Lee Haney - the greatest Mr. O of all time!

[Wiggs]

Better than Ronnie, better than Dorian and better than Arnold..."small arms" and all
8x Mr. O.....No losses as Mr. O and went out on top and still healthy today. Great spokesman for bodybuilding and wonderful family man.

[affeman]

overrated as a BB

Wouldn't crack the Top 5 at the Nationals these days.

[Danjo]

King Haney!

[Wiggs]

overrated as a BB

Wouldn't crack the Top 5 at the Nationals these days.

Like cracking top 5 at the Nationals is an accomplishment these days. They all look like shit. You don't overrate yourself to 8 Mr. Os ace.

[MCWAY]

Like cracking top 5 at the Nationals is an accomplishment these days. They all look like shit. You don't overrate yourself to 8 Mr. Os ace.

Heck, you don't even have to WIN at the Nationals to turn pro. I couldn't believe it, when I read that the runners-up in the weight classes get pro cards now.

[El Diablo Blanco]

Never understood how he won 8.  So underwhelming.

[bigmc]

great natural athlete

[Wiggs]

Never understood how he won 8.  So underwhelming.

That's because you're you grew up during an era of grotesque drug monsters. You don't know any better.

Haney in 91 is perfection.

[MORTALCOIL]

He was great on occasion and brought it on against fierce competition in '91 but he also cruised through a few 'Os against pretty weak fields without looking that great. Should have lost in '89 and '90. He suffers from being the champ' of a transitional era, stuck between the Golden Age and the most competitive era that the 90s were.

[michael arvilla]

For that time/era Haney was a freak (nobody was competing at 245 lbs/he was the "Ronnie Coleman" of that time span)

[falco]

http://mugshots.com/US-Counties/Alabama/Tuscaloosa-County-AL/Darrell-Lee-Haney-Sr.8709369.html

[MCWAY]

He was great on occasion and brought it on against fierce competition in '91 but he also cruised through a few 'Os against pretty weak fields without looking that great. Should have lost in '89 and '90. He suffers from being the champ' of a transitional era, stuck between the Golden Age and the most competitive era that the 90s were.

How was the competition only fierce in '91 (I think I know where this is going)? Most of the guys he beat then, he'd beaten in previous Olympias with one exception.

[BigCyp]

He is quite a black fellow

[Iceman1981]

Lee Haney - 1991 Mr. Olympia DVD Pictures

More Pics -----> Lee Haney - 1991 Mr. Olympia DVD Pictures (Drag pics to new tab and it will open to original size)

[MORTALCOIL]

How was the competition only fierce in '91 (I think I know where this is going)? Most of the guys he beat then, he'd beaten in previous Olympias with one exception.

Exactly, you know where this is going. Sure, he did beat the other competitors before but some of them were on the uprise and by 91 (and later) were better than as young pros (Shawn Ray and Vince Taylor). Have a look at the field he was facing from '84 to '88. Nothing spectacular: even great physiques like DeMey or Paris weren't designed to win the '0. For years, his biggest threat was Gaspari who even at his best wouldn't have placed once in the top 6 in the 90s. Labrada arguably was his first real competition at the time and could or should have won '89 and maybe '90. And then came Dorian....

[Figo]

Haney was mr O at the height of popularity for bbing, when it was cool, and sort of mainstream. Lots of bbers did ads, shows were on espn, bbers in movies, tv shows, Golds was a popular hangout for actors, celebs, etc

And the mid80s were not a transitional dead era , bbing actually evolved then, if anything 80-83 was the transient period. All the guys that were huge in the late 90s had the mid 80s guys as their inspiration. Many turned pro then, and only really got going much later

[MCWAY]

Exactly, you know where this is going. Sure, he did beat the other competitors before but some of them were on the uprise and by 91 (and later) were better than as young pros (Shawn Ray and Vince Taylor). Have a look at the field he was facing from '84 to '88. Nothing spectacular: even great physiques like DeMey or Paris weren't designed to win the '0. For years, his biggest threat was Gaspari who even at his best wouldn't have placed once in the top 6 in the 90s. Labrada arguably was his first real competition at the time and could or should have won '89 and maybe '90. And then came Dorian....

They were approximately the same size. At that size, Haney wins because he has better shape and proportions.

[Figo]

Exactly, you know where this is going. Sure, he did beat the other competitors before but some of them were on the uprise and by 91 (and later) were better than as young pros (Shawn Ray and Vince Taylor). Have a look at the field he was facing from '84 to '88. Nothing spectacular: even great physiques like DeMey or Paris weren't designed to win the '0. For years, his biggest threat was Gaspari who even at his best wouldn't have placed once in the top 6 in the 90s. Labrada arguably was his first real competition at the time and could or should have won '89 and maybe '90. And then came Dorian....

Gaspari while not blessed with great structure, was very good for a while and burned out early
Had Gaspari turned pro later, and been on similar compounds to others, things may have differed. Gaspari was way ahead of the pack with conditioning for many years

Many will say he was blocky, or no arms, wide waist, narrow shoulders, but he actually had a better structure and conditioning than many current pros

Labrada shouldve taken the O in 89, and 90 was between Labrada and Ray. Haney was off.

Imagine Haney on Dorians stack... Things couldve gotten ugly!

[MORTALCOIL]

They were approximately the same size. At that size, Haney wins because he has better shape and proportions.

That was not my point. I agree that in '91 Haney deserved it. He brought his all time best. I think he could have very well competed with the 90s guy (I don't think Gaspari would have stood a chance) but he wasn't willing to do what was necessary (up the dosage and get on the 'slin/GH train) which is admirable. But your record is always highlighted by the competition you faced. And that's why Haney is underrated nowadays.

[MCWAY]

Haney was mr O at the height of popularity for bbing, when it was cool, and sort of mainstream. Lots of bbers did ads, shows were on espn, bbers in movies, tv shows, Golds was a popular hangout for actors, celebs, etc

And the mid80s were not a transitional dead era , bbing actually evolved then, if anything 80-83 was the transient period. All the guys that were huge in the late 90s had the mid 80s guys as their inspiration. Many turned pro then, and only really got going much later

Mainstream? I wouldn't go that far. Back in the day, you'd have to catch American Muscle, during the wee hours of the morning. And of course, the contest footage was 3-5 months old.

Occasionally a bodybuilding show would air, after Bodyshaping. I saw my first bodybuilding show on TV back in 1990 (the Junior USA), which aired after Bodyshaping.

That's why I was a big fan of the WBF. I found out the result of the first contest a week after it happened on WWF Superstars. I actually ordered the second (and final) WBF championship on PPV (cost me $15). I was excited about actually seeing a contest the day it occred. Unfortunately, the "100% U.S. Tested Grade-A Prime Beef" was not that beefy in 1992.

I just saw, in one of my old MuscleMags, a short article where the folks of American Muscle said that they were ditching the IFBB and NPC coverage and only featuring natural bodybuilding contests.

This war around the time MD was going through its identity crisis., morphing from Muscular Development-Fitness-Health (MDFH) to All-Natural Muscular Development (ANMD).

[Figo]

That was not my point. I agree that in '91 Haney deserved it. He brought his all time best. I think he could have very well competed with the 90s guy (I don't think Gaspari would have stood a chance) but he wasn't willing to do what was necessary (up the dosage and get on the 'slin/GH train) which is admirable. But your record is always highlighted by the competition you faced. And that's why Haney is underrated nowadays.

Haney was already on gh and slin, both compounds go back to the 80s, and gh was becoming commonplace, whilst slin still being played around with. Beckles had a bad experience with slin in the mid 80s, which was common knowledge

If haney had upped the slin and gh, as well as everything else, and then start playing with oil which came on the scene in early 90s, we wouldve seen a preview of latter Ronnie.
This all hypothetical, if Haney was coming up in the 90s etc, blah blah

[Figo]

Mainstream? I wouldn't go that far. Back in the day, you'd have to catch American Muscle, during the wee hours of the morning. And of course, the contest footage was 3-5 months old.

Occasionally a bodybuilding show would air, after Bodyshaping. I saw my first bodybuilding show on TV back in 1990 (the Junior USA), which aired after Bodyshaping.

That's why I was a big fan of the WBF. I found out the result of the first contest a week after it happened on WWF Superstars. I actually ordered the second (and final) WBF championship on PPV (cost me $15). I was excited about actually seeing a contest the day it occred. Unfortunately, the "100% U.S. Tested Grade-A Prime Beef" was not that beefy in 1992.

I just saw, in one of my old MuscleMags, a short article where the folks of American Muscle said that they were ditching the IFBB and NPC coverage and only featuring natural bodybuilding contests.

This war around the time MD was going through its identity crisis., morphing from Muscular Development-Fitness-Health (MDFH) to All-Natural Muscular Development (ANMD).

"Sort of mainstream"

Pre-internet, still a subculture, cult sport, but trendy, "in" for a while. The guys may have been living in a van outside Golds, but they put up the "professional" schtick. The cars may have been on lease, the clothes bought by the "sponsor", but it appeared good. They carried themselves well, eloquent, wore suits that didn't make them look like idiots, etc

Also a lot of the guys that were big then turned out ok, without losing their dignity, some doing very well, with some exceptions

[hazbin]

Gaspari while not blessed with great structure, was very good for a while and burned out early
Had Gaspari turned pro later, and been on similar compounds to others, things may have differed. Gaspari was way ahead of the pack with conditioning for many years

Many will say he was blocky, or no arms, wide waist, narrow shoulders, but he actually had a better structure and conditioning than many current pros

Labrada shouldve taken the O in 89, and 90 was between Labrada and Ray. Haney was off.

Imagine Haney on Dorians stack... Things couldve gotten ugly!

there was an incumbancy back  then.  Mr. Olympia did not lose.  no matter what

[The_Punisher]

overrated as a BB

Wouldn't crack the Top 5 at the Nationals these days.

he was not overrated.....after his Era, came the Pregnants, Distended bellies, GH guts bodybuilders and all other kinds of Deformities

[Parker]

Never understood how he won 8.  So underwhelming.

When you have Rich Gaspari, Lee Labrada, Mike Christian, Gary Strydom, and Bertil Fox as your competitors...it's understandable that Lee would win. Each had pretty big flaws--Labrada's was only height.