Editorial - Mr. Universe

By Bob Hoffman

IN 1947, in conjunction with the World Weightlifting Championships which were held in Philadelphia that year, we conducted the first Mr. Universe contest. We selected the "Universe" name with some hesitation, for the universe embraces more space than we can conceive. The earth is an infinitesimal part of the universe, smaller by comparison than a single grain of sand among all the sands of all the oceans and deserts of this planet we inhabit. I jokingly said, "We are taking a chance in having a Mr. Universe contest, because Skyjack from Mars, all of 30 feet tall and magnificently constructed physically according to the standards on Mars, might come down and push his way into the contest and tell our fellows to move aside to make room for him."

But the name was interesting, and did add to the importance of the event and of the winner. We could have called it the Mr. World contest, which would have been a more honest description. This title was later used over much of the world. And the Mr. Universe title has been used in considerable measure since that first contest in 1947. Eventually some sharp promoters brought the ladies into the picture, and as you know, the Miss Universe contest is now a tremendous event, one which rivals the long standing Miss America contest in size and popularity.

Steve Stanko, earlier famed as the first man to make a total of over 1000 pounds on the three Olympic lifts, which are the basis for weightlifting competition the world over, Mr. America of 1944, was the winner of this first Mr. Universe contest. The panel which chose him was made up as largely as possible of judges from other countries, for it is only fitting and proper that in a contest open only to men of all nations that the judges not be from one nation only. The current A.A.U. Mr. America rules were used for the 1947 event. These were designed to select the best possible man for the title, with points scored for muscular development, symmetry of development, posing ability, skin, hair, teeth and face, general appearance, personality, education, morality, and similar traits. The idea was to pick the finest male athlete in the world, and mental as well as physical traits were considered.

Athletic ability on a point basis was not included in this judging, for it was only later that the A.A.U. method of scoring introduced this feature, the purpose of which was to avoid picking a Mr. America who was simply a mirror athlete. The various Mr. Universe contests throughout the world which followed have had some sort of provision giving the contestants credit for athletic ability. Perhaps they had to show what they could do in a physical way, or perhaps the rule stated that they must do a total on the three lifts of three times bodyweight, a feat not too difficult for the class of men who would be competing for this title.

In 1948 N.A.B.B.A., the British amateur bodybuilders' association, conducted the Mr. Universe contest in London. The winner was the great John Grimek. Steve Reeves, who had won the Mr. America. contest the year before, was in that contest, but Grimek was the superior physical specimen, and he won this great contest which was held at the time of the Olympic Games in London. No contest took place the following year, but every year since N.A.B.B.A. has held a Mr. Universe contest in London, and this has come to be a great event. I had the good fortune to witness the 1962 contest, which was won by our own current Mr. America, Joe Abbenda. This is a well run event. In the amateur category there are three height classes. And there is a separate professional category with two height classes. It is important that there is a clear distinction between amateurs and professionals. Amateurs make their living outside the sport in which they compete. Many are students. But they do not have time to train as much as the professionals, who make a living in sports. Professional athletes of any sort are eligible to compete in the professional part of the Mr. Universe contest, but most of them are gym operators. Some 76 years ago, in the 1880s, the Amateur Athletic Union of the United States was formed to differentiate between amateur and professional competitors. This organization is still very much with us, controls most sports in the United States, and is affiliated with many international sports' governing bodies, including the International Olympic Committee. It follows that anyone who does not follow A.A.U. rules is not eligible for A.A.U. competition or for Olympic competition.

From time to time following the 1947 Mr. Universe contest the International Weightlifting Federation (F.I.H.C.), more properly called the International Weightlifting and Physical Culture Federation, has granted approval to member organizations to sponsor international physique contests, generally in conjunction with the annual World Weightlifting Championships. The F.I.H.C. constitution claims authority to organize, regulate, and control physique competition. It has a physical culture committee, of which I am a member. The first F.I.H.C. Mr. Universe event took place in France following the 1954 World Championships which were held in Vienna. Tommy Kono was the winner. He won again the next year in Munich and again in 1958 in Teheran. The next year the contest took place in Warsaw, where Guy Mierczuk of France won. Last year, when the contest took place in Vienna, Tommy Kono was again the winner. No contest was held this year.

We have mentioned N.A.B.B.A., the National Amateur Bodybuilders' Association, the British organization which does such a good job of staging the Mr. Universe contest. It has 53,000 members. N.A.B.B.A. concerns itself with physical culture and bodybuilding only and has nothing to do with Olympic weightlifting in Britain. S.A.W.L., the Society of Amateur Weightlifters, a small organization of about 1,000 members, primarily interested in the strength lifts or odd lifts, and B.A.W.L.A., the British Amateur Weightlifters' Association, are two groups involved with competitive weightlifting. The latter is affiliated with the Olympic Association and the International Weightlifting Federation. Neither has concerned itself with physique contests to speak of, and so N.A.B.B.A. has become the acknowledged leader in this type of competition in Great Britain. And they have been doing a fine job. Their contests have been well staged, honestly run, and in the opinion of the honest judges, they have always selected the man they considered to be the best in their Mr. Universe contests as well as in lesser contests.

As we started the Mr. Universe movement, we felt that we had a right to participate in the further staging of Mr. Universe contests, and we held two such contests strictly for amateurs. The first was in Philadelphia, where the original event was conducted. The year was 1952, and the winner was that year's Mr. America, Jim Park. The next contest was held in 1956 at Virginia Beach, Virginia. This time the 1955 Mr. America, Steve Klisanin, won the title. The runner-up, Ray Schaefer, the 1956 Mr. America, was sent by us to London to compete in the N.A.B.B.A. Mr. Universe contest, and he won this great event.

For the past 15 years or so, the Weider organization, through its own International Federation of Bodybuilders (I.F.B.B.) has at various times and places conducted its own so-called physique contests. But in all these years they have never been able to produce an authentic Mr. America or Mr. Universe. They have succeeded in signing up some Mr. Americas after they won their titles in A.A.U. competition and then claimed them as "Weider champions", although these men were world famous for their physiques before the I.F.B.B. ever came into being. An example is George Eiferman, who was Mr. America in 1948 and at one time even a member of the York Barbell Club. He had been featured in this magazine for many years. Another is Jack Delinger, who trained in York prior to winning his Mr. America title and who was used in our magazine and even in our advertisements for years before he signed with Weider.

Since no Weider man has been able to win a legitimate Mr. America or Mr. Universe title, the I.F.B.B. began to stage its own versions of these contests several years ago. Judging from the comments of eye witnesses to these affairs, it seems that the winners are selected in advance. Now if they just called them professional, we would have no quarrel with them. They can run all the professional events they wish. But when they lump the professional and amateur competitors together in these contests, every single man who enters automatically becomes a professional, and thus we lose the possibility of one of these men being a competitive weightlifter. Some of the top physique men have been good lifters as well as winners in bodybuilding contests, men such as Joe Abbenda. Tommy Kono, Steve Klisanin, John Grimek, and Steve Stanko. Louis Martin, the world champion weightlifter in the 198-pound class, began as a bodybuilder. Had he been in this country and entered an I.F.B.B. contest, he would have sacrificed his amateur status for life.

There is another angle to consider. A man who has won one of the legitimate Mr. Universe or Mr. America titles has won a great honor. He has competed against a great number of the best physical specimens available, for the entrants are carefully screened and must be exceptional to even get in the contests. The lineup in the recent N.A.B.B.A. contest in London was truly amazing, and John Terpak, Steve Stanko, Jack Lipsky, and myself could hardly believe it possible for so many great physiques to be seen in one contest. To be a winner here, you really had to have something. By contrast, this year's I.F.B.B. Mr. Universe winner, George Eiferman, well past his prime, worked as emcee for the first half of the I.F.B.B. show, then took off his coat and went into the Universe contest, where he won over what was for the most part a mediocre lot, certainly nowhere near the caliber of the London contestants as a whole. Larry Scott, a misguided young man with a magnificent physique, who has been appearing regularly in a number of off color magazines, was the overwhelming victor in the I.F.B.B. Mr. America contest. Now he can never enter a weightlifting contest, a legitimate amateur Mr. Universe contest, or any amateur contest whatsoever. He is lost to the United States as a representative of the internationally accredited governing body for weightlifting and physique competition, the A.A.U. Perhaps he was misinformed, perhaps he did not know any better, perhaps he was misled, but anyway, he is out. He can win and no doubt he will win the I.F.B.B. Mr. Universe contest, which does not begin to have the kind of representation to be found in the N.A.B.B.A. event, for the obvious reason that few men want to lose forever their opportunity to enter other meets.

Anyone can hold a Mr. Universe contest, hold it in their own back yard, and pick a neighborhood boy for the winner, with neighborhood judges, if they wish, but it will compare very poorly with the legitimate contests. It is a shame that these contests and their winners detract from the really deserving winners of the long established, honestly conducted contests. We receive inquiries from people who wonder why there are two Mr. Americas. There is only one man who may rightly be called Mr. America, and that is of course the winner of the A.A.U. contest which has been held each year for the past 22 consecutive years. No one else is a true Mr. America, and no one else should be robbing the legitimate Mr. America of even one iota of his legitimate glory.

For years there has been an effort on the part of my detractors to tell the world that I hate bodybuilders. Nothing could be further from the truth. True enough, I have said many times that I am a weightlifter, that I like weightlifting and weightlifters. Weightlifting is my game, my hobby, almost my life. But I like bodybuilders too, particularly if they can do something in an athletic way with their muscles. The York organization, with my approval, has spent many thousands of dollars to send worthy contestants to London for the annual Mr. Universe contest as well as to other truly international physique contests.

I hope that this editorial has depicted the true picture of the present Mr. Universe and Mr. America situation.