Mr. America Shocker!
The AAU Mr. America contest began in 1938 and was firmly established as the biggest contest in amateur bodybuilding in the United States by the 1960’s and 70’s. Whoever won the AAU Mr. America was the best bodybuilder in the country in the amateur ranks, hands down.
The National Physique Committee (NPC) was still years away from being conceived when the 1978 AAU Mr. America contest took place in Cincinnati, Ohio on September 2nd. In 1978, the AAU had decided to begin cooperating with the IFBB to send the best amateur bodybuilders from this country to represent the U.S.A. at the IFBB World Championships.
Before this groundbreaking decision, the bodybuilders who competed in the AAU Mr. America would normally travel to London to compete in the NABBA Mr. Universe contest while the IFBB Mr. Universe contest was represented by bodybuilders who competed in the IFBB Mr. America contest. Realizing that the AAU Mr. America was bringing in a bigger and perhaps better field of amateur bodybuilders than the IFBB could attract, the International Federation of Bodybuilders (IFBB) wisely chose to join forces with the AAU in order to gain access to the best amateur bodybuilding talent in the country.
The 1977 AAU Mr. America featured a great line-up of bodybuilders vying to win the biggest title in amateur bodybuilding. Taking place one year after the release of the movie “Pumping Iron”, bodybuilding was growing by leaps and bounds throughout the country. Only one year earlier, the Mr. America contest was held in sunny Santa Monica, California and it was considered the biggest event ever held in the long history of the prestigious contest. An actual parade featuring bodybuilders riding on top of live elephants and a marching band was held in the streets of Santa Monica to help promote this extravaganza. Even movie star Mae West made a rare appearance at the contest as the 83-year-old living legend was brought onstage to present overall winner Dave Johns his large trophy.
Both the parade and movie stars were absent from the Mr. America contest in 1978 as the event was held in the Midwest city of Cincinnati, Ohio, but another form of fireworks was about to make its appearance at the conclusion of the contest. Speculation before the event centered on who the pre-contest favorite was to take home the coveted title this year.
Ron Teufel, the 21-year-old bodybuilding prodigy who had won the short class one year ago, was heavily favored by both the bodybuilding fans and the press to win the overall title. Teufel, a former Teenage Mr. America winner, had made an impact on the national level by placing second in his class at the AAU Mr. America at only 19 years of age. His thick as a brick muscle mass was highlighted by rock hard abdominal muscles that looked as though they had been chiseled out of granite.
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One year later, at only 20 years old, Ron rose to the top of the short class at the biggest amateur bodybuilding contest in the country, beating out bodybuilders much older and more experienced than him in the process. After his class win at the 1977 AAU Mr. America, Teufel made the wise decision to relocate to southern California and train at the famous Gold’s Gym. Realizing that the last two overall winners of the AAU Mr. America had represented Gold’s Gym, Teufel figured the move would be good for him both politically and physically.
In 1978, training at the Mecca of Bodybuilding, Ron Teufel was making rapid improvements to his already impressive young physique. He entered the AAU Mr. California contest in the spring and steamrolled over the competition. Realizing that both Kal Szkalak and Dave Johns, Mr. America winners from 1976 and 1977 respectively, had also won the Mr. California in the same year they won the Mr. America, Ron was assured that he was on his way to winning the coveted Mr. America title in the fall.
That summer, Teufel continued to dominate onstage by beating a tough group of competitors at the 1978 AAU Mr. USA contest and also winning his class at the IFBB USA vs. The World competition held in California. In the latter contest, Teufel was given the opportunity to compete against other top amateur bodybuilders from around the world. He took first place in the middleweight class, beating out international competitors Peter Stach from Czechoslovakia and Darcy Beccles from Barbados, among others, in the process.
Another bodybuilder making waves in AAU competition in 1978 was Tony Pearson. Originally from St. Louis, Pearson had made the famous trek to Southern California to train at the legendary Gold’s Gym while only a teenager. One of the many struggling bodybuilders living at the Mecca to find his way to fortune and fame, Tony became fond of eating tuna fish out of a can as it was all he could afford.
Tony had a good structure with wide shoulders and a small waist but he had to struggle to add more muscle mass to his thin frame. Arnold Schwarzenegger himself took Tony under his wing after seeing him squatting rep after rep with a heavy weight at the Weight Training Pit at Venice Beach. By 1978, Pearson had developed a ripped and muscular physique and he was starting to win competitions in the California area. Pearson competed against Ron Teufel at that year’s Mr. California contest but did not win. However, Tony was successful over the summer by winning the overall titles at both the AAU Jr. Mr. USA and the AAU Jr. Mr. America. Winning these two prestigious national level shows over some of the best bodybuilders in the country definitely brought Tony some attention leading into the Mr. America contest.
As the prejudging for the 1978 Mr. America got under way, a confident Ron Teufel was pushed to the limit by a radically improved Tom Platz in the short class. Over the last two years, Platz had tasted bitter defeat from the younger Teufel but this year was another story. Always displaying superior leg development, Platz had miraculously added pounds of muscle to his upper body to challenge the cocky Teufel, who won by a slim 4-3 decision from the judges.
In the medium height class, Tony Pearson beat out a tough field of some of the 20 top amateur bodybuilders in the country. Pearson was ripped to the bone and his great shape and muscularity helped him to place ahead of Mr. California tall class winner Larry Jackson and Richard Baldwin from Florida.
In the tall class, a big but decidedly smooth Manuel Perry repeated his class win from 1977 over a competitive line-up that included veteran competitor Clint Beyerle in second place and Gary Leonard in third. Perry missed a golden opportunity by getting onstage in less than peak condition. With his great muscle size and shape, Perry could have won the overall title quite easily this year if he would have competed in the same condition as a year ago.
As Teufel, Pearson and Perry lined up for the overall decision, Teufel was confident that the title of Mr. America would be his before the night was over. Tony was more ripped than any of the other class winners but he was lacking in calf development and was not as thickly developed as the massive Teufel. In the overall posedown, Teufel pointed to the lackluster calves of his popular rival while showcasing the thick lower legs of his own. In response, Tony pointed to his sharply defined quads to convince the judges that he was the most ripped competitor onstage that night.
After the heated posedown, the class winners stood patiently in line on stage waiting to hear the final verdict from the emcee. To the shock of everyone in the auditorium, the new overall Mr. America winner for 1978 was… TONY PEARSON! Ron Teufel could not believe his ears!
As the unbelievable decision sank in, Teufel painfully grimaced and walked away in disbelief. How could he lose to a bodybuilder who didn’t have the muscle mass and proportions necessary to win a top national title like this? Still in shock, he walked around on stage in disbelief that this was actually happening. Finally, Teufel walked off the stage in complete disgust with the decision.
But wait! The contest was not over yet. Even though Tony Pearson had won the overall Mr. America title, the team for the IFBB Mr. Universe still was yet to be decided. Because the Mr. Universe would be held in weight classes instead of the height classes that were judged in the Mr. America contest, there was still more judging to be decided. The shorter and more muscular Teufel would be competing against the taller and more ripped Pearson for the right to represent the U.S. at the Mr. Universe in Acapulco, Mexico.
Fearing that the same group of judges would be deciding the team for the Mr. Universe, Ron Teufel decided to pack up his belongings and leave the auditorium. Carlos Rodriquez, the excellent third place bodybuilder from the short class, was picked as the Lightweight representative for the Mr. Universe contest. When the medium class for the Universe team walked onstage, Tony Pearson was expecting a rematch with Ron Teufel but was surprised to see the massive Tom Platz in his place instead.With a different set of judges being used, the new judging panel took appreciation of the new muscle mass that Platz had added to his upper body along with the incredible leg development he displayed and chose him over Pearson to represent the American Team at the IFBB Mr. Universe.
In the heavyweight class, former IFBB Mr. America Mike Mentzer easily won the spot on the team to enter the Mr. Universe. A runner-up at the Mr. Universe the previous two years, Mentzer was leaving nothing to chance this year and was confident of victory in 1978. The American Team representing the United States at the IFBB Mr. Universe would be Carlos Rodriquez in the lightweight class, Tom Platz in the middleweight class and Mike Mentzer in the heavyweight class. In a rare show of total superiority, the American team would go on to win all three weight classes and dominate the Mr. Universe contest that year. Mike Mentzer scored a perfect 300 score in winning the heavyweight class and both Carlos Rodriquez and Tom Platz earned their professional status as a result of their class wins. As for Ron Teufel, he learned a valuable lesson that it’s not over until it’s over! 
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