Reflections on the 1971 Olympia; 1971 IFBB Mr. Universe & 1971 NABBA Mr. Universe
by Wayne Gallasch:
In 1971, I had the privilege and pleasure of being able to compare both 1971 Mr. Universe shows (and their judging) as the NABBA contest was held in London as usual, and the IFBB show was held one week later in Paris, for the first time.
The first show was in London, organized by NABBA which has been connected with this contest since 1948, in conjunction with Health & Strength magazine. A full day is devoted to the prejudging which is held in a large hall the day before the show. This gave many people the chance to see the top physiques, as all tickets for the show were sold out months beforehand, with hundreds missing out. It is unfortunate that a larger, suitable theatre is impossible to find in London.
It is not my intention to enter the politics and controversies which seem to surround top contests, nor to say that one show was good and the other not so good. I merely wish to pass on my observations and comments as an impartial observer, and any criticism is (I hope) constructive.
1971 NABBA Mr. Universe
1971 NABBA Universe Gallery
Mr. Olympia The Golden Years Video
1971 NABBA Mr. Universe video
Highlight of the judging was possibly the grand entrance of Sergio Oliva, resplendent in specially tailored suit and hat, looking like the mythical Hercules. No one had seen Sergio in the flesh before, and this is why he sent a ripple of excitement through the large crowd. Pearl and Park had, of course, been many times before, and Waller was unknown in England except by his photos.
Slight disappointments were the non-appearance of Arnold S. and Casey Viator. In the case of Arnold, many pressures were placed on him which, no doubt, caused him not to enter. I was disappointed personally in not seeing Casey, as it has been a tradition for the current Mr. America to compete, and I had looked forward to seeing this sensational young star.
Each man posed individually and had as long to pose as he wished. First to pose was Frank Colombera of Australia (IM cover man May 1971) and he was vastly improved from last year, with terrific muscularity, natural tan, plus good posing. The biggest surprise in this, the short class amateur, was Elias Petsas of South Africa. Last year he was big and smooth, but this time he was big and cut to ribbons, with massive 19″ arms and a dynamic posing routine. I felt his legs were not quite up to standard with his upper body, but he had tremendous impact.
It was nice to see Chuck Collras, along with his great set of abdominals in this, his first time in London. Chris Dickerson, the defending short class title holder was the true master, every pose was perfection, and he reminded me of a smaller Bill Pearl. Chris improved over last year, being much more muscular, together with excellent abdominals. I feel it was only Waller’s extra height which beat Chris, as this was the first time Chris had lost to Waller in 7 contests together. Speaking with Chris, I found him to be a fine gentleman, extremely intelligent and a man all Americans can be proud of as the first person of colour to win Mr. America.
The medium height class amateur was a battle between the two West Indians, Al Beckles and Roy Callender. Al, of course, lives in England, and is current Mr. Britain and he displayed his phenomenal 21″ arms and great back, and muscularity, to perfection. As he tenses his biceps a second peak seems to form on top of the lower biceps, and this shows a further split through the middle. I have never seen arms like these, and I would rank Beckles’ and Arnold’s arms as the best in the world today. Callender was impressive and posed his arms well, although he was a little bulky, while Peter Caputo was well defined but appeared rather light. Warren Fredericks impressed me with his great definition and upper body, and his posing routine was different and most effective.
The tall class amateur was down in numbers with no Europeans present, but it did not lack quality. A great battle took place between Ken Waller and Paul Grant of Wales, with both men in their best ever shape and with similar physiques. When posing side by side, Grant had an edge in abdominals and muscularity, while Waller had the greater shoulder width and arms, which gave his physique that polished look of perfection. He was a great winner, and I hope that his comment that he would now retire is not correct. Third place man, Dennis Wilkens of England, had made tremendous improvement from last year, when he was unplaced. He has nice shape for a tall man, with unusual vascularity in the arms and forearms.
Professional class 2 was a decisive win to Zane, who looked better and more defined than last year when he won the amateur title. Frank’s whole presentation from grooming to posing and standing correctly in the lineup is perfection. He epitomizes the more slender, graceful type of physique, and one wonders how the judges compare his type of physique with that of Pearl, which is completely different. No doubt proportion and personal preference would be major points when both men have developed their particular type of physique to its ultimate.
Kassem Yazbek of Syria also had a unique and graceful posing style which displayed his amazing abdominals to perfection.
Professional class 1 provided the clash of the century with Bill Pearl, Sergio Oliva, and Reg Park all competing against each other for the first time. It was once said that top men, and Pearl in particular, would not compete against other top men. This was proved incorrect, and Pearl gave notice 12 months ago that he was laying his reputation on the line and making the London show his last contest before retiring.
Park reminded me of Zane, with his slimmer, very defined physique, but this was not the Park of old, with the terrific shoulders, arms and calves.
Sergio looked huge and has great impact or shock value on an audience, with his spectacular posing routine and giant proportions. The V shape was amazing as were the shoulders and triceps — absolutely the biggest I have seen. However, size is not everything, as it is the fine points which separate great physiques such as Pearl and Oliva.
Pearl was the complete master, calm, relaxed and yet fired up enough to give his usual devastating posing exhibition, even though he hasn’t been in a contest for over 3 years. Naturally the fans went wild, as most of them, myself included, didn’t think Pearl could reach this degree of defined perfection at the age of 41, after 20 years at the top in the physique world.
Pearl told me he weighed 238 pounds, which was the heaviest weight he has ever competed at, and he was also the most defined he has ever been. This was achieved only by a tremendous training effort and a diet so strict that the latter stages seemed almost like torture. Perfect proportions, muscularity, and an amazing mid-section were the reasons for Pearl’s win, (which was quite unanimous) while I felt that Sergio was a few pounds too heavy, especially in the thighs, and lacked the abdominal separation and roundness of bicep as shown by Pearl.
The show next day in the Victoria Palace literally ran like clockwork and was the usual, smooth professional presentation one has come to expect in London. Various top class variety acts were included and my only criticism is that they tended to be too long, causing the latter stages of the posing and presentation to be hurried. I would have preferred to have seen a little more of the physiques rather than the “fill-in” acts.
Pearl and Waller made it a double win for California, and the theatre literally shook with applause as these very popular winners were announced. Park was a true sportsman in shaking hands with Bill, his longtime rival. I pay tribute to Pearl, a great physique and a great man, in this, his farewell appearance.
1971 IFBB Mr. Universe – Mr. Olympia
The Paris 1971 IFBB Mr. Universe – Mr. Olympia, was held one week later, organized and staged by Serge Nubret. This was his first big show and under the circumstances he did a good job, as Serge was in no way connected with the judging indecisions and controversies which were to take place.
I could not see the point of excluding certain physiques who had come to Paris to compete, because they had recently competed in contests run by other organizations. I believe that a contestant should be free to enter all contests, especially if he is an amateur and not earning his full living from physical culture. Franco Columbu was barred from entering after a protest by some countries, and I was also disappointed that Sergio Oliva was not able (allowed) to compete against Arnold in the Olympia. Both had been banned.
The judges placed a time limit on each man’s individual posing and as some of the judges were from small countries and had never seen or judged world class physique before, I felt it was asking a lot of them.
In the short class, Giuseppe Deiana of Holland (formerly Italy) was a clear winner with a degree of definition the most amazing I have seen. Each arm movement caused a ripple across the paper-thin skin of his upper body. Excellent posing rounded out a faultless physique and presentation. The medium height class proved to be the most exciting and controversial. It appeared to be a battle between Al Beckles from London and Ed Corney of California. These two stood out above the others and Corney had great calves, abs, and dramatic posing, while Beckles had the best arms and back, together with great definition and exciting, forceful posing.
However, a very disappointed Corney was called forward for third place followed by an amazed Beckles for second. I couldn’t believe the MC had made the correct announcement, nor could Beckles, who did not move for some time. Ahmet of Turkey was then announced the class winner amongst scenes of confusion on the stage, and great hostility in the audience. I pay tribute for sportsmanship to Ahmet, who then mounted the second-place position on the rostrum, placing the first-place trophy on the vacant winner’s position. At this point pandemonium reigned as the audience of approximately 2000 commenced to stamp and shout “Beckles, Beckles.” I feared that a riot may break out.
The Turk knew he was not the best physique, and in fact, “Blind Freddy” could have seen that Beckles was clearly the best man. After some embarrassing deliberation backstage, the judges’ decision between first and second was reversed and amidst tumultuous applause, Beckles was acclaimed the winner of the class. This may have been the first time ever that judges’ decisions have been overruled on stage on protest by the audience!
The tall class was packed with interest as top Germans, Karl Bloemer (recent IFBB Mr. Europe) and Helmut Riedmeier were competing, plus Mike Katz and Vic Downs. I was disappointed in Katz, as he was rather big and smooth and lacked the muscularity evident in most of his photos. His chest is amazing and in fact unique. Vic Downs was very muscular, and in terrific shape for a man of 40. This was his last contest, as he told me he is opening his own studio now in Brampton, Ontario. Riedmeier has beautifully shaped arms and upper body, but still too light in the legs. Bloemer, who won the class, is a true professional in the way he presents himself. His sparkling personality and big smile backed up by an •extremely defined physique and effortless posing earned him the decision.
I felt that Downs deserved to place higher than fifth, but that is history now.
Guest posers were Columbu and Oliva. Franco was very polished and dynamic, being heavier than when I saw him last year, yet just as defined. Sergio had lost a few pounds since London and being sharper, looked much more impressive. He received possibly the greatest applause and delighted the crowd with his sense of comedy during his encore.
As Beckles was the new class winner, a re-judging hastily took place on stage to find the overall Mr. Universe winner, Beckles posed like a man possessed and he received a clear majority over Bloemer, to take out the title to the complete satisfaction of 99 per cent of the audience, who felt that justice had finally been done.
The Olympia was something of an anti-climax, with Arnold winning in a “one horse race” against “two other men listed in the programme”. Both were not IFBB professionals and were names I had never heard of. Only one came on stage so that Arnold could do the compulsory poses against another bodybuilder. That person was Ahmed Ayoub from Lebanon. In the results published by Serge Nubret (in French) he stated that Ayoub was second and Jamie Gallostra of Spain was third. As these two bodybuilders were not professional, they were not recognised in the official results. I don’t remember seeing Gallostra on stage.
The great Arnold was a shade lighter and more defined than he was last year, and one felt he would have won just posing in his sweat suit. Not much more one can say about Arnold’s physique, with five Mr. Universe titles already and possibly years ahead of him. The question many people have asked me is a question that will be asked repeatedly for years to come: “Would Arnold have beaten Pearl in the London Universe?” As I do not possess the wisdom of Solomon, I cannot give the correct answer. The only way to judge two great physiques is side by side, and maybe Pearl’s maturity may have outweighed Arnold’s arms and muscularity. I would not wish to pass judgment on these two men whom I rate as the greatest physiques the world has seen. I leave the answer to the personal preference of you, the reader.
Would Arnold have beaten Sergio in the 1971 Olympia. I would have called it a draw because it would have been that close!