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.

For other uses, see Mr. America.
Mr. America
Bert Goodrich (1939 winner, left) with Alan Stephan (1946 winner)
SportBodybuilding
Awarded forPhysical fitness, trained muscular structure
History
First award1939
First winnerBert Goodrich
Most wins
2 times
Most recentCorey Brown (2021)
Websitewww.mramerica.com

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]

Winners

Amateur Athletic Union / International Natural Bodybuilding Federation
YearFederationMr. AmericaMs. AmericaMasters BodybuildingClassic BodybuildingMen’s Bodybuilding AMen's Bodybuilding BVenue
1938Amateur Athletic UnionBert Goodrich
1939Roland Essmaker
1940John Grimek
1941
1942Frank Leight
1943Jules Bacon
1944Steve Stanko
1945Clarence Ross
1946Alan Stephan
1947Steve Reeves
1948George Eiferman
1949Jack Delinger
1950John Farbotnik
1951Roy Hilligenn
1952Jim Park
1953Bill Pearl
1954Dick DuBois
1955Steve Klisanin
1956Ray Schaefer
1957Ron Lacy
1958Tom Sansone
1959Harry Johnson
1960Lloyd Lerille
1961Raymond Routledge
1962Joe Abbenda
1963Vern Weaver
1964Val Vasilieff
1965Jerry Daniels
1966Bob Gajda
1967Dennis Tinerino
1968Jim Haislop
1969Boyer Coe
1970Chris Dickerson
1971Casey Viator
1972Steve Michalik
1973Jim Morris
1974Ron Thompson
1975Dale Adrian
1976Kalman Szkalak
1977Dave Johns
1978Tony Pearson
1979Ray Mentzer
1980Gary Leonard Carla Dunlap
1981Tim Belknap Laura Combes
1982Rufus Howard Tina Plakinger (medium & overall)

Chris Wood (Tall)

Rebecca Thomas (medium-tall)

Gloria Romo (short)

1983Jeff King Kerrie Keenan (medium & overall)

Cheryl Harris (Tall)

Becky Thomas (medium-tall)

Diane Langone (short)

1984Joe Meeko Jill O'Connor (medium & overall)

Dawn Goldstab (Tall)

Cynthia Albrecht (medium-tall)

Joone Hopfenspirger (short)

1985Michael Antorino Joone Hopfenspirger (short & overall)

Christine Engle (Tall)

Debra Poston (medium-tall)

Cathey Palyo (medium)

1986Glenn Knerr Connie McCloskey (short & overall)

Teresa Nordaby (Tall)

Cathy Butler (medium)

1987Richard Barretta Teresa Nordaby (medium-Tall & overall)

Gretta Mikalac (Tall)

Cathy Butler (medium)

Linda Lawrynkiewicz (short)

1988William Norberg Cathy Butler (short & overall)

Anita Briggs (Tall)

Antoinette Winn (medium-tall)

Theresa Locicero (medium)

1989Matt DuFresne Mary Adams
1990Peter Miller Linda Slayton (short & overall)

Anita Briggs (Tall)

Tammy Kamienski (medium-tall)

Theresa Locicero (medium)

1991Joe DeAngelis Theresa Locicero (medium & overall)

Jodie Adams (Tall)

Donna Marie Schultz (medium-tall)

Gayle Schroeder (short)

1992Mike Scarcella Kathi Costello (medium & overall)

Betsy Briggs (Tall)

Linda Mignosa (medium-tall)

Laurie Fierstein (short)

1993Billy Nothaft Karla Nelsen (tall & overall)

Christine Gillett (medium-tall)

Bonnie Chymeryc (medium)

Jeannie Davidson (short)

1994Andrew Sivert Midge Shull (short & overall)

Betsy Briggs (Tall)

1995Terence Hairston Betsy Briggs (heavyweight & overall)

Vicki Dunn (middleweight)

Victoria McKinney (lightweight)

1996Doug Rieser Cynthia Barker (heavyweight & overall)

Sonyo T Bond (middleweight)

Johanna Carter (lightweight)

1997Bill Davey Denise Richardson (heavyweight & overall)

Beth Eisenman (middleweight)

Mary Martino (lightweight)

1998Harvey H. Campbell Denise Richardson (middleweight & overall)

Kimberly Rogers (heavyweight)

Ann Katz (Light-Heavyweight)

Denise Richardson (middleweight)

Mary Martino (lightweight)

1999Tracey 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 TBD

International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness
YearMr. AmericaVenue
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

References
  1. "Mr. America History". mramerica.com. Archived from the original on June 14, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  2. 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.
  3. "Mr. America Qualifying Events". MRA Promotions. Archived from the original on October 30, 2018. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  4. "Mr. America Info and Registration". mramerica.com. Archived from the original on June 2, 2017. Retrieved May 22, 2017.
  5. Tauriello, Marc (March 31, 2020). "Mr. America". Facebook. Retrieved April 7, 2020.
  6. Letorney, Austin (October 6, 2021). "Mr. America 2021 Event Preview: How To Watch & Key Details". Generation Iron. Retrieved October 18, 2022.

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