Chapter four. After second world war.

1948 Mr. Universe: John Grimek

"At 60 years, John can make set of 10 repetitions of press
using two dumbells of 45 kg.

At 70 years, he made partial squats (a quarter of movement)
using 362 kg, two or three times a week. After 70 years, [...]
with 340 kg."

Jan Dellinger about John Grimek.

In 1948 in London, took place the first great competition of modern bodybuilding: Mr. Universe. The winner was the great bodybuilder and weightlifter John Carroll Grimek (1910 - 1998).

John Grimek started training with the brother, and in 1929, after years of training, he became so muscular to obtain the cover of the revue Strenght. In 1936, he went to Berlin to the Olimpic Games as a weightlifter. Unfortunately, for less than 2 kg he was put in the heavyweight category with a weight of only 83,8 kg (185 lbs.), while the light-heavyweight class limit was 82,5 kg. However, he obtained the 9th position.
Grimek was a great weightlifter, but he was the greatest bodybuilder of 40s. He made only six competitions, and he won them all.

He started winning the York Perfect Man in York, Pennsylvania (USA) in 1939. Then he won Mr. America AAU in 1940 and 1941, and in 1946 the Most Muscular Physique in America. As we have just said, he won Mr. Universe in 1948 and, in 1949, his last contest: Mr. America Professional, in which second and third placed were Clarence Ross and Steve Reeves.

John Grimek. The price for the winner of 1949 Mr. USA Professional was $ 1'000.

Steve Reeves

"It seemed impossible to me that someone could
have a similar body [...] He had the widest shoulders
I'd ever seen, a tiny waist, beautiful thights and
powerful calves. What an extraordinary body !"

Clarence Ross, Mr. USA 1948, about Steeve Reves.

In 1949, there was no edition of Mr. Universe. In 1950, a new federation, the NABBA (National Amateur Body Builders Association) sponsored officially the competition of Mr. Universe. The winner was Steve Reeves (1926 - 2000).
Reeves was a great bodybuilder and a good actor. He went to Cinecittà in Rome (Roma, Italy) to play in a lot of film. Some of them were good, the others only B-films with a limited budget. The most important of them were: Le fatiche di Ercole (The labours of Hercules, 1957), Ercole e la regina di Lidia (Hercules and the queen of Lidia, 1958), Romolo e Remo (1961).
As a bodybuilder, he won the competition of Mr. Pacific Coast (1946 and 1947), Mr. America (1947), Mr. World (1948) and Mr. Universe (1950).

Steve Reeves posing as a disc-thrower.

Reg Park

"I remember how incredible Reg Park appears to me,
when I saw him for the first time in 1967.
[...] he is majestic, very strong and with a physique that reveals power."

Arnold Schwarzenegger, "Encyclopedia of Modern Body-Building"

In 1951, the winner of NABBA Mr. Universe was Reg Park. Park was one of the first examples of longevity in the sport of bodybuilding. He will compete at the age of 40 against his pupil Arnold Schwarzenegger. Like Reeves, Park made a lot of films in Italy, but less known than the films of Reeves.

Reg Park. This artistic way of showing muscles was very common in 50s.

Starting from 1952, the competition of NABBA Mr. Universe was divided into two classes: Amateur and Professional (Pro). Reg Park won the Pro Mr. Universe two times: in 1958 and 1965.

Bill Pearl

"Bill Pearl never tried to convince me to became a vegetarian,
but he convinced me that a vegetarian may become a body-building champion"

Arnold Schwarzenegger, "Encyclopedia of Modern Body-building"

In 1953, the winner of Amateur class was Bill Pearl. He won in Pro class in 1961, '67 and '71, demonstranding that bodybuilding is a sport where longevity is not an exception.

Bill Pearl. He took part at only 11 competition from early 50s to 70s.

The competition of NABBA Mr. Universe exists also today. In more than fifty years of story, a lot of great champions won this competition, both in Amateur and Professional categories, for example Arnold Schwarzenegger, Frank Zane, Chris Dickerson, Bertil Fox, Robbie Robinson, Charles Clairmonte and many others. Also Sean Connery finished fifth in this competition (yes, we talk about the actor of 007 films). The following table illustrates the "top ten" winners of NABBA Mr. Universe.

NABBA Mr. Universe Top Ten

IFBB Mr. Universe

As we have said, in America the AAU considered bodybuilding as a secondary sport. However, in 40s and 50s it was manifest that there were also "pure" bodybuilders, who didn't want to make weightlifting, but only bodybuilding competitions.
Two canadian brothers, Joe and Ben Weider, saw a solution for this situation: to create a new federation, only for bodybuilders. Thus, they created the IFBB (Internation Federation of Body Builders). In spite of this fact, AAU maintened its version of Mr. America and Mr. World and other minor competitions for a long time.

The major IFBB competition, up to 1965, was IFBB Mr. Universe. The first edition of IFBB Mr. Universe in 1959 was won by the mexican Eddie Sylvestre. Now IFBB Mr. Universe is known as IFBB World Amateur Championships, and it's the most important amateur competition for this federation.

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