The Mr. America contest is a bodybuilding competition started by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). It was first held on July 4, 1939, and the winner was named "America's Best Built Man". In 1940 this was changed to what is now known as the Mr. America contest. In the mid-1940s, Joe and Ben Weider started the IFBB as an alternative to the AAU. They held their opposing contest, the IFBB Mr. America, in 1949 and then from 1959 through 1977.[1] Rights to the Mr. America name have been sold several times after AAU discontinued holding the contests in 1999.
 Bert Goodrich (1939 winner, left) with Alan Stephan (1946 winner) | |
| Sport | Bodybuilding |
|---|---|
| Awarded for | Physical fitness, trained muscular structure |
| History | |
| First award | 1939 |
| First winner | Bert Goodrich |
| Most wins |
|
| Most recent | Robert Thompson Jr. (2023) |
| Website | www |
History
editThe AAU voted to discontinue holding bodybuilding competitions in 1999.[2]
In 2004, the World Bodybuilding & Fitness Association (WBFA) announced they had acquired the rights to the Mr. America name and would resume running contests under that banner.
In 2006 Bob Bonham acquired the rights and from 2011 through 2013 held the Mr America contest under the sanction of the INBF (International Natural Bodybuilding Federation), which is the amateur division of the WNBF (World Natural Bodybuilding Federation). The contests were drug tested under strict WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) guidelines using U.S. Olympic laboratory testing.
In 2015, rights to Mr. America were acquired by Bruce Ebel, and the contest's annual event cycle resumed via MRA Promotions. Qualifying events in spring were sponsored by the National Gym Association (NGA), Nspire Sports League (NSL), and Ultimate Fitness Events (UFE).[3] The Mr. America Expo and contest was to have been held in Baltimore in October 2017.[4]
The contest resumed in 2020 (with no specific organization affiliation), promoted by Marc Tauriello of Mr America LLC. The Mr. America Sports Festival & Expo is held in October in Atlantic City, New Jersey,[5][better source needed] and broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.[6]
Winners
editBodybuilding
editAmateur Athletic Union / International Natural Bodybuilding Federation
edit| Year | Federation | Mr. America | Ms. America | Masters Bodybuilding | Classic Bodybuilding | Men’s Bodybuilding A | Men's Bodybuilding B | Venue |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1938 | Amateur Athletic Union | Bert Goodrich | ||||||
| 1939 | Roland Essmaker | |||||||
| 1940 | John Grimek | |||||||
| 1941 | ||||||||
| 1942 | Frank Leight | |||||||
| 1943 | Jules Bacon | |||||||
| 1944 | Steve Stanko | |||||||
| 1945 | Clarence Ross | |||||||
| 1946 | Alan Stephan | |||||||
| 1947 | Steve Reeves | |||||||
| 1948 | George Eiferman | |||||||
| 1949 | Jack Delinger | |||||||
| 1950 | John Farbotnik | |||||||
| 1951 | Roy Hilligenn | |||||||
| 1952 | Jim Park | |||||||
| 1953 | Bill Pearl | |||||||
| 1954 | Dick DuBois | |||||||
| 1955 | Steve Klisanin | |||||||
| 1956 | Ray Schaefer | |||||||
| 1957 | Ron Lacy | |||||||
| 1958 | Tom Sansone | |||||||
| 1959 | Harry Johnson | |||||||
| 1960 | Lloyd Lerille | |||||||
| 1961 | Raymond Routledge | |||||||
| 1962 | Joe Abbenda | |||||||
| 1963 | Vern Weaver | |||||||
| 1964 | Val Vasilieff | |||||||
| 1965 | Jerry Daniels | |||||||
| 1966 | Bob Gajda | |||||||
| 1967 | Dennis Tinerino | |||||||
| 1968 | Jim Haislop | |||||||
| 1969 | Boyer Coe | |||||||
| 1970 | Chris Dickerson | |||||||
| 1971 | Casey Viator | |||||||
| 1972 | Steve Michalik | |||||||
| 1973 | Jim Morris | |||||||
| 1974 | Ron Thompson | |||||||
| 1975 | Dale Adrian | |||||||
| 1976 | Kalman Szkalak | |||||||
| 1977 | Dave Johns | |||||||
| 1978 | Tony Pearson | |||||||
| 1979 | Ray Mentzer | |||||||
| 1980 | Gary Leonard | Carla Dunlap | ||||||
| 1981 | Tim Belknap | Laura Combes | ||||||
| 1982 | Rufus Howard | Tina Plakinger (medium & overall)
Chris Wood (Tall) Rebecca Thomas (medium-tall) Gloria Romo (short) | ||||||
| 1983 | Jeff King | Kerrie Keenan (medium & overall)
Cheryl Harris (Tall) Becky Thomas (medium-tall) Diane Langone (short) | ||||||
| 1984 | Joe Meeko | Jill O'Connor (medium & overall)
Dawn Goldstab (Tall) Cynthia Albrecht (medium-tall) Joone Hopfenspirger (short) | ||||||
| 1985 | Michael Antorino | Joone Hopfenspirger (short & overall)
Christine Engle (Tall) Debra Poston (medium-tall) Cathey Palyo (medium) | ||||||
| 1986 | Glenn Knerr | Connie McCloskey (short & overall)
Teresa Nordaby (Tall) Cathy Butler (medium) | ||||||
| 1987 | Richard Barretta | Teresa Nordaby (medium-Tall & overall)
Gretta Mikalac (Tall) Cathy Butler (medium) Linda Lawrynkiewicz (short) | ||||||
| 1988 | William Norberg | Cathy Butler (short & overall)
Anita Briggs (Tall) Antoinette Winn (medium-tall) Theresa Locicero (medium) | ||||||
| 1989 | Matt DuFresne | Mary Adams | ||||||
| 1990 | Peter Miller | Linda Slayton (short & overall)
Anita Briggs (Tall) Tammy Kamienski (medium-tall) Theresa Locicero (medium) | ||||||
| 1991 | Joe DeAngelis | Theresa Locicero (medium & overall)
Jodie Adams (Tall) Donna Marie Schultz (medium-tall) Gayle Schroeder (short) | ||||||
| 1992 | Mike Scarcella | Kathi Costello (medium & overall)
Betsy Briggs (Tall) Linda Mignosa (medium-tall) Laurie Fierstein (short) | ||||||
| 1993 | Billy Nothaft | Karla Nelsen (tall & overall)
Christine Gillett (medium-tall) Bonnie Chymeryc (medium) Jeannie Davidson (short) | ||||||
| 1994 | Andrew Sivert | Midge Shull (short & overall)
Betsy Briggs (Tall) | ||||||
| 1995 | Terence Hairston | Betsy Briggs (heavyweight & overall)
Vicki Dunn (middleweight) Victoria McKinney (lightweight) | ||||||
| 1996 | Doug Rieser | Cynthia Barker (heavyweight & overall)
Sonyo T Bond (middleweight) Johanna Carter (lightweight) | ||||||
| 1997 | Bill Davey | Denise Richardson (heavyweight & overall)
Beth Eisenman (middleweight) Mary Martino (lightweight) | ||||||
| 1998 | Harvey H. Campbell | Denise Richardson (middleweight & overall)
Kimberly Rogers (heavyweight) Ann Katz (Light-Heavyweight) Denise Richardson (middleweight) Mary Martino (lightweight) | ||||||
| 1999 | Tracey Dorsey | Cathy Boulé (medium & overall)
Donna Shultz (Tall) Melody Leese (short) | ||||||
| 2011 | International Natural Bodybuilding Federation | Rawle Greene | None (Overall)
Julie Sleight (heavyweight) Cynthia Mustafa (lightweight) Julie Sleight (Masters) |
New York City, New York, United States of America | ||||
| 2012 | Daniel White | Secaucus, New Jersey, United States of America | ||||||
| 2013 | John Heart | |||||||
| 2015 | None | Cleveland Thomas | Rochester, New York, United States of America | |||||
| 2016 | Shevon Cunningham | Six Flags America, Woodmore, Maryland, United States of America | ||||||
| 2020 | Jay Brew | Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States of America | ||||||
| 2021 | Corey Brown | Joe Farese | Jeremiah Kenney-Wright | |||||
| 2022 | Meshack Ochieng | Melody Farkas | Matthew Otero | Meshack Ochieng | Prince Bada Lekan | |||
| 2023 | Robert Thompson Jr. | Maria Popa | Desario Smith | TBD | ||||
| 2024 | TBD | |||||||
International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness
edit| Year | Mr. America | Venue |
|---|---|---|
| 1949 | Alan Stephan | |
| 1959 | Chuck Sipes | |
| 1960 | Gene Shuey | |
| 1961 | Gaétan D'Amours | |
| 1962 | Larry Scott | |
| 1963 | Reg Lewis | |
| 1964 | Harold Poole | |
| 1965 | Dave Draper | |
| 1966 | Chester Yorton | |
| 1967 | Don Howorth | |
| 1968 | Frank Zane | |
| 1969 | John Decola | |
| 1970 | Mike Katz | |
| 1971 | Ken Waller | |
| 1972 | Ed Corney | |
| 1973 | Lou Ferrigno | |
| 1974 | Bob Birdsong | |
| 1975 | Robby Robinson | |
| 1976 | Mike Mentzer | |
| 1977 | Danny Padilla |
See also
edit- Ms. America (the female equivalent)
- List of professional bodybuilding competitions
References
edit- ^ "Mr. America History". mramerica.com. Archived from the original on June 14, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
- ^ Fair, John D. (2015). Mr. America : The Tragic History of a Bodybuilding Icon (1st ed.). Austin Texas: University of Texas Press. pp. 348–368. ISBN 978-0-292-76082-0.
- ^ "Mr. America Qualifying Events". MRA Promotions. Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
- ^ "Mr. America Info and Registration". mramerica.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
- ^ Tauriello, Marc (March 31, 2020). "Mr. America". Facebook. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
- ^ Letorney, Austin (October 6, 2021). "Mr. America 2021 Event Preview: How To Watch & Key Details". Generation Iron. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
Further reading
edit- Fair, John D. Mr. America: The Tragic History of a Bodybuilding Icon (2015) Excerpt