Superstars is a British TV sports competition in which elite athletes from a variety of sports compete against each other in a number of events, resembling a decathlon. The athletes must not compete in the sport for which they practice as their profession. Points are awarded for the position in which the competitor places in each event. The competitor with the most points at the end of all ten events is declared the champion.
In the International, European, and British versions of the contest, athletes would compete in 8 out of 10 events, with no one allowed to take part in their own sport, although some handicapping rules did apply.
The idea was developed by 1948 and 1952 Olympic figure skating champion Dick Button. The first Superstars competition was held in Rotonda West, Florida in February 1973 and was won by pole vaulter Bob Seagren. The BBC covered the competition and aired their own programme, featuring British athletes, on 31 December 1973, which was won by 400-meter hurdles Olympic champion David Hemery. Television broadcasts of the competitions were popular both in Europe and North America in the 1970s and 1980s. Further events featuring European athletes started in 1975.
Competitors participate in a range of different sporting events, including a 100-yard dash/100m sprint, an 800 metres run, an obstacle course or steeplechase, weightlifting, soccer skills, rowing, tennis, basketball, bicycle racing, shooting and swimming. The sports have varied over time and between the various competitions; while the European versions featured a 600-metre steeplechase, indoor cycling on a highly banked velodrome, and the infamous "Gym Tests".
Canadian soccer player Brian Budd was unbeaten in Superstars contests, winning the World Championship three times consecutively from 1978 to 1980, making him the most successful Superstar of all time.
British, European and International Superstars
1973
Superstars was first broadcast in Britain on 31 December 1973, as "Britain's Sporting Superstars", closely following the US format. David Vine, who was the main presenter of the BBC programme from 1973 to 1985, said, "In 1972, Ron Pickering, myself, Don Revie, Billy Bremner and TV producer Barney Colehan sat in a hotel in Leeds and formulated Superstars, but the BBC dismissed the idea. Then Dick Button started it in the States, and the BBC bought the rights"."Superstars: Best of the Best" BBC DVD, 2003
Recorded at Crystal Palace in August and promoted as a challenge between Britain's seven best sportsmen, the contest was won by David Hemery, the 1968 Olympic champion in the 400-metre hurdles, defeating Jackie Stewart, Bobby Moore, Joe Bugner, Roger Taylor, Tony Jacklin and Barry John. Featuring the first ever gym test (devised by Pickering and comprising circuit running, a medicine ball throw, parallel bar dips, and squat thrusts), the event came down to the final steeplechase, where Hemery overcame a 100-metre handicap to pass Barry John with 60 metres left. Shown on New Year's Eve, the programme was a major success and was repeated the following year.
1974 In the second event in 1974, World Light-Heavyweight Boxing Champion John Conteh comfortably beat an ill Hemery and Colin Bell to win the title, again at Crystal Palace. Conteh credited the highly competitive nature of the contest with increasing his abilities as a boxer. The inception of this cross-sport contest quickly encouraged many top athletes to push themselves further, introducing the idea that the winner could claim to be the country's "top sportsman" and also providing an arena where recently retired champions (such as Hemery and Lynn Davies) could extend their careers."Superstars: Best of the Best" BBC DVD, 2003
1975 Following the success of the first two standalone UK competitions, in 1975 the British national Superstars contest was suspended, and the event was widened to include participants from continental Europe. Five preliminary heats were held, followed by a final at the Ahoy indoor arena in Rotterdam, famous for its banked, wooden cycling track. This proved to make Superstars a major hit, achieving large audiences across the continent and paving the way for the International and World Superstars editions to follow.
Memorable events in the first year of European Superstars included Malcolm Macdonald winning the 100m sprint in a Superstars record time of 10.9 seconds (after being made to run the race twice following the false start of another competitor), David Hemery being beaten by Dutch field hockey player Ties Kruize following a fall in the 600m Steeplechase, Swedish discus thrower Ricky Bruch setting records in the weight lifting and medicine ball throw sections of the gym tests, and the first appearance of pole vaulter Kjell Isaksson, who dominated the final heat in Sweden, scoring a then record 69 (out of a possible 80) points."Superstars: Best of the Best" BBC DVD, 2003
Prior to the final in Rotterdam, Kruize sustained serious injuries in a car accident and was substituted by Hemery, who ultimately secured the second-place position. Kjell Isaksson dominated the event again, winning four of his eight events and finished second or third in three others, winning the title with an event to spare.
The rules for European Superstars allowed athletes to compete in "near specialist" events with a handicap, meaning that both Hemery and Isaksson were allowed to run in the 100m and Steeplechase, but only after giving the other finalists a head start. In the final 600m Steeplechase event Hemery made up a 100m handicap on his rivals in order to finish in overall second, after again falling badly at the water jump and running the last 100m with badly torn ankle ligaments.Superstars: 1975 EUROPEAN FINAL, BBC TV, 31 December 1975
1976 In 1976 national competitions were resumed and Hemery again became UK Superstar, beating Conteh and Formula 1 World Champion James Hunt easily. By now Hemery was a "professional Superstar", competing in Britain, Europe and the US, and devising his own training regime. His performances duly improved, and even though 1976 Olympic Judoka David Starbrook took his parallel bar dips record in the gym tests, Hemery had become Britain's top competitor.
In European Superstars, Isaksson beat Hemery in a heat held in Sweden. Two of the highest-profile heat winners, Björn Borg and Kevin Keegan, were not able to compete in the Rotterdam final due to scheduling conflicts. Keegan's victory produced a memorable moment when he crashed during the cycle racing in his heat. With deep cuts and abrasions to his arm, shoulder and back, the Liverpool footballer was expected to withdraw, but with a large crowd present to watch him he said "These people here in the stands have come here to see me make a fool of myself and they've got a right to it!", got back on his bike and won the re-ride. Keegan then easily won the steeplechase, but like many of the highest-profile performers, his schedule was too full to allow him to compete as regularly as the Superstars format demanded. Partly because of this, less renowned athletes such as Isaksson came to dominate and be recognised outside their specialisms.
In the Ahoy final, Isaksson won five events and finished 20 points ahead of his nearest rival. The top eight finishers were also guaranteed a place at the inaugural World Superstars competition, to be held in the US the following year.
1977 1977 provided two new champions, with Isaksson taking part only in the World contest and David Hemery competing in American Superstars. In the UK national Superstars, rower Tim Crooks beat shot putter Geoff Capes in a tight contest, but failed to qualify for the European final, losing by one point to François Tracanelli in the Spanish heat. Representing Great Britain instead at the Ahoy final was Rugby league player Keith Fielding, who finished a close second, matching Hemery's best ever performance by a British Superstar.
The winner of 1977 European Superstars was the returning Ties Kruize, who was now fully recovered from his car crash. With just the indoor steeplechase left, Kruize was one point behind Jean-Paul Coche but five ahead of Fielding. With Coche having completed his events Fielding needed to win the final race, with Kruize finishing no better than third. With Fielding already finished (and celebrating) Kruize passed speed skater Hans van Helden on the final straight to win by 2.5 points. An exhausted Fielding then told BBC TV that the loss was "a damn, bloody shame", but both qualified for the 1978 World Championship.
1979 There was no UK national or European Superstars contest in 1978, but both events returned in 1979, along with a new "Past Masters" event for competitors over 35, which was won by Lynn Davies, the 1964 Olympic Long Jump champion. 1979 saw the first appearances of judoka Brian Jacks, who became Britain's most famous Superstar. Jacks had enormous upper body strength and quickly came to dominate the gym tests, setting records in squat thrusts and, in particular, the parallel bar dips. In the 1979 UK national final Jacks comprehensively beat the field, and then went on to compete in Rotterdam for the European title.
No Briton had ever won this title, but Jacks was a strong favourite against defending champion Ties Kruize. Jack won the gym tests and set a new record time in the cycling. At the start of the final event, the steeplechase, Jacks had a small lead, but was out of events. Kruize accumulated enough points in the steeplechase to join Jacks in a tie for first place. With no tie-breaking system in operation, both men were crowned European Superstar, making Jacks the most successful British Superstar ever. Jacks succumbed to shingles in late 1979 so was unable to travel to The Bahamas for the World Championship.
1980 Superstars regularly attracted over 10 million TV viewers in the UK and Jacks became a household name, appearing on children's TV shows and picking up endorsements usually beyond the reach of a minority sport participant. Superstars also expanded again in 1980, adding International Superstars to its list of programmes, though this was as a direct replacement for the European event. Although popular in the UK, US, Ireland, New Zealand, Sweden, the Netherlands and Australia, Superstars reached their peak at the turn of the decade, and one by one (starting in Europe) the participating nations fell away.
Against Jacks in 1980 was Daley Thompson, globally recognised as the top multi-sports athlete after his victory in the 1980 Olympic Games decathlon competition. With Brian Budd in attendance for the UK National final, Brian Jacks took on Thompson, Steve Assinder from Basketball, pentathlete Danny Nightingale and the new "Past Master", former 400m hurdler John Sherwood, who won all his events in the heats, setting a new record.
In the gym tests Jacks scored 80 in the dips and 73 in the squat thrusts, and finished 18 points ahead of Sherwood in second place. Thompson finished third. John Sherwood in finishing in second place gained a place in the World Championships and with it the possibility of big prize money. To ensure that he was able to finish second Sherwood had to turn professional part-way through the competition in order to compete in the 100m (as his status as an amateur track and field athlete would normally have barred him from competing in this event). Although many amateur athletes (most notably Kjell Isaksson) had competed in Superstars since its inception, they had never been able to retain any prize money, with this instead of going to their sport. In winning three World Superstar titles, Brian Budd won over $130,000, while Bob Seagren (the first World Champion) won over $200,000.
In International Superstars in Israel Jacks defeated both of the other European Superstars champions Ties Kruize and Kjell Isaksson, as well as 1980 Tour de France winner Joop Zoetemelk to claim the new title.