. He was Mr. America in 1940 and 1941, and Mr. Universe in 1948. Throughout his career he carried the nicknam ...

. However, he finished ahead of

, becoming one of only two men to beat Reeves twice (along with Grimek). He appeared in the 1949 Warner Brothers "Joe MacDoakes" short ''So You Want to Be a Muscle Man'' with George O'Hanlon, Phyllis Coates and Willard Waterman. In 1955, Clarence attempted a comeback at the Professional Mister Universe of London. He won the tall class category but was beaten for the Overall Title by the Canadian Leo Robert. Ross died on 30 April 2008, he was 84 years old.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ross, Clarence 1923 births 2008 deaths American bodybuilders People associated with physical culture People from Oakland, California United States Army Air Forces personnel of World War II