Mr. America (contest)
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 | Corey Brown (2021) |
| Website | www |
History
The 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] and broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.[6]
Historic winners
| Year | Overall winner | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| AAU[1] | Note | IFBB[1] | |
| 1939 | Bert Goodrich | First Mr. America[7] | |
| Roland Essmaker | First sanctioned by AAU | ||
| 1940 | John Grimek | ||
| 1941 | John Grimek | ||
| 1942 | Frank Leight | ||
| 1943 | Jules Bacon | ||
| 1944 | Steve Stanko | ||
| 1945 | Clarence Ross | ||
| 1946 | Alan Stephan | ||
| 1947 | Steve Reeves | ||
| 1948 | George Eiferman | ||
| 1949 | Jack Delinger | Alan Stephan | |
| 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 | Chuck Sipes | |
| 1960 | Lloyd Lerille | Gene Shuey | |
| 1961 | Raymond Routledge | Gaétan D'Amours | |
| 1962 | Joe Abbenda | Larry Scott | |
| 1963 | Vern Weaver | Reg Lewis | |
| 1964 | Val Vasilieff | Also spelled Vasilef or Vasilief | Harold Poole |
| 1965 | Jerry Daniels | Dave Draper | |
| 1966 | Bob Gajda | Chester Yorton | |
| 1967 | Dennis Tinerino | Don Howorth | |
| 1968 | Jim Haislop | Frank Zane | |
| 1969 | Boyer Coe | John Decola | |
| 1970 | Chris Dickerson | Mike Katz | |
| 1971 | Casey Viator | Ken Waller | |
| 1972 | Steve Michalik | Ed Corney | |
| 1973 | Jim Morris | Lou Ferrigno | |
| 1974 | Ron Thompson | Bob Birdsong | |
| 1975 | Dale Adrian | Robby Robinson | |
| 1976 | Kalman Szkalak | Mike Mentzer | |
| 1977 | Dave Johns | Danny Padilla | |
| 1978 | Tony Pearson | ||
| 1979 | Ray Mentzer | ||
| 1980 | Gary Leonard | ||
| 1981 | Tim Belknap | ||
| 1982 | Rufus Howard | ||
| 1983 | Jeff King | ||
| 1984 | Joe Meeko | ||
| 1985 | Michael Antorino | ||
| 1986 | Glenn Knerr | ||
| 1987 | Richard Barretta | ||
| 1988 | William Norberg | ||
| 1989 | Matt DuFresne | ||
| 1990 | Peter Miller | ||
| 1991 | Joe DeAngelis | ||
| 1992 | Mike Scarcella | ||
| 1993 | Billy Nothaft | ||
| 1994 | Andrew Sivert | ||
| 1995 | Terence Hairston | ||
| 1996 | Doug Rieser | ||
| 1997 | Bill Davey | ||
| 1998 | Harvey H. Campbell | ||
| 1999 | Tracey Dorsey | ||
Recent winners
| Year | Location | Overall winner[1][8] | Sanctioning organization | Classic Physique (added 2020) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | New York City, New York | Rawle Greene | INBF | |
| 2012 | Secaucus, New Jersey | Daniel White | INBF | |
| 2013 | Secaucus, New Jersey | John Heart | INBF | |
| 2014 | (No show held) | |||
| 2015 | Rochester, New York | Cleveland Thomas | – | |
| 2016 | Washington, D.C. (Six Flags America) | Shevon Cunningham[9] | – | |
| 2017– 2019 | (No shows held) | |||
| 2020 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | Jay Brew[10] | – | Joe LaCerra[11] |
| 2021 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | Corey Brown[12] | – | Jeremiah Kenney-Wright[13] |
| 2022 | Atlantic City, New Jersey | Meshack Ochieng[14] | – | |
References
- "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.
- Fair, John D. (2015). Mr. America. University of Texas. Appendix. ISBN 978-0292760820.
- Fair, John D. (2015-01-05). Mr. America: The Tragic History of a Bodybuilding Icon. University of Texas Press. ISBN 978-0-292-76082-0.
- "The One and Only Mr. America 2020". Mr. America. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
We continue our story with Shevon Cunningham, the reigning Mr. America, to see if he can become the second athlete to win the title twice.
- Interview with Jay Brew the New 2020 Mr. America. Mr. America. October 26, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2022 – via YouTube.
- Patuto, Greg (October 21, 2021). "2021 Mr. America Highlights & Recap". Generation Iron. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
Joe LaCerra returned to defend his title in the Pro Classic category
- Dufour, Derek (October 9, 2021). "Mr. America 2021 Results". Generation Iron. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
- Dufour, Derek (November 1, 2021). "Registration Is Now Open For The 2022 Mr. America". Generation Iron. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
- "2022 Professional Results". Mr. America. October 13, 2022. Retrieved October 18, 2022.
Further reading
- Fair, John D. Mr. America: The Tragic History of a Bodybuilding Icon (2015) Excerpt