not a true statement.
Neither won it on their first shot.
The only one who did was Larry Scott.
Lee Haney became pro in 1982 I believe. His first Mr. O (1983) he came in Third or fourth I believe and the following year he won it. Dorian became pro in 1990 I believe and his first Mr. O (1992) he came in 2nd and the following year he won it (almost won it THAT year though).
My point was that they were judged on what they brought to the table. Not on paying their dues. They both won their first Mr. O by their second Mr. O. That kind of stuff seems to be unheard of these days. It took Cutler how many years to overthrow Ronnie and how many years for anyone to overthrow Dorian. The man had to retire for that to even happen.