Muscular Development, Vol 10, No 12, Page 18, December 1973

Mr. U.S.A. Contest...

By John C Grimek

THE GREATER SCRANTON YMCA in Dunmore, Pa. hosted the 1973 Senior National Powerlifting Championships and the Mr. USA physique contest over the 8th and 9th of September. This is a newly built YMCA and is just off the 81 Interstate Expressway in Dunmore.

Top Five Mr. USA Winners

  1. Paul Hill
  2. Willie Johnson
  3. Anibal Lopez
  4. Mike Dayton
  5. Ron Thompson

Most Muscular Man Contest

  1. Paul Hill
  2. Willie Johnson
  3. Douglas Beaver

Subdivision Winners

Best Arms - Doug Beaver
Best Legs - Ron Thompson
Best Chest - Willie Johnson
Best Back - Willie Johnson
Best Abdominals - Mike Dayton

The two day meet was well-planned and the whole event rolled smoothly along with fine cooperation among the officials, contestants and organizers. Competition in both the lifting and the physique took place in the main gym of the building, which was excellent except for the fact that the people who were sitting down in front would stand up and block the view of those who sat farther back when they got excited. During the physique contest it was even worse. Just about everybody who sat anywhere from the third row back stood up, forcing those who sat behind them to stand upon their chairs in order to see anything, and those sitting or standing in the back could see nothing at this point. In fact some of the physique men who had already posed came around to the rear of the gym to watch their competitors to get some idea of who they themselves looked but had trouble seeing anything, because by then everybody was standing upon chairs. But this only proves that those who attended were interested.

The posing spots were well-placed, and if the contestant stood in the right area upon the pedestal, he showed a lot of muscular detail . . . and most of them did.

The prejudging, as usual, was done that morning and started at 9 AM. Because I got a late start from York, and because we had another couple with us, we had to stop off in Scranton before coming to the Y. By the time I got there the prejudging for the Mr. USA contest was already over. However, I did see all the judging for the subdivisions.

The judges already had selected small groups of men, three to five, for each subdivision and called them out when that specific category was announced. Judging the five separate categories took well over an hour to complete, with the judges giving each man in each category ample time to present himself advantageously. When this was over the judges adjourned to another room to conduct the interview section of the contest. In the past I heard some contestants gripe about his part of the judging, saying it was time consuming and a waste. Of the few whom I questioned about this no one seemed to care one way or another, and it was just another part of the contest to them.

During the Mr. America contest, however, one or two uttered some gripes about this phase of the contest and felt it was an utter waste of time and asked my opinion. Of course I never sat in on any of such interviews so cannot express an accurate opinion, although I am familiar with the procedure. All I can say is that the purpose of this interview is for the judges to get a better insight of the individual and thus help them to select whom they feel is the better man, which is a good thing. Even if the questions asked by the judges sound "unimportant" to the contestant, they may have greater meaning to the judges which helps them to make up their minds. Contestants who do not favor interviews must also remember that it's just as time-consuming to the judges as well. Nevertheless, it's part of the basic judging and will be continued until something better is suggested. On the whole not very many contestants object to this procedure. Just a mere handful, and even these are not adamant but more bored than opposed.

The powerlifting took somewhat longer than was expected, and though the Mr. USA contest was scheduled to begin at 7:30 PM it did not get underway until after 9 PM.

Again, the contestants were called out in two groups to give the crowd and judges "another" look. Then each man was called out individually, alphabetically, to "do his thing" - posing. The crowd, apparently, enjoyed it judging by the fine response each man got. And after all the contestants got their chance to go through their posing display, the trophies for the various subdivisions were presented. After which the top three Most Muscular men were named and the trophies awarded. Then came the highlight of the evening, the winners of the Mr. USA contest. First the fifth place man was called out, followed by the fourth, and by the time it got down to second place, everyone got anxious, knowing that who ever placed second, then the other man was bound to be the winner, and it turned out exactly like that.

After the finals were announced, and after the applause died down, the crowd began breaking up as it was already past 11:30 PM. But no one seemed to mind that because it was a good contest all the way through. The Greater Scranton Y officials all did a fine job in organizing this event, and are to be congratulated for their efforts. Congratulations all!

How they place din the Mr. USA Contest Plus other pertinent data.

Paul Hill, Mr. USA winner, Houston, Texas, age 20, married, been training for eight years and works as a telephone lineman. Winning points 366.

Willie Johnson, Akron, Ohio, age 29, 5'9", married and trained for seven years, scoring points 359.

Anibal Lopez, New York City, age 31, 5'6", married, has trained for 10 years; works for the Transit Authority. Scored 358 points for third.

Mike Dayton, Napa, California is 24, 5'11" is dental student and married. He scored 354 points.

Ron Thompson, Flint, Michigan, age 26, 5'8¾", weight 200 pounds, eight years of training, married and works in a building supply company. Scored 351 points for fifth place.

Douglas Beaver, Fremont, Ohio weights 196, is 5'10" and 30 years old. Been training for 11 years and is a speech major. Scored 338 points.

John Boos, N. Babylon, N. Y. is 27, 5'5", married and has been training 11 years - at home. He's a computer operator. He scored 311 points.

Chuck Rotter, Aurora, Illinois is 37 years old, 5'10" and 190 pounds, married and has been training 22 years. He's an accountant. He scored 310 points.

Samuel Sanchez, Bronx, N. Y. is 27, 5'9" and weights 190 pounds. He works as a hospital employee. He had 292 points.

Gregory Long, Philadelphia, Pa. is 5'8" and weights 193 pounds. Is 25 years old and has trained for eight years. Is iron worker. He scored 286 points.

Rober Rogers, Hilcrest Heights, Md. He's 29, 6' and weighs 220 pounds. Is part-time college student. He scored 280 points.

George Clark, McKeesport, Pa. is 20 years old, 5'6" and weighs 180 pounds. Has been training five and a half years and is a student at the University of Pittsburgh. He scored 266 points.

Phil Pearsall, Nashville, Tenn. is 24, married and is 6' in height. Has been training for seven years. He's an accountant. He scored 265 points.

Hugh Huggins, New York, N. Y. is 5'8" tall, 30 years old, married and has three offspring. Works for Transit Authority. He scored 261 points.

Bruce Lyon, Vernon, Conn. is 27, 5'10" tall and has trained for 11 years. He's captian in Marines. He scored 260 points.

Ed Mayo, Canton, Ohio is 26, 5'11" and weighs 215. He's electronic technician. He got 251 points.

Alex Holley, Bridgeton, N.J. is 18 years old, 5'7½" tall. A high school student. He scored 244 points.

Michael May, Louisville, Ohio, is 22, 5'8" and weights 195 pounds. Is chemical engineer. He got 238 points.

Robert Lauda, Pittsburgh, Pa. is 28, 6'1" and bodyweight of 237 pounds. Been training for eight years. Works in wholesale meats. He got 229 points.

PHOTO CAPTIONS

- The top five in the Mr. USA contest. Left to right: Mike Dayton placed 4th; Willie Johnson took 2nd; Paul Hill the winner; Anibal Lopez placed 3rd, and Ron Thompson took 5th.

- Best Chest competition: Lopez, Johnson and Hill. Willie Johnson took the trophy.

- Best Legs: Thompson, Lopez, Hill and Dayton. Thompson got the award.

- In the Best Abdomen competition it was Thompson, Lopez and Dayton. Mike Dayton took this trophy.

- Best Back: Johnson, Hill and Beaver. Willie Johnson took the trophy in this competition.

- The winner - Paul Hill

- The three Most Muscular Men judged in the contest: Willie Johnson, Paul Hill, who won this title too, Doug Beaver.

- Line-up of the competition.

- MC Len Bosland (standing) is shown conferring with officials during the prejudging.

- Doug Beaver took Best Arms

- Dayton won Best Abdominals

- Willie Johnson, Best Back and Chest

- Anibal Lopez, who appeared "improved", placed fourth in the close overall competition.

- Ron Thompson got Best Legs

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