Mr. America (contest)

Mr. America
Sport Bodybuilding
Given for Physical fitness, trained muscular structure
History
First award 1939
First winner Bert Goodrich
Most wins
2 times
Most recent Shevon Cunningham (2016)

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] The AAU voted to discontinue holding bodybuilding competitions in 1999. In March 2017, AAU Strength Sports Chairman Martin Drake brought bodybuilding and fitness back to the AAU.

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 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 are sponsored by the National Gym Association (NGA), Nspire Sports League (NSL), and Ultimate Fitness Events (UFE).[2] The next Mr. America Expo and contest was to have been held in Baltimore in October 2017.[3]

Historic winners

YearOverall Winner (AAU)[1]Overall Winner (IFBB)[1]
1939Bert Goodrich (First Mr. America, but not AAU sanctioned)[4]  
Roland Essmaker
1940John Grimek
1941John Grimek
1942Frank Leight
1943Jules Bacon
1944Steve Stanko
1945Clarence Ross
1946Alan Stephan
1947Steve Reeves
1948George Eiferman
1949Jack DelingerAlan Stephan
1950John Farbotnik 
1951Roy Hilligenn
1952Jim Park
1953Bill Pearl
1954Dick DuBois
1955Steve Klisanin
1956Ray Schaefer
1957Ron Lacy
1958Tom Sansone
1959Harry JohnsonChuck Sipes
1960Lloyd LerilleGene Shuey
1961Raymond RoutledgeGaétan D'Amours
1962Joe AbbendaLarry Scott
1963Vern WeaverReg Lewis
1964Val Vasilieff (also spelled Vasilef or Vasilief)Harold Poole
1965Jerry DanielsDave Draper
1966Bob GajdaChester Yorton
1967Dennis TinerinoDon Howorth
1968Jim HaislopFrank Zane
1969Boyer CoeJohn Decola
1970Chris DickersonMike Katz
1971Casey ViatorKen Waller
1972Steve MichalikEd Corney
1973Jim MorrisLou Ferrigno
1974Ron ThompsonBob Birdsong
1975Dale AdrianRobby Robinson
1976Kalman SzkalakMike Mentzer
1977Dave JohnsDanny Padilla
1978Tony Pearson
1979Ray Mentzer
1980Gary Leonard
1981Tim Belknap
1982Rufus Howard
1983Jeff King
1984Joe Meeko
1985Michael Antorino
1986Glenn Knerr
1987Richard Barretta
1988William Norberg
1989Matt DuFresne
1990Peter Miller
1991Joe DeAngelis
1992Mike Scarcella
1993Billy Nothaft
1994Andrew Sivert
1995Terence Hairston
1996Doug Rieser
1997Bill Davey
1998Harvey H. Campbell
1999Tracey Dorsey

1988 AAU Mr. America winners

Overall Winner
William Norberg

Tall

PlaceTall
1stRory Leidelmeyer
2ndRobert Gosch
3rdJim Badra
4thAlex Sicignano
5thBob Good

Medium-Tall

PlaceMedium-Tall
1stWilliam Norberg
2ndPeter LaReau
3rdPeter Moen
4thGreg Ladd
5thBraulio Medina

Medium

PlaceMedium
1stCasey Kucharyk
2ndAbe Cuesta
3rdDoug Brown
4thGreg Long
5thBrian Silk Sr

Short

PlaceShort
1stBryan McCluskey
2ndDavid Brown (3)
3rdDon Lemieux
4thBrian Homka
5thRod Ketchens

Recent winners

YearLocationOverall Winner (MRA)[1]
2015Rochester, New YorkCleveland Thomas
2016Washington, D.C. (Six Flags America)Shevon Cunningham
2017Baltimore, Maryland
2018Baltimore, Maryland[5]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Mr. America History". mramerica.com. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  2. ↑ "Mr. America Qualifying Events". MRA Promotions. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  3. ↑ "Mr. America Info and Registration". mramerica.com. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  4. ↑ John D. Fair, Mr. America, Appendix
  5. ↑ "IFBB Physique America Release 2018 Calendar". International Federation of Bodybuilding and Fitness. Retrieved February 10, 2018.

Further reading

  • Fair, John D. Mr. America: The Tragic History of a Bodybuilding Icon (2015) Excerpt


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