Strength & Health, Page 14, October 1960
LIKE his Miss America counterparts, for the second year in a row a star bodybuilder from the Deep South was the surprise winner of the 1960 Mr. America contest. Lloyd Lerille, a read-headed college student whose home town is Harvey, Louisiana, shaded Ray Routledge of Sacramento, California, 94 point to 93, in the annual balloting to choose the nation's most outstanding male physical specimen. The new champion is a 5-foot 6-inch, 180-pound senior at Southwestern Louisiana Institute.
In terms of high calibre physiques and geographic origin of contestants, this was perhaps the most representative Mr. America contest for more than a decade. In the lineup, no contestant stood out above the others as has been the case at times in the past.
One year ago, "Red" Lerille finished in seventh place in the scoring for the 1959 Mr. America award. he had won a number of local contests prior to that time but was not well known nationally. Shorter than average in height and extremely muscualr, Lerille also collected the Most Muscular award this eyar. His closest competitors in that category were Leroy Saba of the U.S. Navy, second, and Kenneth Hall of New York City, third. The announcement of the 24-year-old soft-spoken bachelor's victory in the Most Muscular voting, which preceded the Mr. America results, brought down the packed house. Judging from the audience response during the Mr. America presentations, however, Routledge was the first choice of the masses for the Mr. title. It was the second year in a row that the California-based airman finished as runner-up. He was in top shape, but apparently the judges were not as impressed by his symmetry and general excellence as they were by Lerille's mass and muscularity. This point was also confirmed by seventh place ranking in this contest of Frank Quinn, the Memphis, Tennessee, athlete who had defeated Lerille in the Southern Section of the Junior Mr. America contest at Baton Rouge, Louisiana, three weeks earlier. The winner's choice of poses was carefully considered and served to make the most of his strong points. Routledge's posing, on the other hand, seemed devitalized, perhaps because of the mediocre illumination provided.
Finishing in third spot was Joe Lazzaro of the York A.C., Buffalo, New York. By virtue of his placement in the Senior contest, Lazzaro is the 1960 Junior Mr. America. He had won the Eastern Section of the Junior Meet at Schenectady on May 21st. Quinn was the only other Junior Sectional winner entered at Cleveland.
A veteran of 12 years on the San Francisco police force, William Stathes, finished fourth in the final tabulation. The muscularity of this California lawman in semi-relaxed state was unbelievable. Following Stathes was husky Joe Abbenda, a 20-year-old college student from Astoria, Long Island, who last year was selected as the possessor of the nation's outstanding teen-age physique.
Bill Golumbick of San Diego, California, was sixth this year, up three notches from his 1958 finishing position. Rounding out the top ten in addition to the previously mentioned Frank Quinn were Elmo Santiago of New York City, Mike Ferraro of Buffalo, New York, and Charles Gourgott of New Orleans, Louisiana. Pete Ganios, third last year, slipped all the way down to 14th place in this year's voting.
- [20 small photos of contestants]
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