Howard Cohen, the patriarch of Savannah's famous weightlifting Cohen family, died Thursday at the age of 91.
A graduate of Benedictine Military Academy (class of 1950) and Armstrong College, Cohen served his country in the Air Force during the Korean War. Cohen opened his first weightlifting gym in Savannah in 1952, and the Hostess City became a hotbed for his sport of weightlifting in the United States.
Cohen coached his son, Michael Cohen, who was selected to the U.S. Olympic weightlifting team in 1980. Michael coached the US Olympic team in 2000 and he also served as the coach for the US Olympic team in 2004.
At 5 feet 3 inches tall and weighing about 150 pounds, Howard Cohen wasn't your typical burly weightlifter, but he loved everything about the sport and was competitive as a 32-time U.S. National Champion and 10-time Pan American Champion. It became a dynamo.
Cohen was a Golden Gloves boxer in his youth, but his mother was not a fan of the sport and persuaded him to step out of the ring. That's when he became interested in Olympic weightlifting, Michael Cohen said.
“He was like the Mighty Atom, short in stature but with the biggest heart. Weightlifting was perfect for him because he competed in heavyweights against guys his size,” Michael Cohen said. Told. “He fell in love with it and kept it with him all the way to the 1956 Olympic Trials.”
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Michael Cohen said his father was in a freak accident that left him with a neck injury and a cast, ending his Olympic dreams. However, he never lost his passion for competing, and from 1995 he contributed to the growth of the sport as head of the weightlifting division at the US Masters until 2016. He ran Howard Gym in Savannah for more than 50 years, and last number at Savannah's Anderson/Cohen Weightlifting Center, named after him and Vidalia native Paul Anderson, who won a gold medal at the 1956 Olympics. He continued to train regularly for up to a week. Olympics in Melbourne.
“My dad was really close with Paul (Anderson), who weighed over 300 pounds,” Michael Cohen said. “They often performed at the Lucas Theater, where the World's Strongest Man could be seen lifting with his 135-pound father, Savannah's Pocket Hercules.”
Howard Cohen was inducted into the Greater Savannah Athletic Hall of Fame in 1984 and the U.S. Masters Weightlifting Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2011, he was honored by the Greater Savannah Sports Council at the Georgia Power Sports Awards luncheon, earning him the highest honor at the event. He received the John F. Hodges OASIS Award for Outstanding Achievement in Savannah Sports.
He talked about how important his family was to him that day, calling his wife Carol his best friend. The couple celebrated their 67th wedding anniversary in December.
“I won awards in Canada, Poland and Australia,” Cohen said at a luncheon that day. “But this is my Savannah community with all my family and friends. This is special.”
Cohen was a math teacher in the Savannah-Chatham public school system for 30 years, the last five years when Savannah High School was located at the Washington Avenue location where Savannah Arts is now.
“My father was a disciplinarian and a monster in the classroom,” Michael Cohen said. “And it was just like when he was in the gym. If you didn't look good or you weren't doing a good job, he was going to let you know. He'd be the first to put you down, but… , he was always the first one to put you down.'' “Come get me.'' And if he said anything to you, it was gospel. He was never the type to blow smoke.'' did.”
Michael Anderson said the global weightlifting community had learned of his father's death and had received an outpouring of support from around the world.
“My father has helped grow USA Masters Weightlifting here in the United States and internationally,” Michael Cohen said Saturday at the USA Masters National Championships in Baton Rouge. He won the gold medal with his wife, Sheryl Cohen, a lifter also from Savannah. native. “He was very good at developing individuals as a coach and as a teacher. He was successful in helping people reach the next level and achieve their goals, whether in athletics or in life. He was a teacher and an educator. 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, he never left the clock to go home. affected the lives of.”
Michael Cohen said the last time he spoke to his father was last weekend, and his father told him to focus on the Masters National Championships after his father stepped down in 2016 to become CEO of the U.S. Masters Weightlifting Association. He said he recommended it.
“He told us to put on a great show for the people,” Michael Cohen said. “And it shows that even in his later years he was thinking about this organization that meant so much to him. He was always very disciplined and focused and loved by everyone. It had been done.”
Cohen is survived by his wife, Carol Cohen; children, Michael Cohen (Cheryl), Mitzi Cohen; his grandchildren – Dallas Sellers (Brad), Nova Oglesby (Eric), Michael H. Cohen (Isabel), William Cohen, Carolyn Cohen, Samuel Cohen, and his great-grandchildren – Nava Sellars, Zarah Sellers, Jordan Sellers, and Cohen Oglesby.
Services will be held on Monday, April 15, 2024 at 11 a.m. at Bonaventure Cemetery. A Celebration of Life will be held at a later date.
When Howard Cohen was honored by the Sports Council in 2011, he was reminded of a Savannah Morning News article written by his friend, the late sports editor Marcus Holland.
“The headline was 'A life of gold,' and that's what I went through,” Cohen said.
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact us at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
