Your Physique, Vol 7, No 6, Page 8, September 1947
ON Sunday evening, June 29th at Lane High School in Chicago the annual Mr. America show was presented. The place was thronged with body enthusiasts from all parts of our country. This was to be the event that everyone was anxiously anticipating since last year's meet when the superb Alan Stephan carried off the honors.
Who would win this time? How, would he compare with the previous winners? Would he be a perennial favorite such as Lauriano, Jantzen, Voyages, Farbotnik? -- or perhaps, like last year, some new unknown marvel would appear to snatch the laurel wreath of America's best developed man from these established favorites! ! !
There is no doubt but that there was an abundance of great material in this year's show. I did not envy the judges their lot in choosing the best from such a fine group of male pulchitrude. However, in due justice to the efforts these contestants have made, I feel that they were let down in the presentation of this show that they had been working so hard for. The stage setting was flat, perfectly plain as for the weight-lifting that preceded the contest, except for a step-up platform which the contestants were to pose on. The lighting was adequate and revealed the full figure.
First of all we were given a parade of young girl models -- each taking their place on a chair at the rear of the stage -- why? That is the 64 dollar question. I have never heard of a male beauty parade at the Miss America contests, and certainly it was a test of the power of concentration of the audience to keep eyes on the contestants as they went through their poses, while the attractive young beauties occupied the back of the stage. .
One by one, the contestants as announced by the master of ceremonies paraded to the center and ascended the platform to give us their three poses (front, back and optional). The judging was by the point system with 75 as the perfect total. The highest points received were 72, and, for these there was a tie between Steve Reeves and Eric Pedersen. The two boys were later brought out for comparison with each other, and after much deliberation the judges agreed to name Reeves as the winner.
There is no doubt in my mind (or anyone else's I believe) but what Steve Reeves justly deserved the title of MR. AMERICA. He was the phenomenon of the evening -- and from his first step onto the platform, the show was his. Seldom, if ever, does one perceive such perfection as this. From head to toe, here was the personification of manly perfection. I was mainly impressed by Steve's fine leg development, the best I've seen since Grimek and Pat Ryan. This boy Reeves has shape plus! ! !
Eric Pedersen was awarded second place. This young California boy has made a great name for himself this year, which speaks well for the fine training he must get at the Bert Goodrich gym.
Third place was given to Joe Lauriano of York, Pa. I was surprised to note that Joe did not give us a pose featuring his wonderful abdominals. Joe possesses the most outstanding abdominal and external oblique muscles. Joe can also take a bow for some of the finest posing in the entire show. Joe rated 70 points from the judges.
The impressive John Farbotnik of Chicago was fourth with a total of 69 points. Fifth and sixth places were tied for by George Eiferman of Philadelphia and Kimon Voyages of New York. Again, after due deliberation here also, the judges favored Eiferman. Runners up were as follows: seventh -- Alex Kigas of Chicago-64 points; eighth -- Russ Field-63 points; ninth -- Pat Graham-60 points; tenth -- Gene Jantzen -- 58 points. All of these boys were mighty impressive. I might mention that I think that George Eiferman of Philadelphia should have rated higher. I found his physique to be on a par with the best. He had the best pectoral development of any contestant, and he also displayed a marvelous all-over development, I think this boy will one day be a Mr. America in his own right. He trains at John Fritshe's gym in Philly, and recently won the Mr. Philadelphia title. Watch this boy Eiferman! He's tops!
I was disappointed that the judges seemed to overlook the fine physique of Keevil Daley in awarding the points. Surely, his poses were great and his physique of winning caliber Keevil is Mr. New York State of this year -- and in my honest opinion displayed the most muscular back, as far as definition goes, of any contestant. The audience gasped audibly as he posed -- a fact which George Quaintance as well as myself took especial note of. George came along with me to advise on the photos used in the recent MUSCLE POWER article on the show. We both felt that Keevil would surely rate some award, and were disappointed not to find him in the list of winners.
A new boy, unfamiliar to me, by the name of Russ Field also impressed me as one to watch. This Field has got something great about him that bears promise of future fulfillment. Good luck to you, Rus. Keep it up! ! !
Gene Jantzen, as usual pleased the audience with his posing. He seemed heavier to me, but he carried it very well Yes, this contest was surely filled with really GREAT contestants.
As to the staging, I feel the audience must have noticed the awkwardness of the whole affair. First of all, there was a mad scramble of photographers in the orchestra pit. No distinction was made for press or amateur-all were herded together in a confusing group that constantly interfered with the views of the judges. In other sporting events, special place, is made for the press. Why not here also? We hope that this will be corrected at the next Mr. America show, and that legitimate writers and photographers will have a reserved spot up front where they will not be heckled by anyone who carries a camera, for reasons or not.
Why cannot a Mr. America show be a REAL show. A little theatrical atmosphere would not hurt a bit. Everyone should be kept off the stage during the performance except the contestants. There were too many conflicting people walking around the wings and poking their faces out. No theatre performance would allow this. Let's get away from the ordinary, this Mr. America show should be planned and produced with much more "finesse." I also noticed that oil on the bodies was forbidden. This left the bodies "flat" in appearance unless the contestant was lucky enough to possess an oily skin, I think that a little oil rubbed over the body gives it that extra "sparkle" which enhances the muscular development and produces a more perfect picture to the eye. Also, it is hardly fair to judge a fellow with a wonderful tan against one whose skin is chalk white. Naturally the tanned body is more effective -- so why not be fair and give our pale friend, who probably works indoors and gets little chance for sunning, a better chance by letting him don a little tan make up. After all, you can't add muscles, so this is still fair. I have seen contests where a fellow outscores another who is really better because he has a deep tan, and for the moment at least is more impressive because of it. This is hardly fair to the pale boy-so, if he doesn't have time for a real tan, let him make his own temporarily at least. Then we can honestly compare. Let's give everyone a chance to be his best. At a Miss America contest I'm sure that if no makeup were allowed, we could see a drab procession of females. Naturally, I don't approve of facial makeup on men, but surely a little oil on the body is far from effeminate. Who started this oil-on-body business anyhow? Our history tells us of the Greek athletes who always rubbed olive oil on the body to give it a healthy glow. These old Greeks were bodily perfectionists. I think we can take a tip from them.
I am sure if one of these Ancient Greeks came to life today and saw our new MR. AMERICA, Steve Reeves -- he would find it hard to believe that Steve was not a re-incarnation of the body of one of those, superior beings from Mount Olympus. Yes, Mr. and Mrs. American public, we have a great winner this year in Steve Reeves. There are great things ahead for this boy, and I can see him following the star-dust trail to Mount Olympus. Good Luck, MR. AMERICA of 1947.
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