Sure, he would be shorter if he used roids at that early of an age, but he used them later on. Arnold had a supreme build at 15 or 16, but he still gained height.
I have seen people on gear that still look natural, and it would make sense for Reeves to take gear and still look natural to you because there wasn't an abundance of steroids back in those days. The people today shadow pin to look natural as possible but still have that edge, just like Reeves has. His muscles are so big, and he is so lean even at that height. When naturals are as lean as Reeves was, they get this deflated look, but Reeves does not have that. It is absurd to think that a cultural icon, Hollywood performer, and Bodybuilder would not be on steroids, someone whose image was a selling point. I just don't buy it. Look at guys in MMA and they are all on some gear even if they look "natural", I have seen naturals and I have seen juicers and Reeves was definitely on the sauce.
Not sure where people get the notion Reeves was on steroids . He pretty much ended his bodybuilding career in the early 50's. He became Mr. Universe in 1950 and quickly went into movies. The only steroid available, if he indeed he could get it, was testosterone propionate and administered by injection. Unless Reeves was on the Soviet weight lifting team, which started secretly using it in the mid 40's, how would he know about it? The epicenter of US weight lifting was in York, PA at the time and even they didn't get turned on to testosterone until Dr. John Ziegler started giving it to them in the mid 50's.
The first commercially available synthetic steroids were Norethandrolone, marketed in 1956 by Searle as Nilevar and Methandrostenolone, marketed as Dianabol, by Ciba. So about 5+ years after Reeve's hangs it up as a competitive bodybuilder, he starts juicing to look even smaller than he did when he competed?
Face it- the guy was a genetic marvel as far as shape goes but size wise he wasn't anywhere near as big as later guys who used. He had a chest of just under 50", measured at his biggest in 1950 at a contest. We all know the average GetBigger has a chest 5" larger than that...