The Mr. Universe Contests...
An Analysis and Comparison
By Franklin Page
(EDITOR'S NOTE-The following article by one of our outstanding authors, presents what we think is a very interesting comparison of two of the greatest physique shows. You may or may not agree with him, but the subject he discusses is one that will crop up in almost every gathering of barbell men, and we are happy to bring this discussion to readers-whether you agree or not.)
THE popularity of physique contests has risen markedly during the past few years and it is clear to all observers that the standard of physical development has reached a peak not thought possible twenty years ago. Who would have guessed in 1945 that in twenty years time every local contest would be able to boast of at least one authentic superman, that the national contests would be loaded with fantastic physiques and that two international Mr. Universe contests could be staged within a week of each other, each presenting scores of men of highest calibre. But so it is.
It has been the author's good fortune in the past two years to see both Mr. Universe contests -- one in New York staged by the IFBB organization, and the other in London staged by the NABBA organization. In this report and commentary it is not my purpose to pit one contest against the other or to establish the predominant importance of either sponsoring organization. There seems to be no point in running down positive accomplishment, but there is point to comparing the two events on the basis of performance, since they are apparently both well established as permanent projects and appear to fill a need on the international physique competition scene. Certainly both are supported to the hilt by the public and deserve to be.
The 1964 contests are too far in the past to rehash here. I shall base all comments on the 1965 events, with an occasional reference to the earlier contests if it seems relevant. I thought it necessary to see two complete rounds before attempting to estimate their qualities. There is no possible question that as far as physical excellence is concerned, these two contests represent the highest standard, and if one wants to know what the ultimate in the development of the male physique is, one must see these contests. As they have developed, they complement one another, neither of them so far duplicating the lineup of contestants in the same year. Personally, I feel that neither should be black-balled and they should feel obliged to indulge in no more than friendly rivalry against each other. My only quarrel with them is that both claim "Mr. Universe," a title to which NABBA clearly has prior claim by at least eleven years. The ultimate title means little now; the contest winner is still the winner, whatever name the title bears. One might carry the ridiculous to an extreme and call one "Mr. Universe - New York" and the other "Mr. Universe - London."
None of this is of much importance. The contest is the thing. First, let's consider the IFBB New York production, as it comes first chronologically, on September 18, 1965.
The "1965 IFBB Mr. Universe, Mr. America, Mr. Olympia, Miss Americana, Muscle-Beauty Show," to give its formal and complete title, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, was produced and directed by Bud Parker, the American Director of IFBB. Parker is an ideal director for the show and handles the difficult job of MC with professional poise and dignity. At the 1965 show he was operating against some discouraging odds. For one, the mechanical procedures of the show fell apart at a few crucial points, due apparently to inadequate support and organization. At each of these points Parker pulled things together single-handedly, with no visible aid from his colleagues. Second, he had to contend with one of the most obstreperous audiences I've ever been a part of. Audiences are notoriously inconsiderate, but this one took the cake. At this point one must painfully compare the New York audience with the London one which, though no less enthusiastic or ardent in its admiration, at least conducted itself with a semblance of humanity and consideration. No one could object to vociferous applause and cheers for a great physique, but constant heckling and interruptions do nobody any good.
The several posing sequences were interspersed with specialty acts. Those this year were in no way comparable to those presented at the 1964 show and would have been better dispensed with entirely. I must confess I was, on two occasions during the evening, in full sympathy with the audience in its loud objection to the two Rock 'n' Roll groups that performed. This sort of diversion, even if good, is in no way appropriate to such a program, which is not a jam session, but is centered around the presentation of the best in physical development. Score another point here for NABBA, which presented nothing in its show unrelated to strength and athletics.
A big plus must be recorded for the way in which the IFBB physique contestants were presented. The lighting was superb and the men well placed on the stage for their routines. It must be said at once, after all my crabbing, that the contestants left little to be desired. It is my understanding that entries were accepted freely, but there were no more than four or five men who were not up to top quality. In general, I should say that the physical standard was several cuts above that seen in London, and several men were undoubtedly among the best in the world today. The IFBB recognizes no difference in status between amateur and professional. In actual practice this makes sense in physique competition. Strict as the AAU intends to be, it is a provable fact that men who have competed in the AAU Mr. America contests have exploited their physiques commercially prior to competing. What really makes professionalism in the physique world? Does it include all who receive any remuneration for exploitation or does it depend on how big the remuneration is? Does it matter whether a film is produced in Hollywood or Podunk, if it is sold on the market? These are hard questions and full of booby traps.
To get back to the main topic, Americans may enter either the IFBB Mr. America or Mr. Universe contests, depending on how they rate the competition, and citizens of any country may enter the Universe category. This year an added title came up to dazzle--Mr. Olympia, calculated to give one more chance to the physique man who has everything.
The IFBB contests are, naturally, heavy with men from the East coast, with a generous sprinkling of real stars from the west coast and a few from in between. The Universe contest this year was remarkable for the strong representation from the West Indies, nineteen men in all, and everyone of them sensational in one way or another. They all showed extraordinary midsections, and ranged from the gigantic Christopher Forde and Glen Wells to the tiny, less than five foot Eddie Bates. As a matter of fact, this last man was nothing short of fantastic. On the stage under lights and alone, Bates looked like a Hercules of staggering muscular development, with each sinew and striation in bold relief, ideal proportions and a flashing presentation-all this perfection marred only by the massive array of tattoos that covered his body. It is difficult to tell why a man will deface a magnificent body to this extent.
Glen Wells is completely new to me and is the possessor of one of the most muscular physiques to be seen in a long while. His skin is light and his face exotic in contour, with reddened hair which gave him a striking appearance, to say the least. Simply to see him stand relaxed is a sight to sear the memory. He has cultivated the slow approach, walking to the podium at a clip of a step about every 30 seconds, most imposing when he is carrying over 200 pounds of rippling muscle. I hope he will appear again, and undoubtedly he will improve significantly. It seemed to me that these three men were the pick of the West Indians (if we may for the moment exclude Rick Wayne and Earl Maynard, who came to the contest from London), although the group as a whole was spectacular. Most have difficulties with leg form, a problem common to colored men, but the upper bodies were terrific in their contours and definition. It is interesting to speculate on this physique explosion in the southern islands but that's another story to deal with at another time.
Mexico was represented by two good men, one of them a bell-ringer named Guillimo Maldonado. This man is massively muscular, finely proportioned and has a stylish way of presenting himself. Once in a while we encounter a man with the attributes of a real star, and the Mexican Maldonado is one.
Mike Ferraro, seemingly having gone the route with the AAU, made his usual impressive appearance. Here, too, is a real star, one who has always seemed to deserve more than he gets in the way of recognition. Ferraro is at his top now, a beautiful poser with marvelous powers of flexion. Though impressive, for example, his arms in repose look comparatively smooth and not too bulky; flexed, the biceps jump to a startling peak and the arm is cut to countless striations. All of us know his fabulous posing of the torso and he was at his best here. This is a man who has worked steadily since he won the teen-age AAU Mr. America title years ago and yet we know surprisingly little about him and his training.
Of the two West Indians competing from London, where both are associated with the Weider organization, Rick Wayne has what must be considered one of the best physiques available. He has admirable proportions, remarkable size, and definition all over the place. Earl Maynard is a powerful man with plenty of size and definition but his body does not have the quality of shape and contour which is essential to the great physique, in my eye. Wayne has it, but both these men do themselves a disservice by carrying on the hi-jinks they do when on stage. Good spirits are all very well, but a formal presentation before a large audience is far more impressive than bouncing around like beach boys at horseplay. Occasions like this are appropriate times to project all the glamor, nobility and dignity of which a man is capable. With proper handling, Wayne could present a muscular spectacle of great beauty and strength. He is graceful and lithe in spite of his huge muscle size, with especially fine legs, the best among all the West Indians and not matched by many athletes of any race. For sheer physical beauty and Herculean muscularity Wayne is hard to match. In passing, he easily won the best arms title for the entire Universe category.
He was matched, however, by one other man, Frank Zane of Edwardsville, Pennsylvania. I realize I am on a dark horse at the moment, but for my money Zane had the most beautiful physique to be seen in either contest. He has been good for the past couple of years but this year Zane showed greater muscle size and more definition than before. His body is without a flaw and comes nearer to the physical perfection of the classic ideal than any other of the younger crop of physiques. With his continually improving size and shape, his natural grace of movement, fine skin texture and tone, Zane has a most promising future. He is not yet in the league with the three or four truly fabulous physiques that appeared that night, but the potential is there in full measure. Zane is the man I shall watch with particular interest in the next few years.
Probably this is the time to mention those "truly fabulous" physiques. Interesting enough, none of them appeared in the Universe section though Wayne and Wells came close to introducing the fabulous among the Universe contestants. The great men were Larry Scott, Dave Draper, Harold Poole and Chester Yorton. Three other men whom everyone was hoping to see and who are generally considered in the "fabulous" class did not compete that night: Fred Ortiz, Don Howorth and Hugo Labra.
With the exception of Bill Pearl, Larry Scott must now be called the most fantastic physique star in the world today. He and Pearl are the two men who have absolutely everything. Pearl, of course, has not competed in any contest for several years, confining himself now to professional appearances. He is the one who could give Scott any competition but I am not at this moment going out on a limb of comparison-a futile occupation when a man is as good as these two. Scott is dazzling in every way and it is hard to conceive of his being any better. Everything about him is beyond any comment but complete admiration. His shape is perfection, his body ideally balanced in development, and it simply does not seem possible for a young man to develop such massive muscle size and maintain the refinement and elegance of form, tone and definition that Scott has. During his posing every muscle vibrated and pulsed with strength and power, and to see him is to realize how superb the male physique can be. This is surely one of the greatest stars in the whole history of strength and development.
The other man with a physique that is hard to believe is Dave Draper. This man has not yet attained the incredible perfection of Scott, but there is no reason to believe he will not soon reach that exalted state. As a matter of fact, I dare predict that if he continues the methods that resulted in his shape on September 18, he can easily become the most massively developed muscular man ever recorded. He is so nearly that now that this is not in any sense a risky prediction. However, as long as one can pick flaws or find obvious areas for improvement, a physique has not reached its ultimate peak of development. Draper's legs are still a bit light for the massive proportions of his upper body. They are beautifully shaped, with no structural deficiencies to prevent them from attaining perfect balance. This man is a giant, loaded with muscle, defined in every fiber and with every part in perfect relationship to the ideal for a Herculean physique. It would be a significant work to carefully analyze his development and I hope it can be done. In my opinion, this man should be given every opportunity to push for the limit, concentrating his every effort and resource on training, with all possible support. He could soon stand as the ultimate in physical development. His capacities are evidently unlimited. If we have any interest in seeing the fullest possible development of the male physique on gigantic scale, this is the man who can show us what it looks like. Scott and Draper, then, represent the top in both New York and London, which was not able to offer anything to compare to these two men.
In passing, I'd say that Scott was a good sport about the ridiculous crown awarded him as Mr. Olympia. I feel resentful of anything that makes a clown out of one of the most magnificent specimens of manhood to be seen. Dave Draper was luckier to receive only a trophy of the more conventional shape, as Mr. America.
Just slightly lower but still on a level above any man competing in London, I would place Harold Poole. For sheer muscularity this man is without a peer, but there are discrepancies of shape and contour which prevent us from speaking of his physique in terms of proportional perfection. His hips are wide and while his legs are better than those of most colored athletes, the calves are high and the line from hips to ankle is knotty. His muscles generally flex into massive knots of hardest density, which is most impressive, but interrupts the flow of line and relationship of muscle masses to each other which marks the ideal body. Poole is possibly the most muscular man in the world today and will very likely improve still further if he is able to concentrate on an extension of his full powers.
There are several areas in which Chester Yorton's physique fails to meet perfection, yet this man's development is truly fabulous. Each year he adds a bit more in size and a few more cuts of definition. Proportionately, he is very long waisted and his comparatively short legs are made to seem even more so because of their massive development. If one wants to see legs of the most superlative development, Yorton is the man to show them. He has arms to match those legs and a titanic back. His pectorals are a bit flat but the chest is great in its fullness and depth. The midsection is packed with muscle in places but there are flat areas in the long expanse. Soon he will have all these parts knit together and he can then take his place among the very best anywhere. Even now, he is one of the authentic "greats" on the posing platform. His potential is enormous and one must hope that the setback of placing behind Draper, which clearly annoyed him, will only urge him on to the limit.
Of the remaining men in the IFBB contests, competing for the title of Mr. America, I would especially note Willie Cormier of Newark, Nick Perrotti of Brooklyn and Bernie Booth of Springfield as men of very high quality and the potential to reach the top. Admirable, too, was Joe Nista, older than most of the top liners but dramatically impressive in muscularity and size. Nista is an unusually handsome man and makes an unforgettable impression. Two real "old-timers" were there who are still tops, Wally Farrell and Irvin Koszewski, both long known for their abdominal development and both as good as ever, though past the age of forty. Zabo is better known of the two but Farrell is, to my eye, still the owner of one of the most spectacular and pleasingly muscular physiques available. He has more in the midsection than can be seen on any man half his years, but the entire physique is top drawer quality.
To switch now to September 25 and London, this is still the model contest and exhibition, unmatched anywhere for smoothness and effectiveness of production and probably the only remaining top contest in which the element of real competition is strong and that of political expediency and favoritism kept at a minimum. The entries are carefully culled and each contestant must come up to adequate physical standards before his entry is accepted. There has been only one slip-up in fifteen years; in 1964 an Indian contestant got in who wasn't up to snuff, because his actual development did not coincide with his entry statistics. The British entries qualify for the Universe in regional contests during the preceding year.
The judging of the NABBA Universe takes place during the whole of the day preceding the exhibition itself, and this judging session is the real contest. It is the most carefully done and the most conscientious of any judging with which I am familiar. The Universe title is divided into a professional and an amateur category, with the men separated into height classes in each division. The judging is carried on strictly within the height classes, with winners picked in each class.
The show itself, given in a principal London theatre, the last several having been in the Victoria Palace, is MC'd by Neville Powley, a theatre pro who does his job with a very light touch. The entire production is carefully planned and rehearsed as any theatrical production would be, and carried off without a hitch. All of it--the preliminaries of entries, judging, and the final production--is under the personal direction of Oscar Heidenstam, NABBA'S Secretary and Man-at-Large. In experience, as an earlier physique champion himself, and through his years of direction and unlimited contacts, no man can match Oscar, and I don't think it is saying too much to state that Oscar is a world leader in this field. The variety acts which he arranges to be interspersed between the contest sections of height classes, are always of an athletic or strength variety-muscle control, acrobatics, strength feats, calisthenics and the like. The audiences, a most important part of any performance, are always well-conducted, though they shout their approval of an athlete's accomplishments and are unstinting in their applause. At no time did they interrupt the performance or insult a contestant, both common occurrences in New York. Surely any physique man would find the NABBA Universe contest the ideal setting and atmosphere in which to present his best.
The professional title was won by Reg Park, which was, I am sure, a foregone conclusion as soon as his name was entered. Park is one of the greats of this age and it is remarkable that he is still of superb calibre at the age of 37. Admittedly, there wasn't much for him to fight against, the heaviest competition always being in the amateur ranks.
Elmo Santiago, who is 34, won the amateur title and is another "old timer" in the physique world in the U.S. These two men have proven their worth many times over the years and it is encouraging to see them recognized again in this way. Since we look to the future and seek out the promising men yet to come up, I shall concentrate on those who have this road before them.
To the British, I think, their most promising man is Paul Nash. I thought that on this occasion Paul was too bulky in his upper body but this is certainly a great physique. His size is astounding but it was somewhat at the expense of muscle detail. With more refining he will inevitably go to the top. He has great "class" (which is something that can be said of all the top Britons) and there is nothing wrong with his basic structure.
In this contest, however, I should have placed Nash behind Val Vasilieff, who was representing the USA. Vasilieff really has a fabulous physique, but he was not in his best condition here and his posing lacked that dramatic fire and style which has come to distinguish the posing of all the experienced men in both New York and London. He didn't capture the eye as securely as the men who were squeezing out every inch of muscle and all their details, and putting a great deal of enthusiasm in their work, Vasilieff is one of our most outstanding men and I expect to consider his form more seriously in a later article. Here is yet another man with unlimited possibilities, not yet fully realized.
Among the English athletes, who were generally superior to any from the Continent, in my opinion, there are two of remarkable promise. John Citrone and David Tonks. Though Citrone is still very young, he is already a veteran and handles himself with fine assurance. He was not even in the top three of his class, yet his physique is a thrill to see, massive in size, crisply defined and beautifully posed. Tonks is a wonder, with the thick, strong joints that indicate a structure capable of supporting a colossal development. His legs are sensational and his upper body is rounding out into marvelous form. I predict that Tonks will follow in the footsteps of Sell and Hewlett if he keeps at the job.
Another unforgettable sight is Fannie DuToit's arms, among the best developed to be seen anywhere. His entire physique is noteworthy and a real credit to S. Africa, which he represented. His arms were equaled in their sensational qualities only by the legs of Brian House, another man to watch with interest.
The overall quality of the current British physique is very high, but only a few of them reached the standard of American physiques at their best. The English physique is notable for intense muscularity and exceptionally fine legs in almost every case. In comparison to the Americans, they lack, in most cases, the breadth of shoulder and chest that characterizes the best U.S. physiques and, consequently, have not the marvelous shape of the tapered body. This is picking faults and in some cases these objections are hard to justify; they can be considered as general assessments only and I am sure they will be quickly disproven as the fine British athletes crack down even harder.
Feeling sure that it is time to bring this lengthy dissertation to a close, I'll sum up by saying that the London show was a superior spectacle from the point of view of production and making the most of everything available. But the New York production presented physiques that were greater than any seen in London this year. Both contests gave the spectator a handsome money's worth and I see no reason why they should not both flourish, hopefully eventually clarifying the Universe title status and giving up the damaging accusations against each other.
In these two contests we were privileged to see in action the greatest number of the world's best developed men. I know the consistently rugged competition put them all on their mettle so that we saw them at their best (with the significant exception of Vasilieff). In order to keep the standard up and rising, the competition must be kept keen, and only in contests of international stature can this be done today. It will keep us all wondering what miracles of development will yet appear and from what corner of the globe.
PHOTO CAPTIONS
- Joe Nista, a gym operator at 3329 South St., Long Beach, California, has attained one of the finest physiques in the world and has made continual improvement from a point where he seldom won a contest or even a place, a short time ago, to the physique he shows on opposite page, which recently won him the Short Men's Class in the IFBB version of the Mr. America title.
- Earl Maynard has won titles in both the London Mr. Universe where he won the top title last year and then this year entered the IFBB Mr. Universe contest where he won the tall man's class and Best Chest titles. He has a most exceptional physique.
- Ron Sterlington, an American bodybuilder who has not entered many
contests in the U.S.A., still placed very high in the London Mr.
Universe contest and has a very fine physique, as these two photos
by T. G. Temperly of Kumait, Arabia show.