Joe Magarac
Pseudo-legendary steelworker from Pittsburgh's industrial folklore.
Joe Magarac is a pseudo-legendary American folk hero associated with the steel industry of Pittsburgh. First attested in a 1931 short story by former steelworker Owen Francis, he is described as a superhuman steelworker who immigrated from Eastern Europe to western Pennsylvania, where he shaped steel with his bare hands and produced many times the output of a normal laborer. Since the 1950s, he has been considered an example of pseudo-folklore, as no evidence of his existence prior to Francis's story has been found.
- field
- Industrial folklore
- nationality
- American (pseudo-legendary)
- known_for
- Superhuman steelworker; symbol of Pittsburgh's steel industry
- first_attested
- 1931
- origin_dispute
- Likely invented by Owen Francis; possibly based on Croatian insult 'magarac'
Lore & Background
Joe Magarac was a giant of indeterminate Eastern European ethnicity—variously described as Hungarian, Serbian, Croatian, Bohemian, or Slovak—with arms the size of smokestacks. He was born in an iron ore mine, raised in a furnace, and made of solid steel. He worked unceasingly at a western Pennsylvania steel mill, performing superhuman feats such as twisting ingots into shapes, stirring molten steel with his bare hands, and instantly traveling across the mill to rescue workers. He never slept or took a break and could do the work of 29 men.
In one story, he appeared at a village contest of strength, won the prize of marrying Mary Mestrovich, but declined because he had no use for a wife, letting her marry her true love. He was so productive at making railroad track that the mills had to shut down due to overproduction. When they reopened, he melted himself in a furnace to become the finest steel for a new mill. Some versions say he still waits in an abandoned mill for the furnace to burn again.
Reader's Guide
Joe Magarac's significance lies in his contested origins and his evolution as a cultural symbol. First appearing in Owen Francis's 1931 short story, he was presented as oral folklore but later proven to be pseudo-folklore: folklorist Hyman Richman found in 1953 that steelworkers of Slovak descent had never heard of him, and the word 'magarac' is a Croatian insult meaning 'jackass' or 'donkey,' used derisively. Despite this, the character diffused through American popular culture from the 1930s to the 1950s. Early oral variants reflected pro-labor themes, such as co-workers asking him to reduce his hours, but by the 1940s corporate retellings portrayed him as an ideal immigrant laborer. His legacy includes a statue at Kennywood amusement park (later donated to US Steel's Edgar Thomson Works) and a sculpture from the Manchester Bridge, though the latter predates any documented mention of Magarac. He remains a popular symbol of Pittsburgh and its historic steel industry.
Did You Know?
- The word 'magarac' is a Croatian insult meaning 'jackass' or 'donkey,' used derisively by immigrant steelworkers.
- Folklorist Hyman Richman found in 1953 that steelworkers of Slovak descent had never heard of Joe Magarac.
- A sculpture from the Manchester Bridge, sometimes said to be of Magarac, predates any documented mention of the character.
- One 1948 children's book has Magarac incorporated into the steel of the United States Capitol and going on a rampage through Washington, D.C.
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