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The Mr./Ms. America
Contest: A Brief History
Exert from an article written by David Chapman-Bodybuilding
Historian.
(The Mr. A Contest: A Brief Background)
"The Most Prestigious Amateur Bodybuilding Contest Ever"
Before Mr. Olympia, before Mr. Universe, before Mr. Anything,
there was the Mr. America, Although the competition was not
promoted for a number of years, the contest has managed to
survive and now at long last, with the promotional experience of
the World Bodybuilding & Fitness Association (WBFA) and the
support of the AAU, new life is being pumped into the contest.
Finally, the Mr. A shows every sign of coming back to life
bigger and better than ever.
Those athletically talented young men who will compete in this
year's Mr. America need to know something about how it began and
who won it in years gone by. The lucky victor of the 2004 Mr. A
should be aware of this competition's lengthy pedigree and its
noble list of contestants. The current participants are part of
a long line of musclemen that stretches back more than half a
century.
Although the Mr. America contest quickly became one of the
premier bodybuilding events in the world since the first contest
in 1940, it certainly did not start that way. Lots of people had
thought up the idea of pitting man against man in a contest of
muscles. As far back as 1901, bodybuilding pioneer Eugen Sandow
organized the first nationwide competition in Britain, but this
was a one-shot deal not an ongoing pursuit of the country's most
muscular body.
The first attempt to gather strong, muscular men from around the
country came in December of 1938 when gym manager and promoter,
Johnny Hordines, put together a contest to determine "America's
Finest Physique." The next attempt at a national competition was
held in June of 1939 in Amsterdam, New York. Hordines again
staged an event that many have called a "Mr. America" contest,
although its official title was once more "America's Finest
Physique." For the first time there was an overall winner, and
since there was no distinction between pro and amateur at this
meet, the big victor was professional muscleman, Bert Goodrich.
About a month later on July 4, 1939 there was another attempt at
putting on a national competition. The entrants had to be
amateurs, and they had to participate in the weightlifting
contest earlier that day. The victor of this meet was Roland
Essmaker. It was the first time the Amateur Athletic Union
became involved. All winners had to be members of the AAU. No
professionals could enter the contest.
In 1940 the pieces finally fell into place, and a new
competition was born. The city was New York and once again,
there was a weightlifting competition and then afterwards, the
physique contest. But this time the participation of the AAU was
unquestioned, and the name of the affair had been changed to
"Mr. America." It was a glittering evening of competition the
likes of which no one had ever experienced before.
In addition to the main winner, there were also competitions for
best body parts: arms, legs, abdominals, and so on. But at that
first Mr. America contest, one man dominated the competition so
conclusively that there was virtually no competition. He was
John C. Grimek, and his well-deserved victory put the contest on
a straight and true trajectory to success. It was said that the
only reason anyone else won any of the sub-categories was
because Grimek had chosen not to enter them, otherwise he would
have swept them as well. That Mr. America victory signaled two
things: that bodybuilding was assured a bright future and that
Grimek was destined to dominate the sport for many years to
come. In 1941 John Grimek won the Mr. America title for the
second straight year and to date is the only two-time winner of
this prestigious title.From 1943-1946, Mr. America tile holders
included bodybuilding legends Jules Bacon (1943), Steve Stanko
(1944), Clancy Ross (1945), and Alan Stephan (1946).
The Mr. America for 1947 was destined to eclipse all the others
in fame and fortune. Steve Reeves used his victory in America's
most renowned physique contest as a catapult to stardom. Reeves
was a California bodybuilder with the face of a matinee' idol
and the body of Hercules. It was his resemblance to the Greek
hero that allowed the young man to branch out into the movies.
Thanks to his contest win, he was soon whisked off to Italy
where he appeared in a series of Italian gladiator movies. By
the end of his cinematic career, Reeves had become the most
famous star to come out of the physique world until Arnold
Schwarzenegger. From the late 1940's through the 1970's Mr. A
continued to attract now bodybuilding legends who earned their
first major and national tile. George Eiferman, Jack Delinger,
Bill Pearl and Chris Dickerson. Other noticeable names to win
the "America" tile include Lee Haney, 1979 Teen Mr. America and
Carla Dunlop, who in 1980 won the first ever Ms. America title.
The WBFA was awarded the promotional rights in support of the
AAU in 2003.
The first ever Ms. America Figure competition was offered in
2003 and won by California resident Voncille Williams. Mr./Ms.
America Bodybuilding Champions were California residents Dan
Elam and Trish Hamishin. Elam can make history by becoming the
second two-time winner of this prestigious competition. The only
contestant ever to win two amateur Mr. A titles was John Grimek
(1940, 1941)
The old Mr. A still conjures up powerful emotions and vivid
images. Many bodybuilding buffs can rattle off the names and
years of their favorite Mr. Americas as if they were World
Series or Superbowl victories. So despite the passage of time,
there continues to be a magic ring to the name Mr. America, and
today it's time to reinstate the glory that once radiated from
the title. Even though other contests have supplanted it in size
none can surpass the Mr. A when it comes to its long and
glorious past. Let's make it shine like new once more!
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