The Mr. America contest is a bodybuilding competition started by the Amateur Athletic Union (AAU). It was first held on July 4, 1939, and the winner was named "America's Best Built Man". In 1940 this was changed to what is now known as the Mr. America contest. In the mid-1940s, Joe and Ben Weider started the IFBB as an alternative to the AAU. They held their opposing contest, the IFBB Mr. America, in 1949 and then from 1959 through 1977. Rights to the Mr. America name have been sold several times after AAU discontinued holding the contests in 1999.
History
In 1973, Jim Morris became the first openly gay bodybuilder to win AAU Mr. America overall, most muscular, best arms, and best chest titles.
The AAU voted to discontinue holding bodybuilding competitions in 1999.
In 2004, the World Bodybuilding & Fitness Association (WBFA) announced they had acquired the rights to the Mr. America name and would resume running contests under that banner.
In 2006 Bob Bonham acquired the rights and from 2011 through 2013 held the Mr America contest under the sanction of the INBF (International Natural Bodybuilding Federation), which is the amateur division of the WNBF (World Natural Bodybuilding Federation). The contests were drug tested under strict WADA (World Anti Doping Agency) guidelines using U.S. Olympic laboratory testing.
In 2015, rights to Mr. America were acquired by Bruce Ebel, and the contest's annual event cycle resumed via MRA Promotions. Qualifying events in spring were sponsored by the National Gym Association (NGA), Nspire Sports League (NSL), and Ultimate Fitness Events (UFE). The Mr. America Expo and contest was to have been held in Baltimore in October 2017.
The contest resumed in 2020 (with no specific organization affiliation), promoted by Marc Tauriello of Mr America LLC. The Mr. America Sports Festival & Expo is held in October in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and broadcast on the CBS Sports Network.
Winners Bodybuilding Amateur Athletic Union / International Natural Bodybuilding Federation
Year Federation Mr. America Ms. America Masters Bodybuilding Classic Bodybuilding Men’s Bodybuilding A Men's Bodybuilding B Venue 1938 Amateur Athletic Union 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 (medium & overall)
(tall)
(medium-tall)
(short) 1983 (medium & overall)
(tall)
(medium-tall)
(short) 1984 (medium & overall)
(tall)
(medium-tall)
(short) 1985 (short & overall)
(tall)
(medium-tall)
(medium) 1986 (short & overall)
(tall)
(medium) 1987 (medium-tall & overall)
(Tall)
(medium)
(short) 1988 (short & overall)
(tall)
(medium-tall)
(medium) 1989 1990 (short & overall)
(tall)
(medium-tall)
(medium) 1991 (medium & overall)
(tall)
(medium-tall)
(short) 1992 (medium & overall)
(tall)
(medium-tall)
(short) 1993 (tall & overall)
(medium-tall)
(medium)
(short) 1994 (short & overall)
(tall) 1995 (heavyweight & overall)
(middleweight)
(lightweight) 1996 (heavyweight & overall)
(middleweight)
(lightweight) 1997 (heavyweight & overall)
(middleweight)
(lightweight) 1998 (middleweight & overall)
(heavyweight)
(light-heavyweight)
(middleweight)
(lightweight) 1999 (medium & overall)
(Tall)
(short) 2011 International Natural Bodybuilding Federation None (Overall)
(heavyweight)
(lightweight)
(Masters) New York City, New York, United States of America 2012 Secaucus, New Jersey, United States of America 2013 2015 None Rochester, New York, United States of America 2016 Six Flags America, Woodmore, Maryland, United States of America 2020 Atlantic City, New Jersey, United States of America 2021 2022 2023 TBD 2024 TBD
International Federation of BodyBuilding and Fitness
Year Mr. America Venue 1949 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977
See also Ms. America (the female equivalent) List of professional bodybuilding competitions
References
Further reading Fair, John D. Mr. America: The Tragic History of a Bodybuilding Icon (2015) Excerpt
External links The Mr. America Contest: A Brief Background The History of the Mr./Ms. America Contest (archived) The Mr. America Contest: 1988 Competition Official Mr. America Page