Some of the wording and facts of this article came from Joe Roark, the IFBB Men’s Historian; Wayne DeMilia, former IFBB Chairman, and a variety of other sources.
It all started on September 18, 1965. The crowd at the Brooklyn Academy of Music waited at the edge of their seats, screaming in anticipation. They clapped their hands, stomped their feet and yelled as loud as their lungs would allow for the blond superstar from California with arms too big to believe. The man they were waiting for was the legendary Larry Scott.
Larry Scott was the bodybuilding superstar of his day, but by 1963 there were no more contests for him to conquer. Scott had already won the Mr. America, Mr. World and Mr. Universe titles; there was little left for him to prove. Scott already had a houseful of trophies and plaques. He felt it was time to move on from bodybuilding.
Joe Weider recognized the need to keep Larry Scott in bodybuilding and the necessity to force the sport to grow. He created the Mr. Olympia contest to keep all the great Mr. Universe champions active in the sport and to give them the opportunity to earn money from competing. Continue reading
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