Robert Wadlow was already an international celebrity when he came to Manistee in the summer of 1940.
Standing a mind-boggling 8-foot-11, the 22-year-old had held the title of “World’s Tallest Man” since he was a teenager. Wadlow, who lived in Alton, Illinois, had an enlarged pituitary gland that produced enormous amounts of human growth hormone.
The result was that Wadlow grew really fast and never stopped until the day he died. Most males stop growing when they’re about 16, but Wadlow’s growth plates never fused, so he grew taller every single day. He was 6-foot-2 at age 8, 6-foot-10 at age 10 and then shot past 7 feet, then 8 feet, and then got within an inch of being 9-feet tall.
Wadlow started making appearances across the country as a teenager. He signed with the Ringling Brothers Circus in 1937, earning $400 a day (about $9,000 in today’s dollars) just to come out and wave to the crowd. A highly intelligent and humble young man, he started to feel it was undignified to be performing in a circus, so in 1938, he left and signed a contract with the International Shoe Company, which had been custom-making his Size 37AA shoes.
Wadlow’s job was to tour the country and visit shoe stores that carried the International Shoe Company’s products, posing for photos and signing autographs. He viewed this as an advertising job, and he much preferred it to being a circus attraction.
That’s what brought him to Manistee in July 1940. The Manistee National Forest was celebrating its 100th anniversary, so the town threw a huge three-day celebration. The festival featured parades, lumberjack competitions, street dances, and much more.
“Also participating in the festival will be Chief Pontiac, the Mt. Pleasant Indian band, Norman Erickson, national baton twirling champion, and Robert Wadlow, the Illinois giant,” wrote the Grand Rapids Press.
No offense to Norman Erickson and his batons, but the star of the festival was Wadlow. Snyder’s Shoe Store downtown was the big winner, because Wadlow appeared there.
An enormous crowd showed up to see the Illinois giant, and Snyder’s Shoe Store was packed. Even now, it ranks as one of the biggest things ever to happen in the Lake Michigan town.
But then disaster struck for Robert Wadlow. Because of his enormous height and the strain it put on his legs, knees and ankles, he had to wear braces at all times. He didn’t realize it, but while he was walking around Manistee, the brace on his ankle had been rubbing his skin too much.
“A brace worn on his ankle chafed, and infection set in. He was confined in his hotel rather than a hospital. His condition became very grave yesterday, and he was taking nourishment through a tube,” wrote the Grand Haven Tribune.
Sadly, doctors weren’t able to get the infection under control, and Wadlow died in Manistee on July 15. There was no hospital bed in town big enough to hold him, so he had been in his hotel room the entire time.
Wadlow’s death in Manistee was front-page news from coast to coast. Then came the matter of finding a casket for Wadlow and transporting the body back to Alton.
The Grand Traverse Casket Company was hired for the job. “The body of Robert Wadlow, tallest man in the world, will be taken to Alton, Ill., today for burial in a specially constructed steel coffin 10 feet six inches by three feet two inches,” wrote the Dowagiac Daily News.
The casket was so big and heavy that it had to be transported back to Illinois on the back of a flatbed truck.
Wadlow’s link to Manistee will endure forever, and Snyder’s Shoe Store wanted to make sure of it. So sometime in the last few decades, they procured a life-size statue of Robert Wadlow, along with one of the actual Size 37 shoes he wore.
If you visit the store today—at 397 River Street in downtown Manistee—you’ll see the “Big Bob” statue and his giant shoe.
“I’m not exactly sure when it got here, but I believe it was a patron of the store who got it for us,” said Arielle Annelin, a sales associate at the store. “The Snyder family has owned the store for three generations, and they felt it was important to remember and honor Robert Wadlow.”
Annelin said that Big Bob has become a true tourist attraction, especially in summertime.
“Some people will come in, walk back and take a picture of him, and then walk out,” Annelin said. “But at least they’re coming in the store!”
She also said that the statue is indeed life-sized, down to the last quarter inch. “It’s exactly 8-foot-11, just like he was,” she said. “You can stand next to it and see just how tall he was.”
Robert Wadlow was indeed the tallest human who ever lived, and it’s highly likely that he’ll hold the record forever. The condition he had, known officially as “hypertrophy of the pituitary gland,” is highly treatable these days, so it’s unlikely that anyone will continue growing like he did.
The current “tallest man alive” is Sultan Kosen, a Turkish farmer who stands 8-foot-2.8. The tallest current NBA player is Victor Wembanyama of the San Antonio Spurs, who stands a mere 7-foot-4.
So Robert Wardlow’s place in the record books is likely secure, as is his legacy in Michigan. All hail Big Bob!
Buddy Moorehouse teaches documentary filmmaking at Hillsdale College.
